CATTLE HANDLING FACILITIES RATE

An efficient cattle handling facility includes several critical factors. Below is a group of questions on items that contribute to an efficient beef cattle handling system. Answer the questions in order to evaluate your facility.

Availability of Facilities
Do you have a headgate? Yes No
Do you have a holding chute? Yes No
Do you have a working chute? Yes No
Do you have a funnel or crowding pen to get cattle into chute? Yes No
Do you have a holding pen? Yes No
Do you have a chute or ramp for loading or unloading cattle? Yes No
Are the handling facilities well constructed and properly braced? Yes No
Is the facility in good repair? Yes No
Do you have a scale? Yes No
Headgate If you do not have a headgate, skip this section. View Photo
Is headgate adjustable for different size animals? Yes No
Which type of headgate do you have?
Does the headgate have a quiet action? Yes No
Holding Chute/Squeeze If you do not have a holding chute, skip this section. View Photo
Does the holding chute have squeeze action? Yes No
Does it have removable side panels for easy access to the animal? Yes No
Is there a gate in chute to allow access for pregnancy checking? Yes No
Is the floor in the holding chute/headgate area non-slippery? Yes No
If you do not have a scale, skip the following two questions :
Do you have a built-in scale in the holding chute? Yes No
Do you have a scale located between the working and holding chute? Yes No
Working Chute If you do not have a working chute, skip this section. View Photo
How wide is the working chute?
Does the working chute have solid walls? Yes No
Is at the least the bottom half of the working chute built with solid walls? Yes No
Is the chute tall enough to keep animals from jumping over? Yes No
Is a blocking gate available? Yes No
Is a cutting gate available? Yes No
How many cows will the chute hold?
Is the chute curved or offset? Yes No
Are overhead braces high enough to prevent head bumping? Yes No
Does the bottom of the chute have rough concrete or packed gravel? Yes No
Is chute arranged so that cattle move toward light? Yes No
Is chute arranged so that cattle does not face blinding light? Yes No
Does the holding chute have a catwalk? Yes No
Crowding Pen If you do not have a crowding pen, skip this section. View Photo
Is the crowding pen circular? Yes No
Is the pen built with solid walls? Yes No
Do you have a solid crowding gate to push cattle into chute? Yes No
How many animals can you accommodate at once in the crowding pen?
Holding Pen/Access Alley if you do not have a holding pen, skip this section. View Photo
Will holding pen hold at least one-half of cow herd or
    30 head, whichever is small ? Yes No
Can holding pen accommodate one animal per 20 square foot?
    (20-head herd: 20' x 20' pen; 50-head herd: 20' x 50' pen; etc.) Yes No
Does holding pen access to crowding pen, working chute and squeeze? Yes No
Are gates in holding pen located at corners to facilitate cattle flow? Yes No
Do you have a sorting alley? Yes No
Loading Chute If you do not have a loading chute, skip this section. View Photo
Can cattle move directly from the crowding pen to loading chute? Yes No
Does the loading chute have a curved approach? Yes No
Does the loading chute have solid walls? Yes No
Miscellaneous
Are cattle handling facilities free of exposed nails or other sharp objects? Yes No
Is holding chute and headgate covered for working cattle
   during inclement weather? Yes No
Is an all-weather road available to facilitate access to the facility? Yes No
Is electricity available at handling facility? Yes No
Is water available at handling facility? Yes No
Are there any safety passes in the facility? Yes No

Adapted By Original Score system Web Version
Jose R Bicudo Clyde D. Lane Jr. and James B. Neel Gaurav Rajput
University of Kentucky University of Tennessee University of Kentucky

Updated 06/29/2005

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