Bill Thomas - Charles Sturt University...The choice of livestock professionals 1300 655 383 Bill Thomas Stockyard Designer Graham Centre Beef Forum CSU Convention CentreMaximising

The choice of livestock professionals www.proway.com.au

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Bill Thomas Stockyard

Designer

Graham Centre Beef Forum

CSU Convention Centre

15 August 2014

Working With Cattle to Build Better Stockyards

Maximising Stockflow:

In order to design and operate good cattle yards it is

important to have a knowledge of basic cattle

behaviour and how that behaviour impacts on cattle

yard design.

• By taking advantage of natural behavior of

livestock we can design yards and handling

facilities that work in our favor

• Always let livestock think they are “escaping”

• Make use of circling and milling behavior

• Don’t make the stock run towards threatening and

foreign things

• Avoid “dead ends”


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LIVESTOCK MOVEMENT

PRINCIPLES Mobbing Behavior

• Cattle find safety within a group and when

frightened, will mob together.

• When separated from the mob, a solo

disturbed beast will run towards the mob

irrespective of the position of the handler.

• The natural circling instinct is thought to be

associated with the need to keep visual

contact with other animals in the mob.


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LIVESTOCK MOVEMENT

PRINCIPLES Vision Analysis

• The latest research on colour vision in

farm animals shows that they are

dichromats with colour sensitive cells,

particularly to yellowish-green and

blue/purple light.

• Dichromatic vision makes the

animal more sensitive to seeing

sudden movement.

• Grazing animals have a visual system

that provides excellent distance vision

but relatively weak eye muscles inhibit

their ability to focus quickly on nearby

objects.


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LIVESTOCK MOVEMENT

PRINCIPLES Depth Perception

•Because of the location of the eyes,

cattle have poor depth perception.

Their ability to perceive depth at

ground level while their heads are up

is reduced and have a wide blind area

beneath them.

• To see depth on the ground, the

animal would have to stop and lower

its head. This may explain why

livestock often lower their heads and

stop to look at strange things on the

ground.


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Baulking Video


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Visual Field of Cattle

• Grazing animals are relative

defenseless and so must remain

vigilant against “predators”

• They have good vision in paddock

conditions and can see predators

from over 500m away.

• With eyes on the side of their head

they have a wide field of vision,

averaging 270°, however are blind to

the 90° behind the body and will turn

to look at oncoming “predators”

LIVESTOCK MOVEMENT PRINCIPLES


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Other Factors include: • Change in colour and lighting will often

spook cattle and make it difficult to move

mobs.

• Advancing stock must not be able to see

others behind them, that is:

• stock flow better if rear vision is

restricted.

• Light up ahead can often be used to

draw animals through the working area.

LIVESTOCK MOVEMENT PRINCIPLES

The choice of livestock professionals

LIVESTOCK MOVEMENT PRINCIPLES Other Factors include:

• Following livestock must be

able to see the other cattle

ahead even if it is

disappearing around a corner.

• Livestock run better around

curved

corners

• Livestock flow better through

yards if the same paths are

followed and the same flow

directions are maintained.

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45° 60°

Designed to work built to last …


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Livestock Movement Principles

Moving cattle by positioning your body


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Livestock Movement Principles

Moving cattle by

positioning your

body

Good Design

• Allows for Laminar

(Streamline) Flow.

Where the stock are

encouraged to move

fluently through the

race.

Cattle Movement Principles

Adapting these principals in designs


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Bad Design

• Race is bent too

sharply

• Confuses stock and

induces turbulent

movement.

• This can result in

bruising

and stress to the

stock.

Cattle Movement Principles Adapting these principals in designs


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Cattle Rotary Force

Video


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Well designed stockyards will make your

livestock operation more profitable for the

following reasons:

• Less labour is required to efficiently handle

stock.

• Good yards encourage timely husbandry (that

difficult job does not get put off).

• Good yards make more intensive husbandry

viable (it may pay to regularly weigh stock to

allow management and targeting for specific

markets).

• Less stress and bruising on stock

• Less chance of injury to operators.

Well designed Stockyards

If you understand stock

behaviour

& Design your yards to utilise

natural stock movements and

instincts

Stock handling

skills

WH & S, as cattle flow

rather than having to be

forced.

Labour efficiency Animal welfare

Less bruising

Less time off

feed

Less stress

Then maximising stock flow

will improve

Designed to work built to last …

Stockyard Design to Address WH&S issues

Designs must consider the requirements to keep

people safe. These include:

• Eliminate or reduce operator from risk by

implementing designs that provide man / beast

separation in high risk operations throughout

the facility

• Design and build all new structure, equipment

and facilities to current standards and

legislations, in particular operator access stairs,

platforms, walkways and manways


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Improve animal welfare

New facilities and equipment should be designed and

maintained to ensure minimal risk or stress is

incurred by livestock. Including :

• Being free of protrusions and other objects that

can cause injury

• Being easy to clean and maintain

• Protect animals from extremes of weather and

provide effective ventilation

• Include flooring in yards and ramps that minimise

slipping

• Provide adequate facilities for water and feed for

say weaning

• Have sufficient and uniform lighting


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• Poor handling and stress can cause the

concentration of glycogen to fall below a threshold

that in turn causes dark cutting.

• Dark cutting meat has a reduced shelf life, less

tender and with consumers more likely to reject it

on the basis of appearance

• Dark cutting meat is estimated to cost the red meat

industry around $36 million per year. (MLA)

The costs of poorly designed facilities: Glycogen Deficiency increased by stress


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Cattle Design Principles


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Cattle Design Principles- S Race


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Cattle Design Principle

YARD COMPRESSION RATES- NO MORE THAN 4:1


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ENTERING CATTLEYARDS


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CASE STUDY


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CASE STUDY

The choice of livestock professionals

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APPROACHING CATTLEYARDS WITH TRUCK

CLOCKWISE?

OR ANTI CLOCKWISE?


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Entry to single file race do’s and don’ts


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Cattle Design Principle Bud Box- Theory


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Bud Box- Application


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• They can ruin a well designed facility

because animals will baulk, refuse to

move

or turn back.

Distractions

• It is critical to minimise or eliminate

distractions in order to promote

healthy

stock flow.


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Distractions


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Distractions


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Distractions

Plan for current and new technologies

The cattle and meat industry is ever changing and

evolving to suit consumer demand and increased

productivity. Current, new and future technologies

need to be considered in yard design to make future

adaption a positive rather than a negative cost.

Technologies include:

• RFID scanning and weighing

• On farm, during unloading, during holding,

before and after slaughter, in the

supermarket?

• Automated drafting (weights and other life data)

• Breed and size separation

• Carcass scanning

• Robotic meat preparation

• Waste management


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Boosting efficiency with:

Points to Consider:

• Gate follows cattle around rolled panels

reducing area which encourages cattle to

enter the race.

• Padded brake drags around rolled

panels and locks in position.

• Sheeted panels aid stock movement and

operator safety.

• Separates the handler and stock in the

forcing pen, therefore eliminating the risk

of injury.

Rotary Force Yard


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Euroa Loading Facility


Points to Consider:

• Stock will gravitate from darker areas to lighter areas (but not

blinding light)

• Make sure light does not cast shadows

• If there is a cover over the race, force or yards - do not allow

the shadows to caste at the transition zones.

• Consider the sun and will it interfere with stock walking directly

into it

• Unload to the south if possible, then north and take your pick

east or west after this.

• Have the stock running towards light (openness ) at the throat

of the single file race to help draw them

• Necessary dead ends must me sufficiently lit up

• Stopping light from getting under grated floors

Controlling the Light


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Points to Consider:

• Stock get freighted and stressed by noise

• When stock become frightened they are

less controllable

• Think about what is making unnecessary

noise and how it can be silenced?

• Pipe exhausted air from air gates further

away

• Remove chains that continue to bang

against steel.

• Use rubber stoppers to reduce impact on

gates

• Get operators to only make as much noise

as needed so animals know the position of

the operator.

Controlling the Noise


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Points to Consider:

• Heavy duty construction for safety and

longevity.

• Sheeted panels encourage flow making

stock focus on the exit and eliminates

distraction.

• Quick easy access in and around ramp

• Level extensions to improve cattle flow

and operator access

• Non-slip walkways and handrails

• Swivel buffer that aligns to the truck to

prevent gaps when loading

• Sliding Gates

• Stepped concrete flooring

Loading Ramps Design


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Points to Consider:

• The concrete needs to be mounded up around the posts to reduce rusting off with sediment

and say urine pooling at the base of the posts

• All high cattle traffic areas need to be stenciled to provide grip so cattle don’t slip

Correct use of Concrete


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Points to Consider:

• Elevate operator to a safe, comfortable

working height above stock.

• By following the walkway around the force

yards and race the operator is able to

encourage stock flow from a more

commanding position.

• Used so that the operator is not in the yard

with cattle and can move stock with a flag

or paddle

Elevated Walkways


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Points to Consider:

• Provide weather protection to operators,

stock and yards to increase efficiency,

productivity and longevity of stockyards.

• Keep operators and stock out of the

elements

• Keep yards dry underfoot

• Sheds are all galvanised steelwork

• Engineered and designed to Australian

Standards

Under Cover Work Areas


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Points to Consider:

• Use anti bruise materials for posts and

rails.

• Use materials stock can see (not mesh)

• Use galvanised materials wherever

possible

• Brace gates overhead when required

• Use quality hardware (hinges/latches)

• Remember “Poor Man Pays Twice”

Suitable Materials


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It costs the same amount to build a poorly designed

facility, as it does to build a well designed facility.

The well designed facility will:

• Have lower labour requirements

• Minimise WH&S issues and injuries

• Result in less bruising and stress on livestock

• Increase productivity and profitability


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• ProWay Livestock Equipment’s core business is design,

manufacture and installation of livestock handling

facilities.

• Established in February 2000 and have developed a

reputation as a global leader in stock management

systems.

• Through study and first hand experience the company

has progressed to become practical consultants with a

suite of skills that are relevant to designing and

delivering livestock handling complexes.

ProWay Company Background

• 6 dedicated Stockyard Designers.

Principal designers Joe Hoban and Bill

Thomas each have over 15 years design

experience.

• 4 person in-house Computer-Aided

Design (“CAD”) team.

• 30 full time fabrication and dispatch staff.

All workshop fabrication is based on CAD

generated plans and workshop orders.

• 12 regionally based construction crews.


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Our Capabilities include:

CATTLEYARDS


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SHEEPYARDS


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SHEARING SHEDS


LOADING & UNLOADING RAMPS


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FEEDLOTS


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SALEYARDS


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ABATTOIRS


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Boost Labour Efficiency

Labour is a major cost to any livestock facility. By

designing yards that take advantage of stock

behaviour and flow, a reduction in labour required can

be achieved. Labour efficiencies can be achieved by:

• Designing for flexible stock movement to minimise

“road blocks” in the yard system.

• Installing adequate walkways for ease of access

to gates while separating stock from operators.

• Adding manways for quick and easy movement

between yards

• Incorporating design curves and sheeting where

applicable

• Having optimal ramp slope to encourage stock

flow

• High volume facilities to incorporate pneumatic

operated gates to avoid manual operation and

unnecessary disruption or spooking of stock


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Documents

Bill Thomas - Charles Sturt University...The choice of livestock professionals 1300 655 383 Bill Thomas Stockyard Designer Graham Centre Beef Forum CSU Convention CentreMaximising