From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cattle crush
Cattle crush
to ensure the animal stands "stock still". The overall pur-
pose of a crush is to hold an animal still to minimise the
risk of injury to both the animal and the operator whilst
work on the animal is performed.
Construction
A cattle crush and an anti-bruise race in Australia.
A portable crush
Crushes were traditionally manufactured from wood;
this, however, was prone to deterioration from the ele-
ments over time, as well as having the potential to splin-
ter and cause damage to the animal. In recent years, most
budget-quality crushes have been built using standard
heavy steel pipe that is welded together, while superior
quality crushes are now manufactured using doubly -
symmetric oval tubing for increasing bending strength,
bruise minimisation and stiffness in stockyard applica-
tions. In Australia, the steel itself should ideally be man-
ufactured to High Tensile Grade 350LO - 450LO and con-
form to Australian Standards AS 1163 for structural
steel.[3]
Cattle crushes may be fully fixed or mobile; however,
most crushes are best classified as semipermanent, being
potentially movable but designed to primarily stay in one
place. A cattle crush is typically linked to a cattle race (al-
so known as an alley). The front end has a head bail (or
Chin (or neck) bar in operation during mouthing. neck yoke or head gate) to catch the animal and may have
a baulk gate that swings aside to assist in catching the
A cattle crush (in British Isles, New Zealand and Aus- beast. The bail is often adjustable to accommodate ani-
tralia), squeeze chute (North America),[1][2] standing mals of different sizes. This bail may incorporate a chin
stock or simply stock (North America, Ireland) is a
stock, or neck bar to hold the animal’s head still. A side lever
strongly built stall or cage for holding cattle, horses, or operates the head bail to capture the animals, with the
other livestock safely while they are examined, marked, better types having a rear drop-away safety lever for eas-
or given veterinary treatment. Cows may be made to ier movement of the cattle into the bail. Usually, smaller
suckle calves in a crush. For the safety of the animal and animals can walk through the head bails incorporated in
the people attending it, a close-fitting crush may be used crushes.[4]
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cattle crush
Crushes vary in sophistication, according to require-
ments and cost. The simplest are just a part of a cattle
race (alley) with a suitable head bail. More complex ones
incorporate features such as automatic catching systems,
hatches (to gain access to various parts of the animal),
winches (to raise the feet or the whole animal), con-
stricting sides to hold the animal firmly (normal in North
American slaughterhouses), a rocking floor to prevent
kicking[8] or a weighing mechanism.
Specialist crushes
Scanning and weighing crush with timber and belting sides to
increase the accuracy of ear tag scanning.
Lower side panels and/or gates of sheet metal, timber
or conveyor belting are used in some cases to ensure an-
imals’ legs do not get caught and reduce the likelihood of
operator injury.[4] At least one side gate is usually split
to allow access to various parts of the animal being held,
as well as providing access to feed a calf, amongst other
things. A squeeze crush has a manual or hydraulic mecha-
nism to squeeze the animal from the sides, immobilizing
the animal whilst keeping bruising to a minimum. A slid-
ing entrance gate, operated from the side of the crush,
is set a few feet behind the captured animal to allow for
clearance and prevent other animals entering. Crushes
will, in many cases, have a single or split veterinary gate
that swings behind the animal to improve operator safe-
ty, while preventing the animal from moving backwards
by a horizontal rump bar inserted just behind its haunch-
Indoor rough-riding chutes, AELEC, Tamworth, New South
es into one of a series of slots. If this arrangement is
Wales.
absent, a palpation cage can be added to the crush for
veterinary use when artificial insemination or pregnan-
Specialist crushes are made for various purposes. For ex-
cy testing is being performed, or for other uses.[5] Older
ample, those designed for cattle with very long horns
crushes can also be found to have a guillotine gate that is
(such as Highland cattle or Texas Longhorn cattle) are
also operated from the side via rope or chain where the
low-sided or very wide, to avoid damage to the horns.
gate is raised up for the animal to go under upon enter-
Other specialist crushes include those for tasks such as
ing the crush, and then let down behind the animal.
automatic scanning, foot-trimming or clipping the hair
A crush is a permanent fixture in slaughterhouses,
under the belly, and smaller crushes (calf cradles) for
because the animal is carried on a conveyor restrainer
calves.
under its belly, with its legs dangling in a slot on either
Standing stocks for cattle and horses are more com-
side. Carried in this manner, the animal is unable to move
monly stand-alone units, not connected to races (alleys)
either forward or backward by its own volition.[6]
except for handling animals not accustomed to being
Some mobile crushes are equipped with a set of
handled. These stand-alone units may be permanent or
wheels so they can be towed from yard to yard. A few of
portable. Some portable units disassemble for transport
these portable crushes are built so the crush may also be
to shows and sales. These units are used during grooming
used as a portable loading ramp.[7] A mobile crush must
and also with veterinary procedures performed with the
incorporate a strong floor, to prevent the animal moving
animal standing, especially if it requires heavy sedation,
it by walking along the ground.
or to permit surgery under sedation rather than general
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cattle crush
anesthesia.[9] For some surgical procedures, this is re- States similar but smaller structures, usually called horse
ported to be efficient.[10] These units also are used during shoeing stocks, are still in use, primarily to assist farri-
some procedures that require a horse to stand still, but ers in supporting the weight of the horse’s hoof and leg
without sedation.[11] when shoeing draft horses.[22][23]
There are two different types of specialised crushes
used in rodeo arenas. Those for the "rough stock" events,
such as bronc riding and bull riding, are known as buck-
ing chutes or rough-riding chutes. For events such as
steer roping, the crush is called a roping chute. The
rough-riding chutes are notably higher in order to hold
horses and adult bulls, and have platforms and rail spac-
ing that allows riders and assistants to access the animal
from above. These chutes release the animal and the rid-
er through a side gate. A roping chute is large enough to
contain a steer of the size used in steer wrestling and may
have a seat above the chute for an operator. The steer or
calf is released through the front of the chute.
• Ox shoeing sling in the Dorfmuseum of Mönchhof,
Hoof trimming crush Austria; a pair of ox shoes is attached to the near left
column
A hoof trimming crush, also called a hoof trimming chute
or hoof trimming stalls,[12] is a crush specifically de-
signed for the task of hoof trimming on cattle. Such
crushes range from simple standing frameworks to high-
ly complex fixed or portable devices where much or all of
the process is mechanised.
History
Many cattle producers managed herds with nothing
more than a race (alley) and a headgate (or a rope) until
tagging requirements and disease control necessitated
the installation of crushes.[13][14]
In the past the principal use of the crush, in England
• Roofed ox shoeing crush of three-column
also known as a trevis,[15] was for the shoeing of oxen.
construction in Pievasciata, Castelnuovo Berardenga,
Crushes were, and in places still are, used for this purpose
Siena, Italy
in North America and in many European countries. They
were usually stand-alone constructions of heavy timbers
or stone columns and beams. Some were simple, without
a head bail or yoke, while others had more sophisticated
restraints and mechanisms; a common feature is a belly
sling which allows the animal to be partly or wholly
raised from the ground. In Spain, the crush was a village
community resource and is called potro de herrar, or
"shoeing frame". In France it is called travail à ferrer (plur-
al travails, not travaux) or "shoeing trevis", and was asso-
ciated with blacksmith shops.[citation needed] Although the
word travail derives from Latin tripalium, "three beams",
all surviving examples but that at Roissard have four
columns.[citation needed] In central Italy it is called a
travaglio,[16] but in Sardinia is referred to as Sardinian: sa • In Villar de Corneja (Ávila), Spain, the community
macchina po ferrai is boisi, or "the machine for shoeing the potro de herrar includes a piece of the yoke used to
oxen".[17] In the United States it was called an ox sling, limit movement of the animal’s head.
an ox press or shoeing stalls.[18][19][20] In some countries, • In Navamorales (Salamanca), Spain, the community
including the Netherlands[21] and France, horses were potro de herrar has a stone belly block to further limit
commonly shod in the same structures. In the United the animal’s freedom of movement.
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cattle crush
• Historic French travail
• A Klauenstand in a living history museum in
de:Neuhausen ob Eck (Baden-Wuerttemberg,
Germany).
• A travail in Saint-Sulpice-de-Cognac (Charente),
France.
References
[1] Cattle handling equipment
[2] SWEEPS & ALLEYS
[3] Cattle Crush Steel Retrieved on 4 January 2010
[4] ^ Doyle, Philip W., Beef Cattle Yards, NSW Dept. of
Agriculture, 1979
[5] CHUTES and ACCESSORIES Retrieved on 16 April
2009
[6] Conveyor Restrainer Retrieved on 4 September
2008
[7] Beattie, William A. (1990). Beef Cattle Breeding &
Management. Popular Books, Frenchs Forest.
ISBN 0-7301-0040-5.
• A French travail is in the background, between
[8] The "Livestock Controller" crush, designed to
buildings, of this 1905 blacksmithy.
prevent kicking
• Illustration in a 1925 book from France.
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cattle crush
[9] "Arthroscopic removal of dorsoproximal chip explore_learn/
fractures of the proximal phalanx in standing document_viewer.php?Action=View&DocID=899.
horses". Vet Surg 31 (3): 195–200. 2002. Retrieved May 2011.
PMID 11994846. [19] Wet Dry Routes Chapter Newlsletter 4 (4). 1997.
[10] "Surgical technique to repair grade IV rectal tears http://www.santafetrailresearch.com/wet/
in post-parturient mares". Vet Surg 37 (4): 345–9. vol-06-no-4.html. Retrieved May 2011.
June 2008. doi:10.1111/j.1532-950X.2008.00387.x. [20] Wet Dry Routes Chapter Newlsletter 6 (4). 1999.
PMID 18564258. http://www.santafetrailresearch.com/wet/
[11] "Changes in central venous pressure and blood vol-06-no-4.html. Retrieved May 2011.
lactate concentration in response to acute blood [21] "A Dutch Horseshoeing Cage". Popular Mechanics:
loss in horses". J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 229 (9): 242. July 1912. ISSN 0032-4558.
1458–62. November 2006. doi:10.2460/ http://books.google.com/
javma.229.9.1458. PMID 17078809. books?id=_90DAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA102&dq=dutch+horseshoein
[12] "Appleton Steel - Hydraulic Elevator Cow Hoof [22] Bowers, Steve (Winter 2003–2004). "Draft Horse
Trimming Chutes, Hoof Trimming Crush, Hoof Shoeing... An Owner’s Manual". Draft Horse Journal
Trimming Stall, Foot Trimming". Appleton Steel. 40 (4). http://gandfcarriages.com/shoeing.htm.
http://www.appletonsteel.com/dairy.html. Retrieved May 2011.
Retrieved May 2011. [23] Beck, Doug (Summer 1998). "Building a Shoeing
[13] Squeeze chutes Retrieved on 12 November 2008 Stock". The Small Farmer’s Journal.
[14] Warwick Cattle Crush Retrieved on 12 November http://www.horseshoes.com/advice/
2008 shoeingstock/shoeingstock.htm. Retrieved May
[15] Watts, Martin (1999). Working oxen. Princes 2011.
Risborough: Shire. ISBN 074780415X.
http://books.google.com/books?id=u86yjr-J-
External links
hAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
[16] Tacchini, Alvaro. "La ferratura dei buoi" (in Media related to Cattle crushes at Wikimedia Com-
Italian). http://wwwstoriatifernate.it/ mons
pubblicazioni.php?&id=578. Retrieved May 2011. • Beef cattle yards for less than 100 head (5th ed)
"The shoeing of the oxen" • Circular cattle yard - 250 head capacity (2nd ed)
[17] "Tradizioni - Serramanna" (in Italian, Sardinian). • British supply company sales page, illustrating
http://www.serramanna.altervista.org/ various types of crush
tradizioni.htm. Retrieved May 2011. "Serramanna: • Australian supply company illustrating further types
traditions" • Australian company illustrating cattle crushes using
[18] Baker, Andrew (1989). "Well Trained to the Yoke: doubly symmetric steel tubing
Working Oxen on the Village’s Historical Farms".
Old Sturbridge Village. http://www.osv.org/
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cattle_crush&oldid=471062194"
Categories:
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• Buildings and structures used to confine animals
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