TJ Gormally has been in the sheep equipment business for the past 30 years, trading under Cormac Sheep equipment. He installed a Cormac custom-made sheep handling unit on his own farm in Brownsgrove, Co Galway.

Recently retired from the business, he has now more time to focus on his pedigree Beltex flock. He designed the unit so that he could manage the flock by himself, carrying out everyday work like dosing and foot-bathing without help.

TJ said that with the handling unit, he can run 200 ewes through the foot bath in just under 11 minutes. The unit can be taken apart and moved easily if needed, to change location or to make customised changes, such as adding extra features or accessories.

TJ said that demand for the handling unit has risen dramatically due to the equipment being included under the TAMS II scheme. More than 150 handling units have been sold since January. The unit is galvanised to help prolong its lifespan.

Picture 1

TJ’s handling unit was customised to best suit his own setup, with the entire unit being 30ft long, including the forcing pen and the 20ft race. The unit also includes two pens for drafted sheep.

Loading of sheep can be done at the end or beginning of the race with a sliding gate located in the holding pen, where sheep can also be loaded or unloaded.

TJ also placed sheep slats along the floor of the race, helping to keep underfoot conditions hygienic, as well as raising sheep to waist height, making tasks such as tagging easier for the handler.

Picture 2

Ewes run from the shed into the custommade holding pen. Here, they are funnelled into the race using a forcing pen with a 180° pivot gate on a wheel.

This forcing pen is height-adjusted to limit the ewe’s view, enticing her to run up the race.

Picture 3

TJ opted for a batch foot bath to run parallel to the main race. Ewes can be easily move from the forcing pen through to the foot bath in numbers.

He runs ewes through the foot bath three to four times a year. Because of this, his sheep have little or no hoof problems. Standard handling races can be easily fitted with a removable roll-over crate.

However, TJ said he would have little use for this addition thanks to his batch foot bath.

Picture 4

Non-return gates are located throughout the race.

Once the ewe enters the race, spring-hinged non-return gates stop the ewe from backing out of the race, while also stopping the rest of the sheep from entering.

Pictures 5 and 6

Although the standard race comes with a two-way dividing gate, TJ opted for a four-way sorting gate at the end of the race.

This sorting gate is easily controlled and gauged by two handles located on either side, allowing the handler to release sheep as he sees fit into the appropriate drafting pen.

Guillotine gates are located at the start and end of the race, operated by a rope running along the top. This allows more sheep to enter the race as others exit.

Costs

TJ customised his handling unit to best suit his setup. The standard 20ft race, including non-return gates and guillotine gates, costs €1,225, with the added batch foot bath costing €795, the four-way dividing gate costing €360 and the forcing pen coming in at €1,050 (all including VAT). In this situation, drafting pens were made against a walled area, using 8ft sliding gates priced at €165. The holding area also contained a sliding gate, with the remainder of the pen being made using penning gates (also used for lambing). These penning gates come with pins and joiners and can be made to suit different setups ranging in size from 4ft at €35 to 10ft at €69. A rollover crate can easily be fitted into the race by simply removing one of the galvanised panels at a cost of €786 including VAT.

Read more articles from our Livestock Handling focus here.