Sweep & Corral Systems For Sale

About Livestock Sweep & Corral Systems

The Livestock Sweep and Corral Systems category contains everything from temporary horse corrals to permanent working pens and alleys for cattle, sheep, and other animals.

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Priefert SS-1 Sweep

Types & Components

Travel corrals composed of portable horse panels are usually simple holding pens. They’re designed to easily set up and fold down for transport in a trailer. They can also be used as calving pens, quarantine containment for new animals, or hospital pens for sick livestock.

Working pens such as sweeps and tubs not only confine a number of cattle, sheep, or other animals, but also act to funnel them into a working chute or alley for herd management purposes. Sweeps have swinging gates to reduce the size of the holding area, which directs cattle into a crowding pen and then into the chute or alley. Sweeps are described in degrees of a circle, as in 90 degrees for a quarter-circle and 180 degrees for a semi-circle sweep. Most corrals and sweeps are easy to expand for greater capacity using additional panels and gates from the same manufacturer.

In The Chute

The alley should be just wide enough for livestock to proceed in single file. The chute’s width should be adjustable to accommodate calves and other young animals as well as mature adults without giving them enough room to turn around in the alley. Block gates, alley stops, and other mechanisms are used to prevent cattle from moving forward or backward in the chute.

A squeeze chute, mechanical or hydraulic headgate or neck restraint, and/or palpation cage in the alley can immobilize the animal for inoculation/vaccination, pregnancy checking, artificial insemination, dehorning, or castration. Real Tuff’s headgate features a “brisket bar” under the animal’s chest so it cannot kneel down.

A preg panel offers access to a pregnant cow, while a walk-in gate lets a ranch hand step in behind an immobilized animal for AI and other procedures. A cutting gate or side exit in the middle of the alley can be used to sort out animals or as an emergency gate for a worker to escape the pen or to enter it to help a fallen animal. A tilt table can make calves easier to work.

Features & Options

A sheeted sweep or solid sweep has panels along its sides to keep the cattle from seeing things through the bars that might make them balk. Systems without such panels are called “open-sided” or “open sweeps.” A catwalk or elevated walkway along the alley or the side of the tub can make it easier to access the animals. A scale in the alley can determine each animal’s weight.

For safety, pens, sweeps, and alleys should have no sharp edges or features that could injure an animal. Horse corral panels should have no “leg traps” or gaps between them that could ensnare a lower leg.

Before buying corral or sweep components, it’s important to determine how easy it is to set up or tear down, especially for one person. A winch and an electric and/or hydraulic jack can make setup easier. Note whether the cattle working system has any small parts that could easily be lost. During operation, gates that can be latched with one hand allow workers to carry a prod or show stick in the other.

Finally, a powder-coat finish or premium paint can keep livestock equipment rust-free and prevent fading for years to come.

Find The Right Livestock Sweep & Corral Systems

Look for new and used livestock sweep and corral systems for sale under the Livestock Equipment category on Tractorhouse.com.