ATV-Mounted Calf Scale

ATV-Mounted Calf Scale ATV'S ATV'S 28-1-18 Terry Toma's 300 cc 4-wheeler is outfitted to make her life a lot easier during calving season, thanks to a digital scale for tagging, weighing and processing calves. As calving boss on a large ranch, Toma spring calves 300 cows near Cochrane, Alberta. She came up with the concept for the scale and Manfred Fuerbringer designed and built it. The scale consists of a load cell on the base of a calf tub that sends information to a digital readout. The sheet metal tub and digital scale head are supported by a custom made L-shaped frame, made from 1-in. square tubing, and fastened to the ATV's front frame rack, where a winch would otherwise be attached. "The cradle does not move up and down on the frame. It sits on the frame and it's removable if you need to get to the load cell," says Toma. "If it's a wet spring and I'm pushing a lot of snow, sometimes the load cell will get wet and that affects the readout. We've just replaced the old cell with a newer model that is much more waterproof." Two square tube sleeves that are welded to the tub keep it in place, but allow it movement so that you can get an accurate weight. The tub is about 36 in. long and roughly 24 in. high at the back. The flat backstop has a 3/8-in. pipe welded along the top edge for reinforcement. There is a drop-down panel on the front of the tub that helps keep a struggling calf in position to work on. Toma says the scale's frame must be strong enough to withstand the bumps it endures on rough pasture terrain. Toma drives her quad right up to a newborn, opens the tub door, lifts the calf into the tub on its back, with its feet pointing up, and then shuts the tub door. The calf almost always lays still, she says. Then she records the weight, tags them, drops the door and lifts them out, and she's done. When the need arises, Toma can use the unit as a calf carrier, transporting an animal to the calving barn for additional attention. She says, because the cows are familiar with her quad, they follow along behind easily. According to the cattlewoman, using an ATV for processing calves is also a safety feature because the vehicle serves as a protective shield, should any cow become aggressive. The digital scale and 12-volt digital scale and load cell were purchased from Reliable Scale in Calgary, Alberta, for about $1,400, which accounted for the majority of the unit's building cost, according to Toma. CL Ranches builds and sells the units one at a time for a negotiated price. They build two other versions of the calf scale. One mounts on the side of a flatdeck truck and folds back up onto the deck when not in use. The other mounts on a truck's bumper. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, CL Ranches, Ryan Copithorne/Manfred Fuerbringer, CL Ranches, 45001 Twnshp Rd. 244, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T3Z 2N2 (email: ryan.copithorne@clranches.com; website: www.clranches.com).

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