"Lunch Buggy" Sled Hauls Food, Newborns

"Lunch Buggy" Sled Hauls Food, Newborns LIVESTOCK Handling 28-2-32 Keith Schole has always used a plastic calf sled for moving around newborns during calving season, but this year he made a number of changes that make it handier than ever. Using a commercially available sled, he switched from a rope for pulling it, to a rigid 5-ft. hitch made from 1/2-in. rod. It bolts to the sides of the sled. "A rigid hitch is far better than a rope because you can't steer a rope, and when I sometimes hook the sled behind the truck to bring a calf in, I don't have to worry about it sliding under the vehicle when going downhill," he says. "I just throw the handle over the pickup's ball hitch." He raised the sides of the sled 2 in. with pieces of wood and attached three tarp straps to either restrain a newborn calf or secure feed and water that he sometimes transports across the yard to a penned up animal. The S-hook at one end of each tarp strap is pinched closed and held in place with a fencing staple. The other end of each strap can be hooked to a fencing staple on the opposite side of the sled. He can carry three 5-gal. pails of either grain, silage or water, one whole bale of hay, or half a bale of hay and one 5-gal. pail of water. Keith uses pails with lids so no water gets spilled on the way. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Keith Schole, R.R. 1, Pickardville, Alberta, Canada T0G 1W0 (ph 780 349-3538; email: jschole@west-teq.net).

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