Hydraulic Table Makes Calf Work Easy

Hydraulic Table Makes Calf Work Easy LIVESTOCK Handling 34-2-28 Unable to find a hydraulic working table for calves, John Haldemann did the next best thing. He modified his Thorsen manual table. At age 80, the easy-to-use table makes routine jobs a lot easier. "You could find hydraulic tables for full-size cattle, but not for calves," he says. "Adding hydraulics to the table we had was fairly easy." Initially he had planned to go with an elaborate mechanism of shafts and arms. Instead he opted for a simpler system. All that was needed was a two-way hydraulic valve and a cylinder. Haldemann had both unused from another project. A base of angle iron already extended out at ground level to support the manual drop down of the table. Haldemann reinforced it with more iron and then fitted it with a 2 1/4 by 18-in. cylinder. "The tricky part was to find the right points at the top edge of the table and the base to attach the cylinder," says Haldmann. "After moving it around some, it turned out real slick." Haldemann uses a small tractor to power the cylinder via long hoses he installed. "With a crew of two or three people, we can brand and treat all the calves from our cow herd," he says. "It works great." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Haldemann, 2525 Haldemann Rd., Chinook, Mont. 59523 (ph 406 357-2078).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.