Portable Backscratcher For Cows

Portable Backscratcher For Cows LIVESTOCK Beef When his cattle started messing up the doors and walls of his new barn by rubbing on them Tyler Hayes needed to find an alternative for them He designed a backscratcher that he could move with the cows to keep them satisfied while protecting his facilities and fences The scratcher is a recycled tractor tire chain The idea was to have a scratcher you could put where you want he says I built it on a steel plate base To use it they have to stand on it Their own weight keeps them from being able to knock it over Hayes used a 48 by 60-in checkered plate for the base The rough surface provides good footing He centered two 1/2 by 4-in long flat bars at either end of the plate and welded them in place He then welded the ends of a 160-in length of tire chain to the steel bars to get the spread he wanted I picked up the middle of the chain with a skid steer and used two 63-in lengths of 1/2-in pipe for uprights and a 48-in piece of pipe between them to make an arch under the chain says Hayes Hayes welded the pipes to the checkered plate and then welded the chains to the top of the arch He also welded the chain together near the base to keep cattle from getting their feet stuck in it It didn t cost much but it works great says Hayes I used mostly scrap steel from our farm machinery manufacturing business Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tyler Hayes TLMH River Side Farms RR 2 Lion s Head Ont Canada N0H 1W0 ph 226 6687-4348; tyler-haze@hotmail com

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