say if i put cattle in a cooler (finally under construction (thumbsup) ) and the power goes out and i and everbody elese is away, what can i do to keep them from suffocating ? or will they suffocate?
id rather not put 350 bucks into a door, my dads an electrician, he could probably make something like that.... and the event that im not home will be very unlikely
Most people around here just hang the strips of plastic, like they use in some of the coolers at meat lockers (right inside the door) seals it up pretty good, but the calves can walk right through them. If it is 90 outside and 60 in the cooler, most calves will make the right decision on their own, however if it gets to be uncomfortable in there, they will walk right out.
If your dad can make it cheaper, that's great. But a $350 door latch sounds pretty darn cheap compared to a couple or three or four dead show calves. I've known of too many calves dieing in cool rooms that lost power or a/c - if it's air tight, or even close, you've just got to have some kind of emergency ventilation.
We use an electromagnetic latch on our cool room, it will withstand 3500 lbs. of pressure against the door without opening. We attach a simple rubber bungee cord to the handle on the outside of the door, and attach it to an opposing fence. If power is lost the cord will pull the door open and allow fresh air inside, as stated above worth every penny.
I would suggest you consider some type of thermostat "paging device". I've heard of these that trigger and send a page when the temperature gets up too high. Not sure of the logistics required, but you might check with an electronics place. JB
The old rule of thumb is when the cattle are in the cooler somebody stays home. You can leave to go get lunch or do something quick but don't be gone long as it doesn't take long for the temps to rise in a cooler when its off mainly because of the body heat the cattle are giving off.