Tips on building new wash rack

[shortii]

I am building a new wash rack at my house, so far all I have done was poured some 4 foot cement walls and will be building off of them to enclose it. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas or things that they have or wish they have added to their wash racks for any added convenience?

 

[rackranch]

Concrete in post to tie your calves between to keep them from swinging around.  Don't forget a nice drain that can be easily cleaned.

 

[obie105]

My friend had posts in there to keep calves from swinging around. It seems like a few times not being allowed to move the will stand strait anywhere. I wish I had them now. I have been fighting a heifer for a year now over trying to stand still.

 

[Cyfarmer]

No doubt about the posts in the ground. You won't regret it. But make them removeable. we put 2" pipe in the concrete when we poured our concrete and made it flush with the top of the concrete, then took pipe that just fit inside tight to make the post. We then put PVC pipe with a cap over the steel pipe to prevent any rust on the calves. Works awesome.  We put ours  3ft back from the ties, and 3 ft apart. This is a good distance becaust it hits the calf just behind the fromt shoulder, and is close enough to the wall to prevent them from getting to the front.

 

[shortii]

Thanks for the advice everyone, the pipes sound like a great idea. I talked to a guy that used to show cattle and he said that he his hose attached to a arm that pivoted over the top of the cattle kind of like the hoses in a car wash. Does anybody else have that and does it work very well?

 

[ctroidl]

Put some kind of exhaust fan in there, also I would recommend putting the hose behind where the cattle are tied. This is what we do and the hose never gets stepped on!

Definitely get posts to keep the calves from swaying side to side, it saves a ton of time and keep you from getting wet.Good luck.

 

[Cyfarmer]

Haven't hada chance to build an arm for the hose - that is in the plans yet. I will second trhe exhaust fan - we have an 18" fan from a hog building set on a bathroom coundown timer. THe kids are instructed to set the fan for 30 minutes everytime they wash. Helps not only while washing but especially while blowing, as it removes alot of mist in the air from the blowers.