Tag: Cattle Corral

User Friendly Portable Corrals

Posted on by Twin Rivers Media

By Jessica Graham
When I was in college, my parents left to celebrate their anniversary. I was keeping an eye on their cattle for them, everything should be ok, but I was checking them. I saw one of my dad’s red heifers and the front hoofs of the calf were sticking out of her. I continued to check the rest of the cattle and heifers and then came back to her in about 30 minutes. I grew concerned when there was no progress – absolutely none at all. When things go wrong during calving, you start to think about all the things that could make it go better.

Expanded Versatility
In this case, having a set of portable corrals would have saved a lot of time and stress, on myself, the cow, and the calf. Portable corrals significantly improve efficiency and safety on the farm or ranch, especially during calving season. Their quick assembly and flexibility allow livestock to be handled where they are grazing, saving time and reducing the need to move animals over long distances. You can bring the corrals to the cattle and modify them to get the setup you need.
Since they are so customizable and versatile, they make it possible to do things like sorting, vaccinating, branding, or loading. The mobile and versatile gates and panels reduce stress on animals and minimize risks of injury to handlers. Heather Dallas, Sales & Marketing Specialist at Rawhide Portable Corral Inc. in Hutchinson, Kansas, elaborates on the usefulness to cattlemen. She says, “With the limited labor force today, our corrals allow 1 person to set them up in a short period of time.  We have had customers say they have caught and loaded out five pastures in one day.  That is pretty efficient”.
During calving season, portable corrals are invaluable for isolating cows and newborn calves when you need to. Portable corrals eliminate the need for permanent infrastructure. They’re adaptable and are an indispensable tool for livestock.

Considerations to Keep in Mind
Portable corrals have become indispensable tools for cattlemen, offering flexibility, efficiency, and enhanced safety in livestock management. When selecting a portable corral system, it’s crucial to make sure it meets the specific needs of your operation. The biggest advantage of portable corrals is their mobility, replacing the need for permanent infrastructure. This mobility is particularly beneficial for cattlemen managing herds across multiple locations and for renters renting pasture ground miles away from your primary facilities. A well-designed portable corral enhances cattle flow, reduces stress during handling, and increases overall operational efficiency.
When it comes to features, there are a plethora of options that are customizable to fit your needs. One notable feature in advanced portable corrals is the inclusion of a Bud Box and double alley system. The Bud Box, a small rectangular pen, encourages cattle to move into the alley, leveraging their natural behavior to facilitate handling. The double alley allows for faster processing and can be converted into a single alley with a cattle-free zone using a locking swing gate. This makes your setup even more flexible.
Without a doubt, the construction of portable corrals is vital. They have to be strong enough to withstand cattle pushing on them. Steel is often used. It’s essential to consider the spacing of bars on panels along with height and ground clearance. If panels are too high off the ground, or if cattle see gaps, they’ll eventually test the gaps.
Dallas reiterates the importance of the strength of portable corrals, “We use a 3″ square tube, 1/4″ thick on the main frame (which serves as the trailer, the rack for the panels, and the alley in the Processor). This is thicker than any corral that has come after us.  John has always required that our corrals be strong, durable, and can withstand anything the cattle may do to it.  He started Rawhide almost 23 years ago and it was tested with bucking bulls and rodeo livestock.  Even the cows raising our bulls put the corral to the ultimate test.  They never got out and never bent anything.”
When it comes to the transportation and mobility of the corrals, there are some different options. You should ensure the corral can be easily hitched to standard vehicles used on the ranch, whether that is your UTV, chore truck, or tractor. Features like an extended fifth-wheel tow hitch can give you even more clearance and maneuverability during transport. You might look into options and features like wheels. Many portable corrals feature solid rubber wheels, which offer the advantage of being maintenance-free since they cannot go flat. This design ensures that the corral remains operational without the downtime associated with repairing or replacing pneumatic tires. However, some users have noted that if the wheels do not swivel, it can make maneuvering the corral a little more challenging.
Hydraulic systems in portable corrals can cut down on the labor needed. These are helpful when it comes to setting up and tearing down by yourself. Hydraulic jacks can lift and lower the corral effortlessly, simplifying the setup and teardown processes. Hydraulic systems can also be used to operate gates and panels. If your model doesn’t have hydraulic systems, they probably have swing-out panels with a winch system to help with set-up and tear-down. You should think about the amount of labor and help you will have available, or if you will be setting up and tearing down by yourself.
Depending on what you need your portable corrals to do, you might look at alleyways and the design. A well-designed alleyway facilitates smooth cattle movement, reduces stress, and minimizes the risk of injury to both animals and handlers. Some incorporate a double alley system and offer several advantages. It can speed up moving by enabling two animals to move side by side and can be easily converted to a single alley with a cattle-free zone using a locking swing gate. This flexibility enables handlers to adapt the system based on the specific requirements of different cattle groups or handling procedures.

Drawbacks to Portable Corrals
When it comes to portable corrals, probably the biggest obstacle to overcome for cattlemen is the initial cost of the systems. You want to buy a well-built system that you only have to buy once, so look at it as an investment and consider the labor reduction and the increased abilities you will have with the portable system. This should be considered in your choice.
Additionally, remember this is a piece of equipment that cattle will put to the test. They are going to push on the panels, they will try and get out. This might mean some wear and tear on the equipment. Also, if you have hydraulic options, hydraulic couplers can eventually leak over time. This goes for about any equipment. Electric systems need a battery and if the battery goes dead, you can’t raise or lower the systems. There are some solar options though to help prevent this, like solar battery options. Also, if your wheels aren’t solid rubber, then they may get a leak and could get weather-checked over time. Like with any equipment, there can be some basic maintenance that goes along with corrals.
Another consideration should be your environment. The panels will get mud caked on it sometimes, and that adds extra weight and can make the set-up and tear-down process a little slower. It can also add extra weight when you’re towing the systems.
When it comes to purchasing a portable corral, there are a lot of options to consider. You want it to fit your cattle and your needs. The initial investment can seem expensive, but as one cattleman said to me once, “It’s one of those things you buy once and don’t look back”, as he uses his all the time and it is a necessity on his farm.
As Dallas says, “Producers want a quality product that is versatile and will last generations. We build these corrals right and we stand behind them and pride ourselves on our customer service.  We want to make sure these corrals are getting the job done for you and will do anything we can for our customers. Even if your corral is 2 years old or 22 years old.”
Investing in a portable corral system offers a flexible and efficient solution so you can work and manage cattle. By carefully considering key features such as construction materials, hydraulic capabilities, alleyway design, and portability options, you can purchase the right portable corral for your cattle and your needs.

A Longstanding Impact

Posted on by Twin Rivers Media

A Longstanding Impact

By Maura Keller

When life gets going pretty fast, you kind of forget some of the little things that led to where you are.” – John McDonald, founder of Rawhide Portable Corrals.

The longstanding history of Rawhide Portable Corrals and the impact John McDonald’s invention and ingenuity has had on the cattle industry is profound. Nearly 25 years ago, McDonald developed of the first portable hydraulic corral on wheels, with multiple pens and 200-head capacity. Fast forward to today, and McDonald is still going strong – developing new, innovative products that help producers do their jobs more efficiently, effectively, and more safely.

Throughout the years since his original invention, McDonald’s portable corral has captured the attention of many throughout the cattle industry, especially as Rawhide has evolved to offer multiple corrals and additional unique product features that have earned the company a solid reputation in the industry.

“I got my initial ideas about a portable corral when I was doing equipment setups for the televised bull ridings,” McDonald says. “I have been a cowboy all my life. I started getting on things that bucked when I was four years old and continued to be around rodeo through my adult years, learning from the best. For not growing up on a cattle operation, I guess I just have some kind of an innate knack for how cattle and livestock work through equipment.”

When McDonald would help with the televised bull riding setups he became familiar with what was needed, constantly looking at things for safety and speed and to make the flow of cattle work well.

“I was around a lot of good rodeos, good stock contractors, good setups and I think my mind took note on all those places and things that I was around,” McDonald says. “I was in Chicago, setting up at Rosemount Horizon for bull riding. We had 80 bulls being brought in that I had to see that they were housed and didn’t get away in the center of a city. There was not one saddle horse around, because the promoters in the early days didn’t want to spend the money to have a saddle horse. They figured, you know, it’s a bull ridings in a small arena, we don’t need to rope anything. So I think the concern in my mind for safety and to keep something jailed, so to speak, made me think about the concept of a portable corral and work at it a little bit harder.”

When McDonald first brought his portable hydraulic corral to fruition, there was only one similar product on the market. McDonald honed his initial design to have standout features that incorporated insights from cattlemen and producers in the industry – those who have a first-hand understanding of the features needed that would make their jobs easier and safer. Throughout the years McDonald has embraced the continuous improvement process to refine the Rawhide Portable Corral into a product that new generations of cattle producers have come to expect.

“I was so excited when I invented Rawhide and I developed something that one person could do, that one person could set up in 10 minutes to catch hundreds of cattle,” McDonald says. “And unfortunately, because the one that existed before me, the only one, it was hard for me to get all the patents that I wanted, because it was considered prior art. I managed to not infringe. But because it was prior art, it makes it hard to get patents.

Today, there are about 10 portable corrals on wheels in the United States, and they’re all my design. What I continue to do, though, is I’m constantly covering all aspects of it for safety and for the animals to stay housed. I’ve had sleepless nights over this invention, constantly trying to make it better.”

It is McDonald’s continuous innovation that captures the attention of those in the cattle industry. Not only has Rawhide changed the cattle industry for the better – by providing a streamlined means for capturing and containing cattle, but it has helped keep animals and cattle producers safer along the way.

Today, Rawhide Portable Corral customers can choose from a series of different models, including the Classic, the Processor, and the Rancho Deluxe. While the chosen size will depend on the number of cattle being managed, each of these systems boast a hydraulic jack, self-contained power unit and battery with a solar charger, and the ability for the entire system to be driven through with a bale or cube feeder. In addition, the corral system can be pulled at the speed limit, thanks to McDonald developing an innovative torsion suspension.

“Other than stock trailers that people haul their cattle with, I’ve got the only piece of livestock equipment that you can pull down the highway that actually has a patented torsion suspension,” McDonald says. “Most livestock equipment just have axles on them because people are not traveling very far. But Rawhide has customers that have cattle in three different states, and I felt the need for a solid suspension system. I learned, after several years of building this, that folks were driving up and down the highway with my product, and there was some fatigue on the axles – not just on the highway, but customers were driving way too fast in their pastures. So I invented this patented torsion suspension axle.”

That’s also one of the reasons McDonald continues to make Rawhide Portable Corrals better – continuous improvement and operational safety and security is truly the “name of the game” at Rawhide.

“Throughout the years we have seen the competitors cheapen up their models and create bad news for our product, so we have to flood Rawhide’s market with good news about new revelations and new designs,” McDonald says. “I take care of my customers from coast to coast and in Canada. I’m in the livestock equipment industry, and there are not that many of us and we have our fraternity of folks that do this. Nearly everyone on the planet has a refrigerator and a washing machine, but not everyone has a portable corral. So I take it more personally, and I try to work at it more deliberately to provide products that enhance our way of life.”

In addition to Rawhide’s portable corral systems, McDonald has also developed a portable Windbreak, which can withstand 50+ mph winds and also has a built-in loafing shed and calving pen option. The portable, foldable, windbreak is on wheels and, like the Rawhide Portable Corral, can be set up by one person.

In designing the new portable windbreak system, McDonald was striving to develop a solution that would protect animals from extreme weather conditions, resulting in less cold stress and less heat stress on livestock.

“I’ve done my due diligence to try to cover as much as possible with this windbreak, just like I did the corral,” McDonald says. “Besides the fact that it’s that long of a windbreak that’s braced, I have a roof on it, on the center where the mainframe is that serves as the trailer. So you can hydraulically, with the press of a button, raise the roof, and you have an 18×24 foot-long lean to that calves can get under in bad conditions as well.”
As history has proven, McDonald’s continuous vision for improvement of his products, as well as developing new innovations to enhance the cattle industry, is never-ceasing.

“I do have some things that I’m going to do in the future, including enhancing the framework of Rawhide a little bit more,” McDonald says. “I’ve built thousands of corrals, and I have had hundreds of people tell me that this made the difference in whether they stayed in or got out of the cattle business. They might not have a thousand head of cattle, but they’ve got 200 head of cattle and they don’t feel like they can afford to hire a full-time guy to help them with their cattle. So they still do everything. I get that from folks all the time – ‘We were going to get out of the cattle business if it wasn’t for your portable corral and we don’t know what we’d do without it now.’ I’m really flattered when I hear that, as that was my intention from the beginning.”

You Need a Portable Cattle Corral. Here’s 4 Reasons Why.

Posted on by Twin Rivers Media

You Need a Portable Cattle Corral. Here’s 4 Reasons Why.

Article and photos courtesy of Arrowquip

Every rancher knows the struggle of having to work cattle while they’re away at pasture. Some may have permanent pens built, but there’s no guarantee the cattle will be near it when you need them. This might mean you need to chase the cattle to the pens – which can be quite the hassle, especially when you’re in open pasture.

This is where a portable cattle corral comes in. It has been one of the most impactful innovations for ranchers everywhere and has revolutionized how ranchers manage their herds through flexibility, efficiency, and enhanced safety. If you struggle with any of these, then maybe it’s time you consider investing in a portable corral.

1. Freedom To Go Wherever Your Cattle Are 

As the name suggests, one of the standout features of a portable cattle corral is the mobility. Unlike your traditional stationary handling system, a portable corral can be brought with you no matter where your cattle are located to easily adapt to your needs and allow for a simpler handling experience. If you’re a rancher who follows a rotational grazing structure, or you have cattle in multiple locations, then a portable handling system is essential to increase efficiency on your operation.

Along with it’s portability, some portable cattle corrals also offer the option to tow additional equipment such as cattle chutes or loading ramps. The ability to tow a cattle chute can be especially helpful if you need to treat your cattle while away at pasture, while the addition of a loading chute can be helpful if you’re catching cattle to load them up and move them home or to a different pasture.

2. Streamlined Cattle Management

Running a cattle operation can be time consuming, so it’s key to find ways to help streamline the process and give you your time back. Imagine being able to hold, sort, and treat your cattle no matter where they are. This dream can easily become a reality with a portable cattle corral.

A portable corral often comes with the ability to create two large fold-out corral pens that allow you to hold a significant amount of cattle. Some models also offer the option to carry additional cattle panels so you can create additional pens to create a set-up that works for your specific needs. Along with this, portable corrals come with a built-in cattle alley so you can sort your cattle more easily with some even offering a double cattle alley to help add extra safety and efficiency.

If you’re looking for an even more streamlined process, some cattle equipment companies have portable corrals with a built-in cattle chute, so you no longer need to worry about towing multiple pieces of equipment to your desired location. This will give you a true all-in-one, easy to use solution for working your cattle. 

3. Long-Term Savings

Investing in a portable cattle corral can also lead to significant cost savings – especially if you have large herds of cattle in multiple locations. Some ranchers will have multiple permanent set-ups throughout different locations, which can be costly, from initial set-up to continuous up-keep. With a portable corral, the need for multiple setups is eliminated, and costs are almost immediately reduced.

Additionally, if you choose to work with a company that provides extensive warranty and industry-leading Client Care, you can save yourself both time and money. It’s important to consider purchasing from a company that won’t forget about you as soon as you make the sale. Looking at companies that provide top of the line warranty (even on the smaller parts such as locking mechanisms) will ensure that your investment is protected for years to come and minimizes the risk of unexpected repair costs.

4. Quick, Hassle-Free Set-Up

As mentioned, the flexibility of being able to bring your equipment is a compelling reason to invest in a portable corral, but one of the most appealing aspects is the quick, hassle-free set up. Most corrals are designed to be set up by one or two people in as little time possible.

When considering the features of a portable cattle corral that is easy to set up, consider looking for features such as fold-out panels on airless tires paired with a winch system and a hydraulic jacking system. These features combined will make setting up and taking down your corral easier and safer than ever.

It’s no secret that investing in a portable cattle corral is a big investment up front, but it’s clear that it stands out as a beneficial tool to use on your operation. By streamlining your process and improving safety and efficiency for you and your cattle, you can’t go wrong with a portable cattle corral.

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