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CORRALS and BUILDINGS
CORRALS AND BUILDINGS ARE A VERY IMPORTANT ASSETS
 Corrals and handling facilties are necessary if you intend to raise cattle, swine, or sheep. Even horses need corrals. Since all livestock owners will need vaccinate or doctor the animals, it will be neccesary to have some sort of device for holding the animals to prevent harm to the handler or even the livestock. Horse owners may be considered lucky since the horse will tend to stand for vaccinations or bandaging wounds. However even horses will need to be constrained for some operations.
There are all types of cattle, sheep, or swine chutes availible for purchase from farm and ranch supply stores. You can spend from $500 for a used head catch that is attached to a couple of stout posts at the end of an ally or if you prefer, you can spend $10,000 for a hydraulic chute that can handle 40 to 50 cows per hour. All chutes seem to have their share of moving parts which can be dangerous to the operator. Care should be taken and anyone working around these instruments should be well trained in the operation. Typically the fewer the people the better when working with cattle holding chutes.
Corrals should be designed for the safe handling of cattle with the least stress as possible to the livestock owner and the livestock. In the cattle corral design world, Dr. Temple Grandin has spent years studying cattle behavior. A link for her web page is found on the right navigation bar on this web page. Before you build a corral I would encourage you to look at many designs including those of your neighbors. The number of animals you intend to own will also make a determination in the size of your corral system.
Montana State University Extension does not advocate any of the barn suppliers listed, but instead has chosen a few from Internet searches that show a variety of kinds, shapes, sizes and appearances of barns and sheds.
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