Livestock Panel Best Buy

Livestock Panel Best Buy Sandra Kay Miller, Mt. Holly Springs, Pa.: “Livestock panels are a best buy for me. I use them for everything. They’re one of the best tools there are for a small farmer. All you need is a bolt cutter to cut a panel down to the size you need. “I used to do classes on how to use them to make hoop coops and quarantine pens, all sorts of things for poultry. “I’ve used them to make greenhouses and trellises. They’re great for supporting tomatoes, pole beans, peas and gourds. Just pound in two T-posts and attach a panel. “They make great portable gates. With my 16-ft. wide lanes, it’s easy to grab a panel and use it in the lane to catch an animal. Just connect one end to a gate post, and you have an instant holding/catch pen or even a squeeze chute. I keep four 3-ft. lengths of 5/16-in. chain with interlocking spring snaps handy for such purposes. “I also use them to reinforce larger gates so lambs and goats can’t get through. I spot-weld them in place or just zip-tie them to make a gate escape-proof. “They’re great for making lambing tubs as well. Just use four 16-ft., 34-in. hog panels to make a square, with one to bisect it. Cut a panel in half and use it to make four 4 by 4-ft. pens. “The 34-in. hog panels with their smaller holes work well for my goats, too. However, I do have to keep a bolt cutter handy as they tend to get their horns caught. “When I didn’t have a bale spike, I used cattle panels with big, round bales. I would roll a bale on and drag it where I needed it, roll it off and wrap the panel around it as a bale feeder. “Livestock handling equipment doesn’t have to be expensive. With livestock panels, you can put them where they’re needed, then use them for something else entirely.”

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