My farm, as with every other farm with livestock on it, involves a lot of transportation of cattle, pigs and sheep from the farm to the market or the abattoir. Since there has been a heightened focus upon animal welfare and a tightening of EU transportation regulations, it is important to manage the standard and method of transporting livestock.
The introduction of livestock trailers has made life much easier when moving animals around, rather than having to herd them down country roads like in the old days, you can use a sheep trailer to safely and effectively transport your sheep herd. However, the introduction of trailers has not solved all problems in transporting livestock. With it there are a number of animal rights laws that must be adhered to such as good ventilation, heat management, a strong tow bar and a spacious interior.
The size of the trailers depends on the type of animal you intend to transport from the farm. For example cattle trailers will have to be much larger in all dimensions and also have a strong axel to support the huge weight of the cows. The extra weight means that a strong lockable coupling head is required to attach to the tow bar so as to ensure safety when pulling it along.
A feature I have found most useful with my pig trailer is the inclusion of a fold away ramp gate, which allows easy access for a number of pigs into the trailer. This is a safe method of loading livestock into the trailer, and the gates either side of the ramp create a nice wide channel for the animals to follow up and inside.
It is important to use a high quality livestock trailer when transporting your animals around. Available on the internet are also quite a few second hand trailers that are still in very good shape. Investing in a modern livestock trailer has made my job much easier, and also meant that the journey of the animals are a lot less stressful!