DEER YARDS.
by Andy Cowan, Buxton.
Every deer farmer that you visit has a different concept of what constitutes "good" yards. Fortunately for us, deer are fairly forgiving animals and quickly adjust to new situations. However, there are a few basic principles common to most sets of yards.
A major consideration when building your yards is safety - yours and that of the animals. Generally speaking, most yards are designed so that a mob of animals can quickly and efficiently be broken down into small workable lots. The method of doing this depends on the type, mix and age of deer, management skills of the farmer, size of mobs, and facilities available.
Yards are a fairly personal creation. Their initial construction, in a lot of cases, relates to the two fairly common constraints - time and money. If these are two of your concerns, it would be worth designing what you eventually hope to end up with. Initially you should build the minimum you need - the crush and work area. You can then add to this when the resources become available. This also gives you the added flexibility of changing the plan, if necessary, as you become more familiar with the animals. It is a rare deer farmer indeed that has not made improvements to his/her yards!!
Before you design your yards, it is best to know which species of deer you wish to farm. The size difference alone between Fallow and Elk may cause problems although there are one or two yards around that handle both. It may be possible to run more than one species through most yards, but they really should be purpose built.
Most species of deer are curious enough to want to know what is
around the next corner. Many yards have this "flow" idea built into
them so that the animal will be attracted to the next corner. Possibly
the major difference in yard design between the three species
(Fallow, Red and Elk) is the doors. Fallow work well with a door
that slides up and uses light to attract them through it. However,
there are many Fallow farmers now using open sheds that would
previously have only been considered for Red or Elk use. Red may
be similar to Elk, except on a smaller scale. On the other hand, there
are many farmers who use all three species in the same yards.
A versatile animal indeed.
You may read all the books ever written about yard design, building materials, lighting requirements, height of walls and roofs, load out facilities and floor coverings. It is of little use unless you have "hands on" experience. I had visited probably 100 deer yards throughout Australia but I was never given the chance to work in them. A VERY LARGE MISTAKE!! When visiting a farm, always ask the farmer if a mob of deer could be brought into the yards. If possible, get in there with them and see how they move. This will hopefully give you a little confidence and prepare you better for the next farm you visit.
I farm Red deer and the internal yards are roughly 10' x 10' and the height of the walls and doors is about 6'. As the doors overlap, I can create yards within yards when sorting animals. The laneway at the sides gives me an extra option when sorting. Two of the doors off the scales can be controlled away from the scales so that animals can be drafted two ways (three if desperate) without getting near the animal, thus reducing stress and increasing operator safety.
I have not used the drop floor crush for many years. I built a "temporary" squeeze crush ($400) which is less stressful for the stock and it is easier to use than the drop floor crush. The floor of the yards are concrete and there is a spray system which covers the outside holding yards in order to control dust and to cool and quieten the animals down in the summer. It is debatable whether a crush is needed with only breeding females and three or four males. For example, it is possible to pull a fawn from a female just standing in a small yard. On the other hand, a crush is one of the most important tools on a farm that specialises in velvet production. Equally as important to the crush is the entrance, or forcing area, into the crush. This needs a lot of thought and the rest of the yards should be built around this area.
Scales are a must, if only for your own peace of mind. Apart from being a very useful management tool, they are a necessity if you are selling deer on a live weight basis. Even if you sell stock on a Hot Carcass Weight basis, it is important to know the dressing percentages of the stock you have sold.
Mob management in the yards will depend on the capacity of the yards and the size of the mob being brought into the yards. My yards are designed to comfortably work about 100 mature Red hinds. I usually break the mob down in size in the external yard and work with about 50 in the internal yards. If I am bringing in a smaller mob, I can adjust the external gates so that they bypass the external yards and run straight into the internal yards. The animals come inside and run around the "circle". From here, it is easy to sort out workable mob sizes.
I rarely try to work the animals in a hurry, preferring always to stop and chat. I used to be impressed by those who could "do so many in an hour" but I find, in my case, it is to my benefit to use this time to get to know my animals better.
What would I change? Although the drop floor crush is a most successful way of restraining Fallow deer, experience tells me that the drop floor crush is of limited use with Red deer and more traumatic than the squeeze crush. I would widen the external laneways about 6". At the moment, they are about 20" wide and it is difficult to run velvet stags down them. I would suggest that you make the outside yards from a weather proof timber as the car crates I have used are now rotting after 10 years of use.
You need to consider what you need in your yards to be able to handle almost any situation with the minimum of fuss. Whether this is pulling a fawn or calf (not a common occurrence), pregnancy testing, taking a blood sample, oral drenching, giving an injection, checking feet, lifting tails to check for scouring etc. the tools you need must be readily accessible. You should know what tools are required to maintain the small number of tools necessary to run a deer farm. It is frustrating and time wasting to have to "nip up to the workshop" to get a tool if something, like a drenching gun decides to pack up. I believe it is important for your yards to have at least five pens in which you can work stock. In most cases you will be drafting stock two ways. By having at least this number of pens, you have enough options available to you, to enable you to carry out most of the jobs you'll need to do with your stock. This includes ear tagging, vaccinating, drenching, giving injections and sorting.
I have recently built a smaller set of yards. This purpose built yard is located on another site and is designed simply to load, unload, sort and drench (if absolutely necessary). The total cost of the smaller yards was about $400. It would have been a lot less had I been able to get the used galvanised iron for nothing. I was fortunate to have an old hay shed already standing, so it was just a matter of banging up a few walls and hanging a couple of gates. The walls are galvanised iron and the gates are old extended "sheep" gates with shade cloth hung over them. Their one fault is the dirt floor which is a little dusty with continued use. One option here is to use a beach sand floor. If dust still poses a problem, and as the yards are under cover, sump oil could be put on the floor to settle the dust. I have handled mobs of between 50 and 60 hinds in these yards and have not had any major problems.
The most important assumption to make with yard design is that whatever you decide to do, the deer will eventually get used to it (and yourself). This is not meant to imply that you should not make the "best" yards you can given your possible constraints. There is no reason why bruised animals should be sent off a farm - this is a sign of either poor stockmanship or bad yard design. It is important not to rush your work, especially with poorly designed yards. If the deer have a bad experience in the yards, it is going to be worse the next time you bring them in. They have a better memory than we like to admit!!
Someone once made the observation that many of us cannot afford to do the job right in the first place, but we can afford to keep repairing it for many years later. Why not do the job right in the first place?
Planning Pointers
- All weather access.
- Load out facilities with area for large trucks to manoeuvre.
- Well drained holding yards.
- Scales.
- Crush.
- Power (optional).
- Roof (optional).
- Water.
- Minimum of five pens.
- Good light and ventilation.
- No protruding objects in walls, doors etc.
- Wall design so that animal can see outside the pen.
- Visit as many deer farms as possible and try to work with the stock.
Page courtesy of VicDeer
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