Sheep Handling Trailer

Description

The LM Bateman Sheep Handling Trailer improves day-to-day flock work in several practical ways. First, it saves time because you can tow the unit directly to each paddock instead of driving sheep long distances to a fixed yard. The shorter travel also reduces the risk of foot-rot, since animals spend less time on stony tracks where infectious organisms lurk. Once on site, the hurdles can be arranged in many shapes (whether a simple straight race, an L-shaped corner, or even a diamond holding pen) so the system adapts easily to uneven ground or awkward gateways. Because the sheep move through a familiar, fully enclosed race rather than unfamiliar concrete passages, they stay calmer and handle more smoothly, which further speeds the job. Finally, the polypropylene race panels and aluminium chequer-plate floor wash clean in minutes, allowing you to maintain high bio-security standards and keep the kit working whatever the weather.

• Overall towing length: 5,680 mm
• Overall width: 1,890 mm
• Height (raised or lowered): 2,380 mm
• Race width: 500 mm
• Approximate empty trailer weight: 1,120 kg*
• Sheep capacity per working session: up to 250 head
• Hurdles carried: 27 six-foot panels, each fitted with ground skids

Traditional single-outlet trailers force constant re-penning when you need more than one destination group. LM Bateman solves that with four-way drafting:

1. Front two-way shedding gate – select left or right as animals exit.
2. Twin in-race drafting gates – midway through the 5680 mm body, swing either gate to peel off culls or checks into a side pen while the main flow continues forward.

Operators can therefore split lambs from ewes, thin from fat or healthy from lame in a single pass, reducing stress and labour to a minimum.

Durability Meets Clean-Down Ease

• Galvanised chassis & hurdles – long-life zinc layer shrugs off slurry splash and road salt.
• Polypropylene race sides – UV-stable, crack-resistant and silent when struck, promoting calm loading.
• Aluminium floor – chequer pattern enhances grip; no paint to flake, no timber to rot.
• Removable axle – pull two pins and drop the axle for deep cleaning or long-term storage.
• Rounded tube edges – protect wool, fleece value and handler shins alike.

After use, a pressure-washer and virucidal disinfectant leave every surface spotless, ensuring speedy compliance with cross-farm biosecurity protocols.

Operator-Centric Details

The Sheep Handling Trailer is designed so that one person can operate it comfortably and safely, even in rough terrain or fading light.

• Jockey-wheel offset: The crank sits to one side of the tow-ball, allowing you to wind the trailer up or down without skinning your knuckles.
• Hydraulic-ram shield: A protective cover guards the chrome piston against flint chips and gravel strikes while you tow the unit along farm tracks.
• Manual back-up dropleg: If the hydraulic system ever loses pressure, a welded support leg can be dropped to keep the trailer perfectly level until repairs are made.
• Integral tool tray: A shallow steel tray keeps drench guns, EID wands and spare syringes within easy reach so you are never hunting for kit mid-session.
• High-visibility mudflaps and LED clusters: Bright rear lighting and reflective flaps ensure the trailer remains fully road-legal and conspicuous behind a 4×4 at night.

Handling Versatility

Because every hurdle ends in a low-friction skid, you can build a layout that matches the ground and the temperament of your flock, then re-shape it in minutes when conditions change.

• Linear race: A straight line from holding pen to drafting gate gives the fastest throughput when sheep are calm and cooperative.
• Z-shaped lane: Adding a single bend slows excitable lambs and prevents them from charging the race.
• U-shaped holding pen: This compact loop is ideal when space is tight behind a hedge or farm building, yet still feeds smoothly into the race.
• Diamond draft: Two side pens placed left and right of the main flow allow four-way separation in a single pass, perfect for splitting ewes, lambs and culls.

Coupling rods drop through pre-drilled eyes, so you never wrestle with loose chains or turnbuckles. Even if the ground slopes, the rigid connections keep gaps tight and sheep moving forward without hesitation.

Health, Safety & Compliance

The trailer’s low centre of gravity, once lowered to the ground, removes any risk of rollover and tipping. Because the aluminium floor rests flush with the soil, sheep step straight into the race without climbing, which helps prevent leg injuries if animals baulk. Smooth polypropylene cladding lines every panel, so the race has no sharp edges, and its quieter surface keeps operator fatigue to a minimum during long handling sessions. Finally, the lighting board mounts on spring-loaded brackets that absorb vibration on rough tracks yet detach quickly during setup, protecting the lamps from accidental damage.

The LM Bateman Sheep Handling Trailer condenses a fully-fledged sheep yard into a road-towable package that one person can deploy in under a quarter-hour. With polypropylene race sides, four-way drafting, 27 galvanised hurdles and a hydraulically lowered floor, it lets you weigh, treat and sort up to 250 sheep quickly and calmly wherever the flock happens to graze. Built on a corrosion-resistant chassis with a chequer-plate deck, the unit cleans down fast and shrugs off hard farm use for years. For shepherds determined to trim labour, boost biosecurity and keep animals stress-free, the Bateman trailer is the definition of practical, mobile efficiency.

Optional Upgrades

Weigh-bar package: Installs beneath the floor and integrates with an EID stick reader, enabling automatic capture of live-weight data.

Roof sheet kit: A PVC-coated canvas hood that shelters the race and holding pen, keeping sheep and operators dry during wet weather treatments.

Solar trickle charger: Maintains the trailer’s battery charge when electronic weigh gear or lighting is fitted, reducing reliance on mains or vehicle power.