What is that wire called that you attach to stock trailer floors? Is it neccasary? What the best way to attach the wire to a wooden floor? Staples?
I am sorry to keep asking so many question but its the only way I know to learn.
I've seen some stock trailers that had "wire?" on the floor; very heavy wire that looked more like a grid or fence panel perhaps eighth inch rod or wire welded to make something like a 4" x 6" grid. I was told it was to keep cattle from slipping and falling on a slick, dirty floor in the trailer, and I suppose it works, but it looked dangerous to me.
No offense Goat but I would sure start to think about some of these things before you do them. I've personally been hauling cattle for 25 years and my family has been hauling cattle since vehicles were invented to haul cattle. We have never done anything like that. There are a million ways out there to do things. Get a good crop of ideas together and then meditate a little on what is going to work best for you to run your operation. If you go trying every little thing and doing things this way and that you're going to drive yourself crazy. I only say this because I've seen it before with new people to horses or cattle. You get all these ideas and try all this stuff and burn yourself out before you even had a good plan together. You're doing the right thing asking alot of questions but take the time and put it all down and think about some of these things before you put them into action. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Bird,
It sounds like he's talking about cow panels attached to the floor. I agree with the "dangerous" part. That idea scares me to death. You get part of those panels lifting up and you're looking at some serious injury potential.
gsganser, In my area, not that far from Ala., these wire panels are called stockade panels and have been widely used by haulers of livestock for years. I've personally use them for 12 yrs. Have never had a problem. I watch for loose ends and staples and hammer down if needed. I don't remember having to do anything to mine in my present trailer which is over 5 yrs old. This concept may sound scary but in actual practice it works very well.
They're not for keeping them from falling down but to help them get up when they do fall. Common practice to screw them to the floor using little loop brackets so as to make them easier to clean under and replace. Before the corral panels became convenient people would weld rebar into a grid for the same purpose or just nail down some 1x lumber.
Every cattle hauler in my area uses the wire on the floor of there trailers. I guess I just assumed they must know something I didnt. I remember hearing a story about a women that always cut about 2 inches of the top off her ham before cooking it. One day her daughter asked her why. The mother said that she had seen her mother cut the top like that before cooking and that she would call and find out why. She called her mother and discovered that the reason was because the pot she used was to small. So, I guess I should discover why something is done before automatically do it.