After replacing slats from a slurry tank, many farmers are left wondering what they should do with the old ones. In many instances, although they are no longer suitable for bearing a load, they may still be solid enough to fulfil another job.

Pádraig Claffey, a dairy farmer from Mountemple, Co Westmeath, got an idea one day about how he could use up single slats he had acquired to save himself some money. He had two outfarms and needed to upgrade the holding pens for loading cattle, the AI service for heifers and the TB test. To save money, he decided to use old slats to construct two cattle pens rather than traditional block or steel construction.

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Pictures 1 and 2

This is the first pen Pádraig built. It consists of 10 single cattle slats (10ft 6in) stacked one on top of the other secured between RSJs. The RSJs are set in concrete. In total, 130 single slats were used to build this pen and crush. The pen area takes up over 900 square foot. Extra steel was welded on to the side of the RSJs to make sure the slats would not move. Three cattle gates were purchased from Premier Gates at €130 per gate and the RSJs cost €400. Because he got the slats for free, the pen only set him back just over €1,000.

Pictures 3 and 4

This is the second pen Pádraig built on another out-block. The floor area is also just over 900 square foot.This time, Pádraig bought secondhand 10ft 6in gang slats and secured them into RSJs. One full gang slat was lowered with straps between the RSJs and a second one was cut in half and lowered on top. Pádraig bought the 20 gang slats for this pen from a farmer through the Toplink.ie Irish Farmers Journal classifieds for €800.

The RSJs for this pen cost €800, concrete only cost €400 as some of the pen was already paved, the four gates cost €520 and he already had the crush gate. In total he spent €2,520 erecting the pen. If he had employed a builder and bought concrete blocks it would have cost in the region of €3,500.

Picture 5

Pádraig also cut gang slats in half to construct a feeder for cows in the shed during the winter. These are split concrete gang slats also held between RSJs. Pádraig also thinks they would be ideal for a collecting yard for dairy cows.

Picture 6

Another farmer I visited used old 10ft 5in slats from his slatted shed to construct a simple holding yard for cattle. His local digger contractor dug a 4.5ft trench and put in the slats standing vertically side by side with the wedge end on the bottom. This meant 6ft was standing over ground. He back-filled the clay around the slats and tracked either side down with the digger. One side of this new yard was already walled, so the slats made up a new wall 76ft long. A concrete floor was poured to finish the job. This farmer also uses single slats as wire strainers to fence reclaimed bog land.

Safety

When using second-hand slats in construction, you should always be safety conscious. Slats can be dangerous and need to be handled with respect. Make sure proper machinery is used in the installation and they are secured appropriately.