This week, I feature pens for stock bulls built to high standards of safety, labour efficiency and animal welfare. The pens are at the Teagasc Grange beef research centre and the last few nuts and bolts were going on when I called by last week.

While there are eight pens here in total, all of the design features of this unit are directly transferable to a farm situation.

The new pens are built in an existing shed, converted for the new use. So attention was paid to getting right ventilation, exercise area, etc.

In relation to safety, the most important design feature is that farm operators and others involved with these animals do not have to be in the same pen area as the bulls when carrying out tasks, such as cleaning out and feeding. The bull house was designed by Teagasc buildings specialist JJ Lenehan, with input from farm manager Francis Collier.

Concrete work was by Liam Faherty Construction. Dessie Donohoe of Performance Steel did fit-out, supplying and installing all gates and barriers.

Picture one

The pens run one to eight away from the camera and are identical.

On the left-hand side of the picture is an open feed passage running the length of the shed, along which silage will be fed out by loader or diet feeder, etc.

Each pen has two parts – firstly, a feeding/standing area, with a grooved concrete floor, and secondly, a bedded area.

The roof isn’t particularly high but there’s plenty of air volume for the small number of animals involved.

On the left-hand wall, the original windows were taken out and replaced with spaced timber planking, to help let fresh air in.

Picture two

Also for ventilation, both gable ends have three sliding doors, which are clad with vented sheeting.

Picture three

This is the bull’s feeding/standing area. It measures 15ft by 10ft.

The floor grooving is larger and deeper than used for cows. The main front section is hinged and opens. On its left is a 20in personnel/escape gate and on the right is the bull’s feed barrier.

All gate/barrier pillars are strong, measuring 4in x 4in and made of 10mm steel. The caps on top act as stiffeners but also cover edges.

Picture four

Likewise, the locking barrier is heavy-duty, made with 6mm wall tubing.

Picture five

The bedded pen measures 15ft by 12ft. A bin kerb retains the bedding. The opening between the two areas is divided by a strong sliding gate. When bedding is to be cleaned out, all bulls will be locked into their feed barriers. The sliding doors will be closed and locked.

The dividing gates between the eight bedded pens will then be opened and the bedding will be pushed along the passage and out of the shed at the far end.

Picture six

Here, Dessie Donohoe shows the doorway and the sliding gate.

For strength, it is 8ft long and obviously secured top and bottom.

Here we can also see that gates and barriers are approximately 6ft high.

All bars are vertical, which helps to prevent an animal’s leg catching, but also discourages anyone from casually climbing into a pen.

Picture seven

If a bull is to receive treatment, it can be locked in its feed barrier and the pen gate swung over and locked securely, confining the animal into this space.

Pictures eight and nine

Water bowls serve both pen areas and are well protected. There is a bottom bung for cleaning out, at the standing/feeding side.

Again, the water pipe is secured into the gate pillar for protection.

Above the gate pillar (picture nine), it’s carried on upwards in steel tubing.

Farmer cost

Dessie Donohoe told me that a single bull pen like those shown here would cost a farmer €2,250 plus VAT. That would include the bolt down posts, head gate, barriers and all gates. Installation would cost from €500 depending on site, he said.