Cattle yards (also called stockyards or livestock yards) are enclosed areas designed to handle and manage cattle. They play a vital role in livestock farming and are used for a range of essential tasks. Here’s a breakdown of their main purposes:

🐄 Primary Uses of Cattle Yards
1. Handling and Sorting
Drafting/sorting cattle by age, weight, breed, or health condition.

Used to separate animals for sale, transport, treatment, or weaning.

2. Loading and Unloading
Provide a safe and controlled space for loading onto trucks or unloading from transport vehicles.

Often connected to loading ramps to facilitate this process.

3. Health Management
Enable vet inspections, vaccinations, tagging, and treatments like dehorning or castration.

Crushes or races are often installed to immobilise animals safely during procedures.

4. Weighing
Integrated with weighbridges or scales to monitor cattle weights for sale or health checks.

5. Temporary Holding
Serve as holding areas during mustering or before processing or transport.

Also used to quarantine new or sick animals.