I was looking around online today at different scales in the marketplace and I found one that I hadn’t seen yet. It’s a device for weighing calves and it includes the steel frame designed to fit in the trailer hitch of a ATV or pickup truck you will be attaching it to. Also includes a sling, digital hanging scale, cradle, and a manual winch that allows you to raise the calf up to a level that’s easier to work on (waist high).
Definitely a unique weighing product if you’re in the market for something like the best scale to weigh calves. I could see where it would come in handy for folks out in the field looking to easily get a weight of a calf. And, that’s important for things like food amounts and medication.
We offer a version of the digital hanging scale part of that system if you’re interested in building your own calf weighing scale. But it got me to thinking what other choices are out there for weighing small calves?
Cheap Options for Weighing Calves
Of course it goes without saying but you get what you pay for when it comes to “cheap” scales from overseas. However, one choice you might consider for just general farm use is our AWB series load bars scale set. These scales are versatile and can be placed under a number of different things and give you very accurate weight readings.
These AWB40 portable weigh beams for livestock have survived the true test of just about everything that folks can throw at them over the years. They do quite well and can be used to weigh numerous animals on your farm, not just calves.
The 40″ long version of the AWB weigh bars are probably long enough to weigh full sized cows if you space them out correctly. There is also a smaller 24″ long version of the weigh beams that might work better for portable on the go calf weighing applications.
Receiver Hitch Calf Scale Options?
We’ve talked about build your own livestock scale kits before on here and there are some applications where it makes sense. When it comes to weighing calves, I’m not sure it does, except for the ones that connect to your ATV or truck. However, if you’re looking for a semi-permanent way to weigh small calves, a set of weigh beams under a sturdy wooden platform could certainly work well.
Use Your ATV for Weighing a Calf?
If you’re looking to weigh cattle while you’re out on the farm with your ATV then you probably need to look at building some type of assembly that can hold the calf in the air while your hanging scale records the weight. The scale component itself is not very expensive in a calf scale ATV system like this.
Other choices that you might think about include small floor scales, portable bench scales, or OP-920 portable livestock scales. But, it’s kind of tricky with these items since you need scales that are fairly easy to transport (light weight) but they also need to be fairly durable (built tough) and able to deal with less than ideal conditions. The “light weight” part describes low cost scales from overseas perfectly (ha ha). However, the “built tough” part usually describes scales that are built domestically and usually cost more.
Overall this is an interesting small category of weighing that we find intriguing. Hopefully we’ve presented you with some ideas on what scale(s) you might consider when looking to weigh a small calf. Contact our customer service for more buying advice if you need some assistance.