Independence Homestead

Here’s an overview of the livestock carrier we made for our truck bed. It works very well for transporting goats and pigs. Retail livestock carriers for truck beds cost several hundred dollars, and take up storage space when not in use. Our carrier was constructed for about $100 in supplies, and folds flat for storage. Plus it’s possible (while difficult) for one person to setup, which cannot be said of retail carriers.

Supplies Needed:

-2 goat panels
-13 quicklinks
-Circular Saw with metal cutting blade
-Sawhorses or way to hold the goat panels while cutting them
–2 rachet strap tie downs.

Goat panels are metal panels that are 16ft long by 4ft high. They are comprised of metal making a grid of 4x4in squares, which are small enough that goats can’t squeeze their heads through and get their horns stuck. While goat panels cost upwards of $50 at Tractor Supply, they’re only around $20 at Southern States. Our truck’s bed is 4ft by 8ft, so if your truck bed is a different size, you’ll want to adjust the instructions

Instructions

Step 1: Cut both goat panels in half to create 8ft lengths

Step 2: Take 1 of those 8ft lengths and cut it in half again, creating 2 4ft lengths

Step 3: Setup 1 4ft length in the bed behind the cab, and 2 8ft lengths in the bed along the sides.

Step 4: Where the panel pieces meet, attach with 2 quicklinks per corner, attaching them roughly a third of the way in from the panel edges. You now have 3 of your 5 sides constructed. To hold the carrier in place, use the 2 rachet strap tie downs to secure the 8ft sections to the truck bed. Our truck bed was hooks in the corners, so we weave the straps through the panels and hook them there.

Step 5: The remaining 8ft section will become the “roof” of the carrier. Carry it into the truck bed, and attach it to the top edge of each of the 3 panels there. Use 2 quicklinks per 8ft panel, and 1 for the 4ft panel. When you’re done, this panel section should be horizontal, hanging suspended from the quicklinks that are attaching it to the side panels.

Step 6: Now it’s time for the “door” to the carrier. Stand the last panel piece, a 4ft section, at the back of the truck bed. Use 2 quicklinks to attach it to the end of an 8ft panel section, effectively creating the door “hinge”.

Step 7: Put the livestock in the  truck bed carrier. Close the door panel, and secure it to the other 8ft panel with your last 2 quicklinks. Drive the livestock to your destination!

Storage: To store the carrier, loosen the quicklinks to detach the 4ft panel by the truck cab, and then retighten the quicklinks to keep them secure on the 8ft panels. Open the “door” of the carrier via the quicklinks that close it. Then the 8ft panels will fold together in a Z formation, with the roof panel closing as the middle of the Z, and the 4ft door panel will close flat outside whatever 8ft panel to which it’s still attached. Remove the panels from the truck bed, and store them wherever you’d like! When we need to use the carrier again, simply put everything back in the truck bed, and reattach the 4ft panel that goes behind the cab.

Livestock Carrier In Action

Here are some pictures showing us using the carrier to take some pigs to the processor. First, we used feed to lure the pigs.

We used hog panels to contain the pigs as we walked them to the truck, and to and funnel them onto a wood ramp that led them up to the truck bed.

Here you can see the pig using the ramp to walk up onto the truck bed. Harley is luring the pig with a bucket of gain. The panel on the left part of the picture is the open door. You can also see the other panels comprising each side and the rooftop.

The pig is in! This is the ‘point of no return’ for the pigs, typically.

Here are two pigs ready to go to the processor! They are eating grain that we but in the truck bed to keep them in the truck bed and distracted while we closed the last quicklinks. On the right side, the green strap is one of the rachet strap tie downs that holds the carrier in place.