KBH Small Livestock Scale

Why a gated crate?

The hardest part of weighing sheep and goats is separating one animal from the flock and keeping it still for a few seconds. On an open platform, a ewe or goat either steps straight off or pulls the next animal along behind it. On the KBH both side walls are closed, so the animal can only face forwards or backwards. It enters through the gate at one end, the gate shuts behind it, it is weighed and it leaves through the gate at the far end.

Placed at a pen exit or in a race, this layout turns the flock into a one-way flow. As one animal leaves, the next is ready to step in, and the operator only has to open and close the gates and record the weight instead of handling each animal. Compared with the old habit of lifting animals onto a scale, it is easier on the farmer’s back and far less stressful for the stock.

KBH 1 or KBH 4?

Both models share the same capacity and size range; the difference is the load cell layout under the platform.

• KBH 1: the platform sits on a single central load cell. The design is simple, the scale stays lighter and it is practical where it will be moved often.
• KBH 4: the platform is carried by load cells at its four corners. Even when an animal leans against one end or pushes against a gate, the load is shared between four points, which makes it the choice for farms weighing many animals a day, with stock that keeps shifting on the platform.

Two questions settle the choice: will the scale go to a different pen every day, or stay mostly in one place? And how many animals will pass through on a weighing day? For frequent moves and moderate numbers, choose the KBH 1; for heavy use at a fixed race, the KBH 4 is the better fit.

Capacity, reading step and size

The technical table gives capacity as 300/600 kg and the reading step as 0.1/0.2 kg: at 300 kg capacity the scale reads in 0.1 kg steps, and at 600 kg in 0.2 kg steps. Even 300 kg leaves ample margin for a mature ram or billy goat; what really counts is being able to see small differences in light animals such as lambs and kids.

A simple sum shows why this matters. Suppose a lamb weighs 18.4 kg at the first weighing and 24.7 kg thirty days later: its daily live weight gain is (24.7 − 18.4) ÷ 30 = 0.21 kg. On a scale reading in whole kilograms the same lamb would show as 18 and 25 kg, and the figure would drift to 0.23 kg; across a flock, that error can give a false picture of which lambs are falling behind. A 0.1 kg step makes it easier to capture real growth even when weighings are close together.

Platform sizes range from 50 × 90 cm to 60 × 100 cm. The narrower size stops lambs and kids turning round inside, while the wider one lets large rams and billies walk in comfortably. If your flock needs a size outside this range, the scale can be made to the dimensions and capacity you require.

Moving the scale and using it in the field

Wheels on both sides of the KBH let one person push it from place to place. For farms that weigh in the fold in winter, out at pasture in spring or in front of the barn at shearing time, the same scale can serve at different spots throughout the year. The body is electrostatically powder-coated, protecting it from damp pen floors, manure and rain.

Thanks to its built-in rechargeable battery, the indicator works out at pasture with no power supply; back at the fold it plugs into 220 V AC to charge and run. When left idle, the indicator protects its power and turns itself off, so the battery does not drain over a long weighing day. Before you start, pull the scale onto firm, level ground and make sure the platform feet, not the wheels, are carrying the load; accurate results depend on it.

How the indicator helps with records and sorting

Once the animal settles between the gates, the HOLD key fixes the reading on the display, so the operator does not lose the weight while reading the ear tag. Results can be sent to a computer over RS 232 or printed as tickets or labels. When selecting breeding stock or sorting before sale, the HI-OK-LO check-weighing function helps: enter a band of 35–45 kg for sale lambs, for instance, and lambs within it are flagged with an audible signal and sent to a separate pen.

Very young lambs and kids may be easier to weigh in a basket or crate than in the gated section. Put the empty crate on the platform and tare it; the display then shows the animal’s weight alone. Tare can also be keyed in by hand: if you use the same crate every day, note its weight once and there is no need to tare it at every weighing.