What facilities are used for cow calf operations?

On many operations, a calving shed or barn with a head-catch facility to use for cows or heifers that need help calving, handling facility with a loading chute, and a calf chute attached to that handling facility are commony found in cow-calf operations. Calf chutes are not needed if the ranch uses horses and ropes to brand, vaccinate, tag and castrate their calves.

Separate pens for cows calving, cows with bull calves, cows with heifer calves, bulls, culls, backgrounding, etc. are also found on a cow-calf operation.

If the cow-calf operations calve in the summer, a calving barn isn't really necessary.