Discover how custom sheep gates are designed and fabricated for flock management. Learn about material selection, hinge systems, and galvanizing for long service life in pasture environments.
What Sheep Gate Fabrication Covers
Sheep farming requires specialized gating systems for flock management, drenching, drafting, and loading. Sheep gates must be appropriately sized for sheep, sturdy enough to withstand flock pressure, and designed for easy operation by a single shepherd. At Fulei Metal, we fabricate sheep gates and handling equipment for livestock farms across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Sheep Gate Design
Standard sheep gate heights range from 900 to 1,200 mm. Vertical bar spacing must prevent sheep from getting their heads stuck, typically 100 to 150 mm for adults and 75 to 100 mm for lambs. Drafting gates allow shepherds to sort sheep into different pens with adjustable diverter mechanisms operated with one hand. Self-closing gates in race systems use weighted or spring-return hinges that close automatically after each sheep passes. Race and crush gates control sheep movement through handling systems, with crush gates holding individual sheep for drenching or inspection.
What Material Suits Sheep Gate Fabrication
Galvanized steel is the standard material with zinc coating providing corrosion resistance in pasture environments. We use 1.5 to 2.5 mm thick steel tube, with heavier construction for crush gates. For enhanced appearance, powder coating over galvanized steel is available in green and other colors.
Hinge and Latch Systems
Sheep gate hinges must support gate weight while allowing smooth operation, fabricated from steel or stainless steel with replaceable pins. Gate latches must secure gates against sheep pressure while allowing easy one-handed operation, including slam latches, drop-bar latches, and chain-and-snap latches.
Cutting, Bending and Welding Sheep Gate Fabrication
Our TRUMPF fiber laser cuts hinge brackets, latch components, and reinforcement plates. Steel tubes are cut to length and notched for tube-to-tube joints with accurate notching for full-penetration welds. Some sheep gate designs incorporate curved tube components created on CNC tube bending equipment. Gate assembly uses MIG welding, with all welds ground smooth. Welded assemblies are hot-dip galvanized after fabrication, with powder-coated finishes available.
Sheep Gates: Light Enough to Swing, Stiff Enough Not to Sag
Sheep gates are usually the most demanding pieces in the range because they have to be light enough to swing easily and stiff enough not to sag. The section choice follows from that: a lighter tube with a deeper forming rather than a heavier flat bar. Bar spacing is set as a clear opening, not as a centre-to-centre figure, because a lamb can push its head through a gap that looks closed on a drawing. Gates are checked on a flat surface for the latch side dropping before the batch is packed, and the galvanized finish is checked inside the tube ends, where the coating is thinnest.
What to Send for Sheep Gate Fabrication Pricing
Sheep gate fabrication requires understanding of sheep handling requirements, precision manufacturing, and corrosion protection expertise. Fulei Metal’s experience in livestock equipment fabrication makes us a trusted partner for sheep farming projects.
Send drawings and we will check them against our DFM engineering review capability before quoting. You can also see how this fits into our custom sheet metal fabrication work, or read Livestock Partition Gate Fabrication first if you are still comparing options.
What a Livestock Gate Drawing Has to Get Right
A handling gate is judged by whether it swings true after a season, and that comes down to three things on the drawing: the hinge type, the latch type, and whether the frame is stiff enough to stop the gate dropping at the free end. Gates drop because the frame racks, and a gate that has dropped will not latch without being lifted — which in a handling race means someone has to hold it, and that is the point where the design stops being safe.
Hinges and latches are specified as items, not as welded details. A hinge pin that can be replaced outlasts a welded pivot by years in an outdoor yard, and a latch that can be operated with one hand while holding something with the other is the difference between a gate that gets used and one that gets propped open. Both need a stated hole pattern and a stated pin diameter so replacements match.
Can you build to our existing gate drawings?
Yes. Send the drawings with the hinge and latch specification, the section sizes and the galvanizing note, and we will flag anything that will rack, will not swing clear, or will not latch after a season outdoors.
Do you supply the hinge and latch hardware?
Hardware can be supplied to match or bought to your specification — tell us which on the enquiry. Gates, races and pens and their layout are yours or your equipment supplier’s; we fabricate the metal components to the drawings.
Galvanizing, Drainage and Outdoor Life
Livestock equipment lives outdoors, gets hosed down, and sits in contact with material that is corrosive. The coating decision is hot-dip galvanizing in almost every case, and the sequence matters: welding and cutting before coating, coating over the finished fabrication, so that the welds and the cut ends are covered rather than exposed. A gate that is assembled from pre-galvanized tube and then cut or drilled on site will show rust at every opening within a year.
Drainage is the detail that is most often absent. Any horizontal tube in a gate or a frame will hold water at a drilled hole unless the hole is positioned to drain or the tube is sealed. Where a frame is fully sealed, it needs a drain hole at the low point — and that hole is the first place to rust, so it needs to be specified with the coating, not added afterwards.
Inspection follows the buyer drawing and the approved sample, with general tolerances to ISO 2768 unless stated. Frames are checked for square and for hinge alignment on a sample from each batch, and coating thickness is recorded. Material and coating documentation is issued per order — see material certification and traceability. Where a handling system has to satisfy a welfare standard, that assessment belongs to the installer or the authority having jurisdiction. Gates are bundled with separation between coated faces; for export consignments see export packaging standards.
Need a Similar Part?
Most enquiries that start on a page like this are not an order for Sheep Gate Fabrication — they are a search for a factory that can make something like it. Send us your drawing, 3D model or sample and we will review the manufacturing process and the quotation requirements, then come back with a process plan, a price and a lead time.
We work from 2D drawings, STEP / DWG / DXF / PDF files, or a physical sample if that is all you have.
No complete drawings yet? Describe the part, send photos or a sketch, or send a sample — we can start from there. Discuss your project.
Trade Terms and Delivery
We quote under the standard Incoterms your logistics team already works with, and build the packing and documentation around the one you choose.
- EXW — you collect from our Ningbo facility and run export clearance through your own forwarder.
- FOB Ningbo — we deliver to the vessel at Ningbo port and handle export clearance.
- CIF — we cover carriage and insurance to your named destination port.
- DDP — we handle carriage, insurance, import clearance and duties through to your door.
Send your destination country, target delivery date and preferred trade term together with the drawing. Request a quotation.
Payment Terms
How a project is paid for is agreed before production starts, and the structure that applies to your order is stated on the quotation and on the order confirmation, so there is no ambiguity later.
- 30% advance payment with the order and the 70% balance before shipment — our standard structure.
- 70% advance payment with the order and the 30% balance before shipment — used for some projects.
- 100% payment in advance before production starts — used for some projects.
If your finance team works to a fixed structure, say so in the first enquiry and we will confirm what applies to your order before you commit. Request a quotation.
Quotation Time
We quote from your drawings. How long that takes depends on what the part asks for:
- Simple parts — quoted within 24 hours. Laser-cut blanks and bent components, supplied with complete 2D or 3D drawings. Mon–Fri, GMT+8.
- Complex assemblies — quoted after the drawing review. Payment kiosks, multi-part welded frames, enclosures with purchased hardware, or anything needing a coating or assembly trial. We confirm a quotation date once the scope is clear.
Production lead time is quoted separately, after drawing review and process confirmation. Send your drawings.
What stands behind this quotation
- Manufacturing since 20162,500 m² Ningbo plant — 3 laser cutting machines (including newer TRUMPF), 4 CNC press brakes and 10 welding stations.
- Shipped to more than 30 export marketsEnclosures, cabinets and formed parts supplied to OEM buyers across Europe, North America and Asia.
- 123 documented product casesMedical device housings, HVAC and heat pump enclosures, agricultural and livestock equipment, industrial hydraulics, material handling trolleys and EV charging cabinets.
- Factory evidence you can checkTUV Rheinland audit reference MIC-ASI243729 and Bureau Veritas reference MIC-ASR263630 available for buyer review on request.
Before you send drawings: project confidentiality is default · first-article inspection is carried out before a batch continues · pricing is staged from prototype quantity to repeat volume · pre-shipment photos and packing records are prepared when the project needs them.