rockridgecattle
Well-known member
You know those times when you shake your head in frustration, laughter and disgust cause a calf and a dog got the better of you!!
Sit back this is gonna take a while!
it all started yesterday when we started to move cattle to their summer pasture. One pasture has an old rail bed between it and the home Quarter. There we placed some of the related stock with an unrelated bull...all is well (moved a week ago)
Then we decided to move the rest of the cows down the rail bed just over a mile. They were at the gate with me. I was waiting for the last straggler calf to get closer so it would not get left behind. The husband was at the other end waiting for them. Now understand that there is a market road half way. So we asked the father in law to go to the road to stop the traffic if something was coming so there would be no accident.
Well the father in law got impatient for me waiting on the straggler and decided to come and "help me" Ended he had to chase two calves, the cows were confused cause there was no one at the road calling them, the related cows by this time had come to the fence, the bulls making bug eyes at each other, animals balling every where. So now know one it at the road, father in law decided on his own to lead them, they get away on him start travellling down the road instead of the the last leg of the rail bed. A calf from the related herd goes throught the fence, we now have to get this calf out before it heads the 1/2 mile to the new pasture...thankfully it didn;t really want to go, and he was very distinctive in coloring so he was easy to spot and pull out.
Finally after a half hour of chaseing the cows out of farmers fields, off the highway, they got down the rest of the tracts and to there new summer home. We have been doing this for near 6 years and never a problem like yesterday.
BUT WAit the tale has just begun.
Last night hubby was going to disc some summer fallow. We went down the tracts to see if any calves had returned without their momma. Sure enough one had gotten separated from the herd. Hubby made the call to let the momma come and find it.
next moring i went to do my school bus run and hubby went to make sure the cow found her calf and that it was not cyote bait. No calf and the momma was by the gate. So off he went searching for it. He found it.
I am arriving home from my route, on the tract bed is a mini van, and a rav 4. Out pops my hubby from behind the bush. He found the calf, its here (1/2 mile from the fence). Has this plan of using the calf hook, hog tying and putting it in the back of the rav and taking it to the cow.
I must interject and say we are not a fully equiped farm. Oh we have built working facitities that the father in law did not have but we have never owned a cattle trailer. One of the to do things but there are only so many $ and it was the plan for this year.
Here i am in my good clothes, runners, one of my last two good pairs of sweats, (all the rest have holes), good sweat shirt and a bus. The bus gets parked and i get the calf hook....did i mention this calf was about a month old and 200 pounds and i am not near that...yet.
That calf took us every where. It did not stay laying down so we could catch it, It got up and ran. So up and down the rail bed we go. Up and down the van goes cause father in law can not travel on feet as well as he use to. I have to say we found that we need a new gate, thanks to a stressed out calf, a new fence post and fence put back up.
I realized runners are not water proof, especially when you go through 2' of slough water to track the calf.
Hubby took the bus home ( he is a spare driver), go the lariet, the dogs and the 4 wheeler. THE DANG DOG GOT THE CALF HOME good dog. She herded her home so gently.
Got the calf penned, got some drugs....I know, i know. We gave it a shot of LA because it was so stressed, and we had close to 2" of rain, we thought right conditions for pnemonia on pasture...so we took a preventative step.
Well< i got the halter on the calf...it thought it was about to die. We got the calf in the loading chute with the rav at the end...still no trailer. This chute is wide enough for a cow. In it's width it held, three adults, and one calf on it's side. Got it hog tied lifted the heavy brute, dang if the ropes came undone (i'll admit i tied them). Next go around, father in law tied them...good job too.
Now we have to lift this heavy brute into the car. Does insurance cover animal damage i ask?
Well after about 3 hours, wet to the bone, broken fence, broken gate, enough exerise for the week (walked and ran near 3 miles by the time all was said and done), the calf is with it's mooma.
hope this misadventure brought a smile to someone today!!! long winded as it is!
Sit back this is gonna take a while!
it all started yesterday when we started to move cattle to their summer pasture. One pasture has an old rail bed between it and the home Quarter. There we placed some of the related stock with an unrelated bull...all is well (moved a week ago)
Then we decided to move the rest of the cows down the rail bed just over a mile. They were at the gate with me. I was waiting for the last straggler calf to get closer so it would not get left behind. The husband was at the other end waiting for them. Now understand that there is a market road half way. So we asked the father in law to go to the road to stop the traffic if something was coming so there would be no accident.
Well the father in law got impatient for me waiting on the straggler and decided to come and "help me" Ended he had to chase two calves, the cows were confused cause there was no one at the road calling them, the related cows by this time had come to the fence, the bulls making bug eyes at each other, animals balling every where. So now know one it at the road, father in law decided on his own to lead them, they get away on him start travellling down the road instead of the the last leg of the rail bed. A calf from the related herd goes throught the fence, we now have to get this calf out before it heads the 1/2 mile to the new pasture...thankfully it didn;t really want to go, and he was very distinctive in coloring so he was easy to spot and pull out.
Finally after a half hour of chaseing the cows out of farmers fields, off the highway, they got down the rest of the tracts and to there new summer home. We have been doing this for near 6 years and never a problem like yesterday.
BUT WAit the tale has just begun.
Last night hubby was going to disc some summer fallow. We went down the tracts to see if any calves had returned without their momma. Sure enough one had gotten separated from the herd. Hubby made the call to let the momma come and find it.
next moring i went to do my school bus run and hubby went to make sure the cow found her calf and that it was not cyote bait. No calf and the momma was by the gate. So off he went searching for it. He found it.
I am arriving home from my route, on the tract bed is a mini van, and a rav 4. Out pops my hubby from behind the bush. He found the calf, its here (1/2 mile from the fence). Has this plan of using the calf hook, hog tying and putting it in the back of the rav and taking it to the cow.
I must interject and say we are not a fully equiped farm. Oh we have built working facitities that the father in law did not have but we have never owned a cattle trailer. One of the to do things but there are only so many $ and it was the plan for this year.
Here i am in my good clothes, runners, one of my last two good pairs of sweats, (all the rest have holes), good sweat shirt and a bus. The bus gets parked and i get the calf hook....did i mention this calf was about a month old and 200 pounds and i am not near that...yet.
That calf took us every where. It did not stay laying down so we could catch it, It got up and ran. So up and down the rail bed we go. Up and down the van goes cause father in law can not travel on feet as well as he use to. I have to say we found that we need a new gate, thanks to a stressed out calf, a new fence post and fence put back up.
I realized runners are not water proof, especially when you go through 2' of slough water to track the calf.
Hubby took the bus home ( he is a spare driver), go the lariet, the dogs and the 4 wheeler. THE DANG DOG GOT THE CALF HOME good dog. She herded her home so gently.
Got the calf penned, got some drugs....I know, i know. We gave it a shot of LA because it was so stressed, and we had close to 2" of rain, we thought right conditions for pnemonia on pasture...so we took a preventative step.
Well< i got the halter on the calf...it thought it was about to die. We got the calf in the loading chute with the rav at the end...still no trailer. This chute is wide enough for a cow. In it's width it held, three adults, and one calf on it's side. Got it hog tied lifted the heavy brute, dang if the ropes came undone (i'll admit i tied them). Next go around, father in law tied them...good job too.
Now we have to lift this heavy brute into the car. Does insurance cover animal damage i ask?
Well after about 3 hours, wet to the bone, broken fence, broken gate, enough exerise for the week (walked and ran near 3 miles by the time all was said and done), the calf is with it's mooma.
hope this misadventure brought a smile to someone today!!! long winded as it is!
