Any suggestions catching wild cow.

[greybeard]

Cowboys, horses, and dogs. Sounds like mainly the dogs

Yep. Around here, that is pretty much a thing of the past tho, ever since the county opted out of open range, but when I was young there were thousands of head of cattle & domestic hogs running the national forest in this county. Dogs, ropes and horses were an absolute necessity back then. The old time cowboys are about gone from this county now. It took special kind of horse too, to plunge right thru tangles of briers, honey locust, and vines and the riders wore lots of leather protection and as I remember it, they used more than just a regular saddle blanket and saddle on their horses. Long leather 'apron' looking gear to protect the horses.

Roundup was a sight to see tho. They cut and built temporary catch pens and funnels runs out in the forest and pushed everything into the pens for sorting, branding and loading. Dozens of trucks and and trailers lined the FM road that runs in front of my property (and elsewhere) and sometimes the county sheriff dept would close the road to normal traffic.
The sounds and the smell of burning hair was thick in the air and it was really something for a young 12-13-14 year old boy like me to watch.
(the forest service and dept of ag had also installed concrete dip vats thru out the national forest to run the cows thru for tick control. Some are still there today but most have filled in and lost to history)

 

[Brute 23]

How big of a pasture are we talking here?

I'd shoot it or take a chance on the dart and tank before I went in with dogs and stuff unless it's a pretty good size pasture. I'm pretty lazy. Last thing I want to do is fix fence and make a bad situation worse.

 

[504RP]

65 acres 20 of it woods. For now i am just going to try the rope and gate.

 

[SBMF 2015]

65 acres 20 of it woods. For now i am just going to try the rope and gate.

Sounds like a good idea. If she'll come in and eat, it's just gonna take some time.
A long time ago we had a similar problem with some calves that got out of a corral when we brought pairs home.
We started feeding them in the corral and they would go in and eat, but run out before you could get the gate closed. So we moved the gate hole. (Portable corral) They still came in to eat like normal, but when they saw someone and spooked they ran to where the gate hole had been before. Gave them time to shut the gate.

 

[cfpinz]

Just be sure your panels are tall enough and anchored well. I had 3 heifers a few years back get under my catch panels and go on a walkabout. Tranq'd 2 and loaded with the hydrabed, the other 800 lb heifer took 2800 lbs worth of Xylazine and wouldn't drop. Ended up roping her off the back of the truck and dragging her onto the trailer with said truck, all with about 8 weeks of healing on a half dozen broke ribs. Good times.

 

[Bigfoot]

Personally, I wouldn't shoot her. $200 and somebody with dogs could get her on a trailer. I have a tranquilizer gun. I'd take my chances with it, before I threw money at it, or put it in the deepfreeze. Sounds cruel, but she could be haltered to a tree while she's down. Enough time passes, she can be brought out. Little worse for the wear, but she will come.

 

[HDRider]

Personally, I wouldn't shoot her. $200 and somebody with dogs could get her on a trailer. I have a tranquilizer gun. I'd take my chances with it, before I threw money at it, or put it in the deepfreeze. Sounds cruel, but she could be haltered to a tree while she's down. Enough time passes, she can be brought out. Little worse for the wear, but she will come.

That is what I did. That is what it cost.

Guy came in with two horse and three dogs. It was in a open 15 acre spot. Had her on the trailer in less than 30 minutes.

I'd paid $200 just to watch the show. The cowboy was good. And this sure ain't cowboy country.

There is a cow catcher group on Facebook.

 

[Bigfoot]

That is what I did. That is what it cost.

Guy came in with two horse and three dogs. It was in a open 15 acre spot. Had her on the trailer in less than 30 minutes.

I'd paid $200 just to watch the show. The cowboy was good. And this sure ain't cowboy country.

The is a cow catcher group on Facebook.

Dogs is the key there. Keep out of the woods and off fences. I miss having working dogs.

 

[greybeard]

Ended up roping her off the back of the truck and dragging her onto the trailer with said truck, all with about 8 weeks of healing on a half dozen broke ribs. Good times.

Hers or yours?

 

[cfpinz]

Hers or yours?

Lol!

Mine, along with a snapped collarbone and severely bruised ego. I knew better than to buy an auction cowhorse.....

 

[Dusty Britches]

Anyone know of a good way of catching a wild cow that won't come out of a patch of thick woods ?

Roping her off horse is out. Woods are to thick. Tranquilizer is out because of where she might go down, has been getting in a pond when pushed. Could drown if Tranquilizer.

Have a trailer with four 16 foot panels sit up that I have coaxed her to with a feed bucket 3 times. After she saw me leave she goes in the pen but runs out before I can even attemp to close the panel.

Really good dogs will get her out. I have a friend who is a day rider that uses several coon hounds to gather wild cattle. He's been doing it for 50 years.

 

[JayInOz]

Put other cattle in there with her until they pal up and then let them come out together without pushing them. And a .22 is enough for head shooting cattle. A .243 and up is good if you want to dress up as rambo and get some selfies.

 

[504RP]

I know a guy who use to use dogs to catch wild cows. I think you guys are right. Think I will look him up.

 

[bird dog]

I had one like yours that I paid $300 for. She had giant abcesses on both hips from banging into the chute I guess? I dumped her out on 94 acres. A true calf raising machine but a wee bit crazy. You were lucky if you got within 100 yards from her The good thing was that she was perfectly content to stay on the farm. She would calve and you would not see it for its first two months of life. I never worked her for the five years I owned her, just caught her calf once a year and moved it off the property. I sold the place to a Hispanic man and let him have her. I had no desire to try and catch her.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I have no problem playing as rough as a cow wants to get, but I have seen some cows pretty chewed up by cows dogs. Saw a wild cow go into the woods looking normal. She came out with both ears gone two dogs working on her.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Put your calmest cow in with her and grain them every day. Put a LONG rope on the gate and be patient. If she is coming in to grain she can be caught given enough time.

 

[BFE]

Feed in the trailer, use enough rope to reach the front of the trailer. Take someone else with you. Make sure see sees you feed and leave, have your partner huddle down in front of the trailer unseen, When she gets on to eat yank the rope. Had to do this with a bull who decided he didn't want to load.

 

[Farmerjon]

I am of the opinion, she has learned water is safe, couple of boats and two guys per boat, one to drive one to rope. Don't need to be good ropers, let her get out in deep water, once you drop a loop over her head, leave her in the water treading until good and tired and trailer is close as can be. Out of water onto trailer. Second boat to keep her in the water once she knows the jig is up and tries to get away from you and head back to shore. Beat her at her own game, don't feel sorry for her, let her get good and tired before letting her get her hooves on solid ground.

 

[circlebllc]

I have fed in a pen that is attached to the trailer. I then set my deer blind up with a rope to the gate. Let them eat for a few days then caught them. Getting them into the trailer took some coaxing... Straight to the sale barn. Nobody has time for that craziness.

 

[504RP]

Caught that dude !!! For the last two day's I couldn't find her. Thought she might have left that pasture looking for other cows.

After i got off work at midnight I decided to shine head lights to look for her to see if she was still in the pasture. She was and staying close to the edge of the Woods too.

I followed her right to my trailer and catch pen I have been trying to catch her in for the last week or so now.

Shined my truck lights on the catch pen. Took a bucket of grain and tried calling her up. Figured she would run off like she had been doing.

I have been doing that about everyday and leaving the bucket of grain inside the trailer toward the front so that she has to get in the trailer to get to the feed bucket. And i have been pouring a little pile of feed at the entrance to the pen and another pile about middle ways of the pen.

But she has always waited until I leave to get the grain bucket inside the trailer.

But tonight she watched me pour the feed out at the pen entrance and instead of putting the rest of the bucket of feed in trailer. I just sit it in the middle of the pen and walked out of the pen and headlights of the truck into the dark to where the end of the rope that's hooked to the gate was.

She stood there for a few minutes, then stepped up to the small pile of feed at the gate entrance and ate it. Then went to the bucket of feed in the middle of the pen. I leaned down grabbed the rope and closed the gate.

She made a few laps around the pen then into the trailer. I made my way in the dark over to the side of the trailer where i could slam the petition (middle gate ) closed. Had her caught at 1:30 a.m Drove home got my little ton truck. Went back and got her. Put her with the rest of the cows at about 5:30 a.m this morning.

Learned a very valuable lesson from that crazy cow. That it's best to get rid of cows like that and don't keep them around. Too many good cows out there that can take that crazy cows place and can have as good if not better calfs. Every calf this one has had has been crazy just like her.

With all the trouble I have had with her. I feel I have got lucky not to have got myself or others hurt by the cow. I would always make excuses for her bad behavior to keep her. The main excuse is she always raises good looking calfs. She is a good looking cow.

Reminds me of my x wife. She was pretty good looking and that was one reason i would always decide to over look her bad disposition too.

Finally wised up and learned there were too many good women out their to keep a crazy one like I had. One of the best decisions I have ever made.

I would highly recommend to not hang onto ill tempered women or cattle. They are both easily replaced.