Castrating calves alone?

[kenny thomas]

Any tips on castrating calves when no one is there to help? I have been doing a few calves by myself and am looking for any tips to make it easier.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I will ask my wife? maybe she can help ya out :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[hillsdown]

I band the necessary ones at a day old. If you can count to two and you will not have a problem.

 

[kenny thomas]

AC, since you calve in the fall maybe she can help me in the spring. No use of her sitting around and getting lazy.
Hillsdown, I do band most at birth but I was traveling at work and missed a few born while I was gone. Also bought several that had not been worked. Need to buy several more for other people and a lot of them will be bulls so I will be doing more by myself.

 

[dun]

I run then in the squeeze if I have to do it alone.

 

[kenny thomas]

Dun, if I get the squeeze tight enough to hold them it is too tight for me to work. Do you cut them from outside the squeeze?

 

[dun]

The squeeze is just to catch them and keep them from running away. I don;t pinch the sides, just catch their heads then stick a shulder under their butts so they can lay down and then do the job. Get the crap kicked out of me sometimes but that just goes with the territory. I should correct this to "I used to do it that way" Now I wait till I can con someone into helping hold them. I'm not agile enough to do the gymnastics anymore

 

[kenny thomas]

Sounds like how I do it. I put a medal bar behind them to keep them tight on the headgate and it also keeps them from kicking me but they still jump around a lot.
Sucks to get older and it takes a lot longer to heal. Worked 80 last Saturday and 40 today by myself but only had to cut 6. Worked on the job all night last Saturday night and then 6 hours today after working the cattle. Sure must be an easier way.

 

[dun]

Sounds like how I do it. I put a medal bar behind them to keep them tight on the headgate and it also keeps them from kicking me but they still jump around a lot.
Sucks to get older and it takes a lot longer to heal. Worked 80 last Saturday and 40 today by myself but only had to cut 6. Worked on the job all night last Saturday night and then 6 hours today after working the cattle. Sure must be an easier way.

The easier way is to have someone tail them for you. In the really younger days I would just flank them down then cut away all by myself. Stand on one hind leg and put the other once over my shoulder.

 

[kenny thomas]

I would like to have a picture of that.

 

[jt]

i work my cattle by myself all the time, but i do not cut them by myself. imo that is asking for problems. all it takes is one to kick at the wrong time for you to cut your self really bad. that can happen at any time, but with someone holding the tail, it puts the odds more into my favor. i put all mine thru the chute and close it up, but not tight. someone holds the tail and it is over quick. i guess i should add that i am not talking about new borns. i used to cut mine (by myself) at birth, but could not catch them all and have gone to cutting them during the spring working. a 3 or 4 weight calf will change your mind about trying to cut him by yourself, lol.

if help is hard to get, i run the bull calves all together in a pen as i work the herd and save them until last or when i can get someone to help me. of course i have that planned before i start. sometimes it is hard to get help for an extended period of time, so i use the help on those bull calves.

had one get turned around backwards in the chute the other day and was pressed against the head gate by another calf, so i just cut him by reaching thru the head gate. that little bugger kicked a bunch and almost got me once. still stung pretty good. told my helper to grab his tail and he didnt kick again. holding that tail made a big difference.

good luck

jt

 

[pits4life]

Depending on weight of course,from the day of birth till 200# or so I just flank them to the ground, once down I use a pig and string(thats what some call it),or just use a rope but anyway that frees up your hands to either cut or band ,this is just what works well for me.....

 

[Angus Cowman]

Depending on weight of course,from the day of birth till 200# or so I just flank them to the ground, once down I use a pig and string(thats what some call it),or just use a rope but anyway that frees up your hands to either cut or band ,this is just what works well for me.....

actually it is called a Piggin String

 

[Angus Cowman]

AC, since you calve in the fall maybe she can help me in the spring. No use of her sitting around and getting lazy.
Hillsdown, I do band most at birth but I was traveling at work and missed a few born while I was gone. Also bought several that had not been worked. Need to buy several more for other people and a lot of them will be bulls so I will be doing more by myself.

Actually KT we are gonna be cutting in a week or so actually this yr we are using a calicrate bander, the older and fatter I get the easier it is to use one :cowboy:

 

[dun]

AC, since you calve in the fall maybe she can help me in the spring. No use of her sitting around and getting lazy.
Hillsdown, I do band most at birth but I was traveling at work and missed a few born while I was gone. Also bought several that had not been worked. Need to buy several more for other people and a lot of them will be bulls so I will be doing more by myself.

Actually KT we are gonna be cutting in a week or so actually this yr we are using a calicrate bander, the older and fatter I get the easier it is to use one :cowboy:

The age deal is a big share of the reason we went to banding vs cutting.

 

[Keren]

We do them a bit before weaning generally, so I just run them into the crush/chute. I dont squeeze the sides. If its a big calf I catch their heads, if its a little guy I just jam them up into a corner. Mostly I just take the kicks from the little ones, the big ones I will use a piece of bale twine to tie the tail up, or I will use the vet gate, or both.

 

[preston39]

We have found you cannot beat the use of.... an animal immobolizer unit.... for castration and any other treatment procedures, especially when one person is working alone. The animal seems to not be aware of any procedure when released. It came to our attention because we castrate at 450-500# and they can get testy.

 

[ga.prime]

I catch them in the head gate and use a bander. They calm down and don't kick when I get aholt of their gonads.

 

[Dave]

When doing it alone I put them in the crowd alley leading to the chute. From the outside I get a rope on both back legs. I pull their legs up about even with their back and tie it off. Then I go into the alley and knock them over. The rope holds their back end off the ground they can't kick. One knee on the neck and cut away. I have castrated, branded, and vaccinated calves up to 300 pounds this way (300 pounders are a bit of a struggle) by myself. 200 pounders are a piece of calke. And the bonus is I have never been kicked doing it this way.

 

[Lucky_P]

I'm with preston - if I were doing it *alone*, I wouldn't do it without my Immobilizer.
After having my hand broken - and almost getting my arm broke - milking out two cows, in the chute, over the past year, there's no way I'm milking a cow or trying to get a calf started on a teat without her being Immobilized.