Dave's cow collection service

[Dave]

I was getting my coat on to go do calf check. Looked out the front window and a black cow came walking down off the hill. She walked out the gate on to the driveway and the through the gate into the people side of the feed bunk. I thought thank you cow. Just close one gate and open another and I will have her captured. Walked out there and wait a minute. There is an bunch of cows in there. Turned out to be 3 cows, 2 big blonde char cross calves, and a big char steer that looks to be a 2 year old. It is March 1 and this is the first time these cows have been seen since last spring.
The little calf and the cow on the right are a pair I bought this week. These cows are in pretty good shape for having spent the winter in the hills. The 3 cows and the 2 blonde calves belong to B, The big char steer has a purple ear tag so I know it isn't B's. I think I might know who it belongs to. We will figure it out and get it to the owner.

 

[Dave]

Back in late January B's son spent the better part of a day riding in a helicopter searching for cows. Two times in late January 3 cowboy horseback with half a dozen dog worked the hills behind my place and brought down cows both times. Kind of goes to show how big and rugged this country is. I know that I have been in some of those big juniper patch and looked. You can't see the sky.

 

[4hfarms]

I walk by cows in a 15ac pasture, couldn't even imagine your roundups.

Nice blond cows.

 

[Dave]

I walk by cows in a 15ac pasture, couldn't even imagine your roundups.

Nice blond cows.

The cowboys spend the better part of October riding the hills. They get 90% or more of them. Then on a normal year some time in November the great white cowboy shows up. The snow drive that other 10% out of the hills. Then in December or early January they fly the hills searching for stragglers. Lot easier to spot cows with snow on the ground. They find a few when flying. This year they spotted 60 when they flew. And there has still been a fair number which they never spotted showed up when they flew, like these. Everything in this picture clear to those hills on the horizon and a lot more is searched. In fact before they flew I was told they had spotted some bred heifers up on that peak on the left in this picture.

 

[Goldfinch]

Could you use infrared cameras in such a application? Seems if you ran a helicopter at night with infrared you couldn't miss much.

 

[kenny thomas]

Could you use infrared cameras in such a application? Seems if you ran a helicopter at night with infrared you couldn't miss much.

I haven't tried it but would think its hard to tell the difference between a cow and an elk, a calf and a deer.

 

[Dave]

How much more would a night flight helicopter cost? There is an easy 3,000 foot elevation difference. How close would you need to be for the infrared to pick them up? I would hate to find a mountain the hard way at night in a helicopter. And like I said in a normal year the snow pushes them down.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

I don't have livestock and never will. I'm going to say something about virtual fence here that will make me sound like a proponent. Owners can choose what they want, I don't have a dog in the fight if there is a fight.

Virtual fencing has a unique side benefit. The use of those collars lets you pinpoint where any individual cow is at within a short distance (probably WAY less than 50 feet) at any given time and you can literally ride or drive straight to them without ever having to ride the range on multiple days or step foot into a helicopter.

 

[4hfarms]

My cows would get lost on your property!
Years ago I would have love to hike all that. Now I envy people that can. I still walk my property, for now. I keep telling myself I'll by a farm mobile eventually.

Wonder if she will let me get a helicopter?

 

[Mark Reynolds]

My cows would get lost on your property!
Years ago I would have love to hike all that. Now I envy people that can. I still walk my property, for now. I keep telling myself I'll by a farm mobile eventually.

Wonder if she will let me get a helicopter?

Forget the cows getting lost on the property. I'd get lost on the property! Never have been truly lost when out like that, but have been at the point of not knowing exactly where I am. Knew which way to go for what, but had no idea how far.

 

[Dave]

I don't have livestock and never will. I'm going to say something about virtual fence here that will make me sound like a proponent. Owners can choose what they want, I don't have a dog in the fight if there is a fight.

Virtual fencing has a unique side benefit. The use of those collars lets you pinpoint where any individual cow is at within a short distance (probably WAY less than 50 feet) at any given time and you can literally ride or drive straight to them without ever having to ride the range on multiple days or step foot into a helicopte

At $300 per collar plus the time and effort to install the collars and fresh batteries you can pay a lot of days of cowboys riding and/or have some cows that simply are never seem again.

 

[Travlr]

My cows would get lost on your property!
Years ago I would have love to hike all that. Now I envy people that can. I still walk my property, for now. I keep telling myself I'll by a farm mobile eventually.

Wonder if she will let me get a helicopter?

LOL... The body ain't gonna do what it did when we were thirty.

I remember buying a Hereford/Char cross and she was a fence buster. She got out on my neighbor's property which was all steep hills and thick woods, and I'd heard that humans were built to chase down animals in the wild. Endurance hunting... So I decided to test that theory and I chased her down until she was so exhausted that I could put a rope halter over her head.
Can't do that today...

 

[4hfarms]

LOL... The body ain't gonna do what it did when we were thirty.

I remember buying a Hereford/Char cross and she was a fence buster. She got out on my neighbor's property which was all steep hills and thick woods, and I'd heard that humans were built to chase down animals in the wild. Endurance hunting... So I decided to test that theory and I chased her down until she was so exhausted that I could put a rope halter over her head.
Can't do that today...

Now we use treats in a bucket.

Smarter not harder.

 

[Travlr]

Now we use treats in a bucket.

Smarter not harder.

Yeah... That heifer was gone through the fence within an hour of coming home with me. And she was also gone the next week...
No time for training her to a bucket.

 

[Brute 23]

Could you use infrared cameras in such a application? Seems if you ran a helicopter at night with infrared you couldn't miss much.

You dont have to do it at night. They will show up with thermal in the day. The cooler the ground, like early in the am or if its over cast or what ever the better they show up. The closer the ground gets to the animal temp the harder it gets.

 

[Goldfinch]

You dont have to do it at night. They will show up with thermal in the day. The cooler the ground, like early in the am or if its over cast or what ever the better they show up. The closer the ground gets to the animal temp the harder it gets.

Very true. Obviously I don't know much about helicopter regulations and such, my thought simply came from the thermal deer recovery services that are popping up. They are having very good success around our area. They all use drones though, for which the number of flying restrictions are less.

 

[Brute 23]

Very true. Obviously I don't know much about helicopter regulations and such, my thought simply came from the thermal deer recovery services that are popping up. They are having very good success around our area. They all use drones though, for which the number of flying restrictions are less.

Yes sir. You can drive of fly and see deer or cattle with monoculars or what ever you choose to use.