don't laugh: rope calf on foot?

[pdubdo]

Anyone rope 2-4 wk old calves on foot? I don't have a leg catcher, but I'm not horrible w/ a rope. Just need to tag them and I have 2 teenage boys to help. Is this feasible? tips? As an aside, on friday we had an abandoned twin that we brought home about 16 hrs after birth. Fought me like crazy and not nearly as weak as I imagined a day-old calf to be. So I'm trying not to underestimate the strength of a 2 week old calf.

 

[sstterry]

Anyone rope 2-4 wk old calves on foot? I don't have a leg catcher, but I'm not horrible w/ a rope. Just need to tag them and I have 2 teenage boys to help. Is this feasible? tips? As an aside, on friday we had an abandoned twin that we brought home about 16 hrs after birth. Fought me like crazy and not nearly as weak as I imagined a day-old calf to be. So I'm trying not to underestimate the strength of a 2 week old calf.

If it has to be on foot, make sure you have a good stiff lasso!

 

[callmefence]

I rope small calf's on foot all the time.
If I don't find them as newborns and I want to get a tag in a ear or cut them.

I can ride like a comanche, and rope like a vaquero....just not at the same time...

 

[TCRanch]

Absolutely! I've roped calves that are 5 months old. I use my Polaris. I loop one end of the rope to the grill, rope the calf and snub them to the grill. Wear gloves! Or I rope the calf and let it run, dragging the rope. When it gets tired and usually lays down, I simply drive up & onto the rope. Generally, once the calf is roped, I switch to a halter.

 

[TCRanch]

P.S. I do have a Calf Catch and it's great for calves up to 300 lbs. The hook is pliable enough you can bend it open a little if you need to use it on a bigger calf.

 

[Ryder]

P.S. I do have a Calf Catch and it's great for calves up to 300 lbs. The hook is pliable enough you can bend it open a little if you need to use it on a bigger calf.

I rope small calf's on foot all the time.
If I don't find them as newborns and I want to get a tag in a ear or cut them.

I can ride like a comanche, and rope like a vaquero....just not at the same time...

Have roped many-a-calf on foot.
Sometimes I needed too and a lot of times just for fun.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Da wife will not Shepard's crook them at that age.
I have roped a few off an open station tractor...
Mostly just wait till they are in a corral.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I rope them out of necessity, as a last resort. I can cowboy with the best of them, until you put a rope in my hands. Then it turns into beginners day on the farm.

I use a calf hook. It telescopes to 12ft.

Just remember when your loop lands they tend to bawl, which usually bringing more than 1 agitated momma.

 

[greybeard]

Da wife will not Shepard's crook them at that age.
I have roped a few off an open station tractor...
Mostly just wait till they are in a corral.

Bad memories there from the days of my mis-spent youth. I was about 13 yrs old. Dad roped a yearling off the the seat of an 8n tractor running pretty fast across what little pasture we had on 124 acres back then. He had tied off to the steering column and the calf took off back behind the right side of the tractor. It went downhill quick., yearling is running out at the end of the rope to the rear, the rope pulled the throttle lever to max rpm and broke the lever off. Went on around the back of the tractor and headed toward the front, the rope rode up on the left rear fender, broke the implement light off and pushed Dad up & out of his seat with the tractor still in 3rd gear, and pulled him almost off the tractor onto the litle running board. He reached down to turn the key off and it fell out of the switch and he's stuck up there with his foot on the clutch, engine screaming with no load on it, he can't reach the gear shift, hollering for me and brother to catch the damn yearling.
We never tried that again.

 

[bird dog]

I'm like SBMF, Its a last resort. With me on foot its a sling and a prayer. I tie one end to the side by side and try to sling the other end over their head.

 

[Stocker Steve]

An 8N is very versatile.
Maybe I should buy one of those chicken chasers.

 

[Hereford2]

How did you get the tractor stopped?

 

[gcreekrch]

Bad memories there from the days of my mis-spent youth. I was about 13 yrs old. Dad roped a yearling off the the seat of an 8n tractor running pretty fast across what little pasture we had on 124 acres back then. He had tied off to the steering column and the calf took off back behind the right side of the tractor. It went downhill quick., yearling is running out at the end of the rope to the rear, the rope pulled the throttle lever to max rpm and broke the lever off. Went on around the back of the tractor and headed toward the front, the rope rode up on the left rear fender, broke the implement light off and pushed Dad up & out of his seat with the tractor still in 3rd gear, and pulled him almost off the tractor onto the litle running board. He reached down to turn the key off and it fell out of the switch and he's stuck up there with his foot on the clutch, engine screaming with no load on it, he can't reach the gear shift, hollering for me and brother to catch the damn yearling.
We never tried that again.

Thank you so much for the belly laugh. Have been in enough scrapes to know how it went. All is well as long as no one got hurt.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I rope them out of necessity, as a last resort. I can cowboy with the best of them, until you put a rope in my hands. Then it turns into beginners day on the farm.

I use a calf hook. It telescopes to 12ft.

Just remember when your loop lands they tend to bawl, which usually bringing more than 1 agitated momma.

I snatched up Thing 3 the other day. Just picked him up to carry to the pen and my milk cow.
EVERY mama came running! And he never made a peep!
I was a bit uneasy as they came stampeding toward me.... thought about dropping him and wishing him luck!

 

[Hpacres440p]

I snatched up Thing 3 the other day. Just picked him up to carry to the pen and my milk cow.
EVERY mama came running! And he never made a peep!
I was a bit uneasy as they came stampeding toward me.... thought about dropping him and wishing him luck!

Been there done that. Feed bags and calves-cow magnets

 

[MurraysMutts]

Been there done that. Feed bags and calves-cow magnets

O yeah! Pen the cows with feed b4 roping.
Done that too.
Seems much safer

 

[Dave]

I have roped them on foot and horseback but never off a machine. Too many bad stories of the out come from doing that. I have seen the neighbor pull calves out of a 1,200 pound cow in a big open field by roping one hind leg then drive up on to the rope. Then take a wrap on the tire. It is a two man job. One to rope and one to drive.

 

[Lucky]

If you get him roped and the rope gets away from you instead of chasing him let him calm down and drive over the end of the rope to hold him.

 

[littletom]

I got this orange thing called the hook. It is a leg catch with a big hook on the other end. Its pretty great i ride the ranger up snatch a leg, then hook the other end on a handle by the seat and tag day old calves every day. Everyone once in a while get a runner just run upbeside them catch them on go. Now a month old calf going to be hand full on anything less than a broke horse. Had a sick cow back in the spring in pasture ways from the chute no good way to catch her with a week old calf. I get the old man works for me in the shop to go. Took a few trys but did get it ran down caught it by the leg with my hook. Its raising all kinds of hell. Got it wrestled in to the back held it down and she followed us all the way back. Heck of a ordeal, If you don't have one of these hooks buy one in the morning! You can stick the big end in a cows mouth in the chute and have head handle if you need it. And beat a mean off you too. Some kind of orange plastic.

 

[BFE]

I got this orange thing called the hook. It is a leg catch with a big hook on the other end. Its pretty great i ride the ranger up snatch a leg, then hook the other end on a handle by the seat and tag day old calves every day. Everyone once in a while get a runner just run upbeside them catch them on go. Now a month old calf going to be hand full on anything less than a broke horse. Had a sick cow back in the spring in pasture ways from the chute no good way to catch her with a week old calf. I get the old man works for me in the shop to go. Took a few trys but did get it ran down caught it by the leg with my hook. Its raising all kinds of hell. Got it wrestled in to the back held it down and she followed us all the way back. Heck of a ordeal, If you don't have one of these hooks buy one in the morning! You can stick the big end in a cows mouth in the chute and have head handle if you need it. And beat a mean off you too. Some kind of orange plastic.

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Is this what you're talking about? Don't have one myself, but I might by the end of the week.