Easy way to get calves in the trailer...

[Sunny Citizen]

I'm looking for any advice or tips on getting my calves into the trailer...This has been my first experience in raising Jersey calves. I don't have the ideal situation...but I am working to better it.

I'm the one who missed a testicle on a calf (well, actually on 2 calves). I've had one "contained" on grain and hay for 2 months. The other with a missed testicle has been in the pasture with 3 other calves...on pasture, hay, and grain. They are 6 months old. As you can see from the photos, my pasture is lacking and clearly I do not have enough to support all the calves. So, I am keeping one and have an appointment for 4 to go to the butcher this week. I am borrowing my neighbors small trailer. He is elderly and has repeated told me how concerned he is about me having these 2 rigs. He cannot help me "round up the calves". (My husband and 15 year old son are here to help me with that.)

The one guy that is contained can get rambuncious -- he snorts and trashes around his enclosure when he gets agitated. I could get a little intimidated with him.

The 4 together in the pasture can get playful, but pretty much come when they see me with the grain bucket. I have occasionally staked them out to mow for me. I have tried to keep my hands on them from the beginning. So they are pretty tame. I'm not afraid of them - respectful, but not afraid.

So, I have 3 from the pasture - which I think I can get loaded o.k. with a bribe of grain -- and then there's the one guy in the small enclosure... Do I load him first? Then, try to get the others in? Load him first, "fence" him in with something???, then load the others? This is actually going to be funny. My son plans to have the video going...thinks he will win some cash for an "America's Funniest Video".

As you can see from the photos, I have electric fencing - no loading dock.

http://pufferfishdesign.com//site/page/494/14/0/

Thanks in advance. ~Nanette

 

[backhoeboogie]

Just remember that they have TWO testicles and you'll be okay next time

I don't use the loading dock much at all. Only if it is my neighbor's bull going home or else if it is some other nutsy cow/bull. The hardest part is sorting out the ones that need to be loaded. What I do is open the gate at the end of the alley, use the trailer gate and sort of make a funnel once the ones getting loaded are sorted. Run the herd down the alley to another pasture. Let out the ones getting loaded into that same alley and when the get around the bend, I box them at the trailer. Once one goes they all do and you need to close them in before they decided to come back out.

 

[dun]

I would load and haul the one in the small enclosure first, set it up as an alleyway with the open trailer door at one end and just push him. <ay help to put some grain in the front of the trailer first. After he is gone, use the same kind of alleyway to run the other 3 into the trailer.