How long...

[ALACOWMAN]

I heard you can yoke the cow to a tree, and use a old Lincoln continental to pull one... :cowboy:

 

[gcreekrch]

I heard you can yoke the cow to a tree, and use a old Lincoln continental to pull one... :cowboy:

I witness a power pole and a 63 Dodge Power wagon when I was a kid. Both lived. I don't know how. That cow was always known as "Stretch's Mother".

Glad I learned how to do C sections.

 

[Supa Dexta]

I'm sure I pull more calves than most - and I would never put one in a chute to do it.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I'm sure I pull more calves than most - and I would never put one in a chute to do it.

Elaborate please on what you use. I run them in a chute with the head catch closed. Had one go down after pulling a calf and opened the side up and she still couldn't get up. I fed her calf off of her and left her till morning to decide, luckily she was up when I got there.

 

[dun]

I'm sure I pull more calves than most - and I would never put one in a chute to do it.

We put them in the chute and get a halter on them then kick them out with the rope tied to the outside of the chute. Then pull them there.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Lasso> Rope halter > calf puller. Tie them to anything that will hold them, and I'd say 90 percent of them lay/fall down eventually to have it. Just need too much room to work a puller properly than to be constrained to a chute - let alone having them stuck in it. Then I want to be able to drag the calf to their head while they lay there.

 

[Silver]

Lasso> Rope halter > calf puller. Tie them to anything that will hold them, and I'd say 90 percent of them lay/fall down eventually to have it. Just need too much room to work a puller properly than to be constrained to a chute - let alone having them stuck in it. Then I want to be able to drag the calf to their head while they lay there.

Guess we've just been lucky here for 40 yrs.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Silver, do any of yours lay down in the chute?

 

[Silver]

Silver, do any of yours lay down in the chute?

No, we keep them upright.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Oh, yes. You put a sling under them. Great Idea. It is "generally" best if you keep them upright, but they are not always cooperative patients.

 

[Silver]

Oh, yes. You put a sling under them. Great Idea. It is "generally" best if you keep them upright, but they are not always cooperative patients.

That's true, they aren't always super cooperative. It really helps to have a squeeze that the sides hinge at the floor, that way the shape of the chute helps to support them as well. I'm wouldn't say it's the best way, or the only way, it's just our way and it is a method that has stood the test of time.
I have considered putting a maternity style head catch and panels, but I haven't measured one up yet to see if it would fit in our "hospital" end of the barn, which is partitioned off from the rest of the barn. And I'm not convinced I want to lay on the floor straightening out crooked calves, hooking chains, or running the puller

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

If you have a method of MAKING them stand, more power to you. That sounds great.
Our chute totally opens on both sides (hinged at the headlock), but I definitely would not want to messing with them IN the chute. It has been many years that we have had a hard pull. Pretty much the only thing we have helped was needing feet pulled up or backwards calf. We use a long rope & loop it around a pole & the handles & use like a come-a-long.

 

[Silver]

I've never found working in the chute to be an issue. Excuse the single chain wraps in this pic, it was a very easy pull.

I like to introduce them to each other while I check to make sure teats are open, give a shot of oxy, change old faded ear tags or replace lost ones, etc.

 

[Tbrake]

Can someone elaborate on the sling you use to keep them from going down in the chute? Usually pull 5-7 a year on average, and seems most of them want to go down. I am by self 98% of the time, so I avoid using the haulter method some have mentioned

 

[NEFarmwife]

This is what we have for pulling. To the right, you can see a swinging gate (red) that we use to enclose them if needed. It has the girdle too, to keep them upright but sometimes they'll fall quickly. As in this case.

This momma went into labor early, with twins and both were dead. This is the second set of twins we've lost and our only losses thus far. Makes me wonder? Both had been deceased prior to birthing. This pull was extremely hard but momma is doing good.

 

[Silver]

Can someone elaborate on the sling you use to keep them from going down in the chute? Usually pull 5-7 a year on average, and seems most of them want to go down. I am by self 98% of the time, so I avoid using the haulter method some have mentioned

We just have a big heavy rope attached to the top of the chute on one side, draped down the inside of the chute, on the floor, and up the other side. When the cow steps in it's just a matter of tightening it up a tight as possible. Right behind the front legs. I use a bar behind and work it forward far enough she can't lay down. Sometimes they want to slump down and need a little encouragement to stand up on their own. As I mentioned before, our chute is narrow at the bottom and hinges there to squeeze, so if they are squeezed up tight it also helps to hold them up.
I have to admit to pulling more calves than most folks, so it's good to have any system that works and you can work by yourself.

 

[Dave]

This is what we have for pulling. To the right, you can see a swinging gate (red) that we use to enclose them if needed. It has the girdle too, to keep them upright but sometimes they'll fall quickly. As in this case.

This momma went into labor early, with twins and both were dead. This is the second set of twins we've lost and our only losses thus far. Makes me wonder? Both had been deceased prior to birthing. This pull was extremely hard but momma is doing good.

I had/have basically the same set up. A self locking head gate with a gate on each side. Worked great. Allows a person to constrain the cow with access to pull the calf. Yet very simple to release if the cow goes down.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Farmwife, do you have any trouble with the headlocks getting smaller at the bottom - with the cow getting her blood supply shut off?

 

[Randi]

This is our maternity pen. It has a self catch headgate, and a split gate. I wish it had gates on both sides, but we have not had an issue with it. And personally, I don't have a problem with a cow laying down while we are pulling. We have never had one lay down while we were positioning the calf or getting the chains put on.

 

[NEFarmwife]

Farmwife, do you have any trouble with the headlocks getting smaller at the bottom - with the cow getting her blood supply shut off?

Not in our experience. While we've had some difficult pulls, rarely have they ever laid down prior to him being able to position them to stay up. It's a legitimate question but we haven't had a situation where it's become dangerous for the cow.

I did watch this pull (I was at my day job and just checked in on cameras as this was happening) and the cow was still moving her head around. I suppose if she was extremely wore out and lethargic, that could have became a real issue.