I have a problem...

[FFA gal]

Ok so my cousin and I have some odd acting calves.. Every time you try to pull on their halter they fall over like a fainting goat... Then they lay there till you make them get up... :???: They are both steers... My sister's done the same thing last year and her calf was a steer also.. Any ideas how this happens?? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.. Our fair is the 1st week in September.. :help:

Could it be because they are steers?? Or is it something in their genes??

 

[LFF]

There being lazy and stuborn. They've have learned that its easier on them just to lay down. I know a fellow that had one like that and he had someone to follow behind the calf and as soon as it laid down they would tag it with a hot stick. It solved his problem however it might also make the calf too spooked to have anyone behind it.

 

[FFA gal]

Thanks.. My dad is helping me try to break him bc he will try to get away from me and dad's stronger so he's just going to walk him for a bit.. Last night I was behind him with a show stick poking him repeatedly and he wouldn't budge.. I'm going to go out later after he eats we're going to walk him and hopefully he stops this habit soon.. lol

 

[Roan]

Bribe them with grain, put halters on, then show them a grain dish and take a bite, then move it forward and lead them to grain, take a bite and move again. Might take a couple of tries but it usually gets them moving.

 

[FFA gal]

Roan
I did do something like what you said today but I stuck the feed in the feed scoop instead of the feed pan.. and I got him to walk a little bit.. He still wants to fall over when you pull on the halter.. (Don't know why he does it..) I hope this works b/c My fair is in the beginning of September.. :/ Thanks for the help

 

[Suzie Q]

He does it because he can. He will keep doing it until it is more comfortable for him to walk than more comfortable to lie down.

 

[VCC]

How long have they been doing this? You say your fair is the first week of September, are you just teaching them to lead now?
How long have they been halter broke and what type of halter are you using?

 

[highgrit]

Never trained a cow before, but a shock collar works well on a dog with proper training.

 

[FFA gal]

VCC

He has been doing this for about a week I think.. Yea I am just teaching to lead because we got them in later than usual because it was really hot where I live and we didn't want the calves to get sick from being stressed and with all the heat.. Their not halter broke yet.. I'm in the process of halter breaking him and we're using one of the nylon halters.

 

[VCC]

So I take it these are 1100 to 1200 pound steers. We usually start them around 450 to 500 pounds when we halter break them and some of them will fall down to. Get a good nylon rope halter that you can take off after each time you work with them. If they fall down get them up and try again, just keep working with them.
If they keep falling on rolling over when you try to work with them, through a tarp over their head for about 5 minutes and do not let them up, this has worked on horses in the past.
Once you are past the falling part start tying them with their heads up (at show level) for 10 minutes then 15 and on up until you reach 1 hour, this helps them get used to standing with their head up so you do not have to fight them in the ring.
You might try tying them up and walking to water and feed, they will walk once they get thirsty.

 

[FFA gal]

VCC
My calf is almost 500 lbs.. How does the tarp help with them falling over?? I tried pulling him and that failed and my mom and pap tried to poke him with the show-sticks or push him and he just won't budge..

 

[Suzie Q]

He won't budge because it is more comfortable for him to lie down. They have a thicker skin than horses. You do not have the strength to hit hard enough even with a dresssage whip to get him to move. As someone said above, one touch with a cattle prod and he will be probably get up, but then can you hold on to him?

Tarps over their head might not work. Horses are mostly up, they do not go down for long. Cattle on the other hand spend a lot of their time lying down.

 

[FFA gal]

We tried using a hot shot tonight and I don't think it really phased my calf.. He's so stubborn..

 

[Suzie Q]

Personally I have never seen a cattle prod not get a reaction. I would say check your batteries or your device.

 

[JHH]

I bet that you have left the halters on and they are sore. There fore when you try tuging on them they twist there head and lay down.

are there two of them? If so lead them with one behing the other. Also the tarp thing may work.

I had a calf do that same thing and we switched halters and used a rope one. She quit.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[sim.-ang.king]

l

 

[aussie_cowgirl]

Personally I have never seen a cattle prod not get a reaction. I would say check your batteries or your device.

I had a little hereford steer that seemed to like the prod. He would stop, and when you zapped him he jumped, took a step or 2 then stopped and looked back at the person with the prod. He never grew out of that.

FFA girl, as everyone else has said they're just being stubborn. We use a piece of poly pipe here, doesn't hurt them so much as to make them jump, if they're really stubborn that might not be enough. The other technique I've used that normally works is when they lay down, get the person that's helping you to use both hands and give them an almighty whack on the soft part of their guts, and I mean put as much force into it as you can. You may have to do that more than once with some really stubborn animals but that should work.

Another tip is to not even let them get to that point. Keep their head up and if they start to put their front legs down, get the person following you to whack them with the poly pipe under their belly until they get back on their feet.

Hollow poly pipe is your best friend!

 

[Suzie Q]

Personally I have never seen a cattle prod not get a reaction. I would say check your batteries or your device.

I had a little hereford steer that seemed to like the prod. He would stop, and when you zapped him he jumped, took a step or 2 then stopped and looked back at the person with the prod. He never grew out of that.

We had a heifer who did the same thing. For some reason she stops in the race. The first time I left her there and watched for a long time. The bull went in and tried to get her out but she wouldn't move. So in the end I went and got the cattle prod, as it was a hot day and I didn't want her to dehydrate. Just a step forward with each zap, but at least it got her out of the race.

She has gotten better in the race, but I had to use the cattle prod a few times on her to get her into the crush and then just let her out without doing anything to her.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

I had that promble with a bull and what i did is tied them up short for a couple of hours then walked them to there feed not pulling very hard so letting them go on there own free will then the next day i did the same till they where broke of it then i went on from there

 

[VCC]

Here is the thing if you did have them haltered dragging the lead, they have sore heads and have been learning to stop when they feel pressure not move forward when they feel pressure.

I would tie him up each day and only lead him to water and feed. Kick him loose only at night. Once he figures that the only way he is going to get to the water is if he leads, he'll get it quick. Start by watering him while he is tied, once he gets used to the bucket move it farther and farther away each time. Do not get into a tug of war with him you will loose, try pulling and releasing on the halter and once he starts moving make sure to release the pressure. If he does not fight the lead while tied I would start tying him with his head up for 15 minutes and work your way up to 2 hours a day. Stay around so if something was to happen you can free him and make sure your knot is one that releases easy. It helps to have a knife around just in case you can't get the knot untied.

Take your time and do not get frustrated in the beginning it seems like you are getting know where but just be calm and persistent you will win in the end.

The tarp, if we had a that horses that reared allot we would through the tarp over his head once he went all the way over, they just lay there and think they died, after that most would never rear again.

Good luck