I learned an important lesson last night - handling cattle

[Hippie Rancher]

I really don't have a clue as to how to load one that acts like that except with a horse and rope, any ideas for when that time comes in March? I expect he will be around 600lbs by then.

Thanks everyone!!! :tiphat:

That or start feeding him wherever you load from or even right in the trailer.

 

[oscar p]

Tranqulizer gun,a good rope,a cow halter and a 4 wheeler. He'll never know how he got on the trailer. :cboy:

 

[Susie David]

Y'all didn't mention if you were using your dogs to push them. We have a new little bull calf that hasn't shown any fear of the dogs and the darn mutts just sniff him and he sniffs back then they just sit watch what he is doing. Toouble down the road I suspect.
Glad to hear that you had a soft bounce off the fence.
DMc

 

[sidney411]

No, we don't use dogs.

He is not weaned, so that may be what we do with his mother, she's calm as can be and will follow a sack anywhere.

Don't have a tranq gun, but could ask the vet if I could borrow theirs if they have one.

If I fed in the trailer the cows would likely tear the trailer apart getting the feed and the calf is too far down the totem pole to probably ever get access to the feed.

He was in the middle of the herd when we 1st pushed the whole group (58 animals) into the pens. He turned around and fought his way through them as they were going in the pens.

The pens are roofed so it is darker (shade) under the roof then in the pasture. I guess that could have spooked him, if that is the case I have no way to remedy that problem that I can think of.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I think I will try penning his mother a day before I want to sell him to see if he will go in that way, if not I guess the rope idea will be what we resort too. Anyone want to gove me roping lessons?

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Anyone want to gove me roping lessons?

If you don't have this skill already waiting till shipping day is gonna be a wreck. Get Mama in the pen NOW and work on getting him in there with her. Don't rush gates or do anything to scare him back.

When you get them together in an enclosed area keep working slowly to get him in a small pen with her. Just walk away when he goes where you want. It will only take one or two positive times to get him over what ever scared him, but if you give him any more negative experiences he is never going to go in there and you will need to rodeo or tranquilize - neither of which gives the best return in dollars as gentle handling.

 

[redfornow]

The only thing I have seen work everytime is a 44.
A 500 pound calf is absolutely the craziest of them all when they get worked up.

A bull or a cow will kill you.
But for a simple trip to the ER well a 500 steer is the most likely critter there is.

Glad you didnt get hurt to bad...

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Sid, glad you weren't hurt. If popping them on the nose with a bat or ax handle won't do any good, sometime you ought to mosey on over to Woodville and let CB show you how to whack them up beside the head, around their ear -- that'll get their attention.

 

[CUZ]

Sid, I'm also glad you're OK.

Here's something I do that works most of the time. I talk to them as I herd them along. That way they don't lose track of me and get startled when I show up in their field of vision. The ones who are a little jittery (generally the calves) tend to move on along.

We had one who was real nervous but she would be in the first group who made it into the pen where there was a bag or two of feed in the trough. By the time the stragglers made it in the feed was gone and she was looking for somewhere to go. If we wanted her to head back out to the field we'd get behind her (way behind her) and just start talking to them again.

We finally called the salebarn and they sent a couple of guys with a tranq gun and some horses. Tranq'ed her, roped her and finally pulled her into the trailer and off she went. It cost a few bucks but it was the only way I felt safe getting her off the place and to the salebarn.

 

[msscamp]

I did turn out a one of my calmest cows with him and she would go right back in the pen every time and he would turn back. We tried that 4 times and he did the same thing every time. We only messed w/ him about 15 mins. He wasn't a problem in the pasture, comes every time I call them in for cake. He was fine this morning too when I went out to check them - he paid me no attention and was not a bit nervous/flighty/aggressive. He's worth too much money to break out the 44 yet. I just wanted to let people know how unpredictable cattle can be.

Claustrophopia can have the same effect on some cattle as it does people - they are hell to get into a small pen or alley without a lot of extra/very patient handling. Even if you're successful in getting them in that pen/alleyway they tend to go a little nuts and stir up a lot of dust, try to jump out, run around acting like a fool, etc. I'm glad you're ok.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Sid, glad you weren't hurt. If popping them on the nose with a bat or ax handle won't do any good, sometime you ought to mosey on over to Woodville and let CB show you how to whack them up beside the head, around their ear -- that'll get their attention.

An axe handle to the burr of the ear will drop one like a bad habit. Problem is you are not always in postion to hit the mark. Back before I got rid of all my F-1's I always had a large bore pistol on me when working them. When working cattle alone which is not smart you had better have some way to get one off. In the pasture they were great get them in a catch pen they got high headed and hot quick.

 

[Calman]

Got 6 head of meatmaster mammas. All are good gentel mommas. But we had one hotheaded one that wouldn't play by the rules and would disrupt the whole heard.She raised good calf's and was an excellent mother.I figured she'd settle down,but still that mean look in her eye remained.we decieded to ship her the next time we sold calf's.But when we started to load calf's we decided on another chance for her.Had them all in the sorting pens and thought I was keeping a eye on her but turned around and she was missing.Looked down the alley to the loading shute and she was in the front of the trailer.Needless to say she got shipped.Always was a big job to get her on the trailer before.

 

[1848]

If you were in the pen with a bat, you already went in with the wrong attitude..... Glad you didn't get hurt. I'm sure you can put the rest in the pen (far side where they can't get out) where he will have no choice but to try and join the herd by going in. I bet he has a good flight zone given the room should be able to work him that way.

 

[js2743]

i killed one once with a piece of wood he weighed about 500 pounds and had all intentions of getting out of the corral. he had jumped up on top of the panels and was trying to get across and i picked up a piece of a 4x4 about 2 foot long and just pitched it to try and scare him off the panels. well it hit him right behind the ear and he fell as dead as he could ever be never kicked or any thing. i never even threw it i just kinda tossed it to scare him and low and behold i killed him dead, so be carful hitting them to hard lol. he was the best one of the crop that year but he made pretty good beef as we skined him out and got it to a cooler pretty fast it was in august.