ran a calf to death? How to avoid?

[ga.prime]

I don't think you ran it to death. It would have been exhausted though and doing a lot of heavy breathing. When you put it up on your shoulder, the pressure on the abdomen chest and diaphragm would have prevented it from recovering its breath and consequently would not have been able to recover from the oxygen debt. It would be a bit like being bear hugged.
Ken

Good answer.

 

[Alan]

Craig pretty much beat me to the punch, it's too bad your first few responses were so negative, I don't think they put much thought in what you were saying, they just reacted. I'll join the crowd that believes it's impossible to run a calf to death ON FOOT, a 4 wheeler may be a different story, but we don't know all the details. 3way gave you the best advice that has always worked for me, leave the calf alone it will find it's way back though again. When mama's bag fills up again she'll help encourage the calf through the fence, it may take a few hours. It's too bad you received all that negative cr@p in the first few postings, especially on your first posting to the boards.

Alan

 

[alphaburner]

I find it easier to handle a young calf with a cow. If the cow was a good cow, I would have let the cow out with the calf. Then once they pair up (give them a few minutes) I would move them back together.!

:nod: same thing happened to a neighbor one time cept he used a 4wlr.... he now takes my advice and he lets the calf alone till evening. mama should be missing it by then. open the gate and let mama gather calf and lead it thru. thats when we move cows across the road. just rotating to next pasture where a road is not involved we just leave the gate open

 

[IluvABbeef]

I think you just answered your own question. :roll: You ran it to death, you overworked it, and you just made things far worse than what they started off with. Ever heard of CALM handling?? Yes, you shouldn't have chased the crap out of this calf, just let him be, coax/bribe him back in with feed, anything that avoided chasing. And even better, not push it so hard that you made it run to freakin' death!

I'm resisting the urge to call you something I'm probably going to regret when this thread is let go... :bang: :hide: :x

This is a little harsh coming from someone who does not even own any cattle.... :roll:

What's that got to do with this?? I was just stating the obvious, the fact that I don't own any cattle has nothing to do with how or why I replied to this thread. Yeah I may have been a bit harsh, and sorry to the OP for being as such, but I only assumed what was the obvious from the first post, and didn't realize what really happened after other replies from him. The fact that I own no cattle shouldn't merit any reason why I should or shouldn't be posting here.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I think you just answered your own question. :roll: You ran it to death, you overworked it, and you just made things far worse than what they started off with. Ever heard of CALM handling?? Yes, you shouldn't have chased the crap out of this calf, just let him be, coax/bribe him back in with feed, anything that avoided chasing. And even better, not push it so hard that you made it run to freakin' death!

I'm resisting the urge to call you something I'm probably going to regret when this thread is let go... :bang: :hide: :x

This is a little harsh coming from someone who does not even own any cattle.... :roll:

What's that got to do with this?? I was just stating the obvious, the fact that I don't own any cattle has nothing to do with how or why I replied to this thread. Yeah I may have been a bit harsh, and sorry to the OP for being as such, but I only assumed what was the obvious from the first post, and didn't realize what really happened after other replies from him. The fact that I own no cattle shouldn't merit any reason why I should or shouldn't be posting here.

thats true,, just buy a few cattle raising guides and fly into teaching :cowboy:

 

[IluvABbeef]

The fact that I own no cattle shouldn't merit any reason why I should or shouldn't be posting here.

thats true,, just buy a few cattle raising guides and fly into teaching :cowboy:

Yeah well...I have to admit I already do that lots already on a few other sites...still learning as I go, and certainly learn lots from even just reading the posts on CT. Heck if I had cattle I'd probably be posting a lot more than I do now, but since I don't....better let the more experienced ones do the talking. Most of the time.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

The fact that I own no cattle shouldn't merit any reason why I should or shouldn't be posting here.

thats true,, just buy a few cattle raising guides and fly into teaching :cowboy:

Yeah well...I have to admit I already do that lots already on a few other sites...still learning as I go, and certainly learn lots from even just reading the posts on CT. Heck if I had cattle I'd probably be posting a lot more than I do now, but since I don't....better let the more experienced ones do the talking. Most of the time.

just be sure to use a aire of authority.. so no one will question you ;-)

 

[backhoeboogie]

Buy stock in Prep-H too. Carrying around 140 lb calves is going to have you on the receiving end some day.

 

[IluvABbeef]

just be sure to use a aire of authority.. so no one will question you ;-)

Done and duly noted!

 

[cow pollinater]

I think most of the responders are ignorant to what wild cattle really are and how they act. :nod: Any of the backyard cattle that they're used to would be dead after three days away from mom BEFORE they started chasing them. After three days of being loose on his own and a day of running up and down the fenceline if he was gentle enough to quietly and gently herd him back through a gate on foot, he's either so close to death that he's gonna drop anyway OR he doesn't have enough spark to last in rough country and he'll wilt and die anyway.
Sometimes they get so run down that they quit bellering. A calf that size should have a momma looking for him so sometimes when I don't have alot of options I bleat like a baby calf all around the area and call in different directions. BE CAREFULL if you try it on foot :!: The cows come hard and fast sometimes and it can be all of them and they won't be happy about you being there. :nod:
I'll try to get cows into the area for the calf to go to before I try to chase a calf that doesn't know where home is. Even if you grab a pair and run them out and then take them all back together it's better than chasing a scared baby. Besides, if you chase him and lose him then he's REALLY lost.

 

[BettyLandercasper]

Bring the cows up to where the calf is.
Cut hole in fence.

 

[Isomade]

You just gotta love armchair quarterbacks that jump to conclusions. Should have been obvious that after 3 days away from mama the calf was dehydrated anyway. Spence, in the cattle business these things just happen sometimes. Don't beat yourself up too bad. Instead of just doing nothing at all you came here to learn, thats commendable. Hope you stick around.

Isom

 

[jilleroo]

I doubt that chasing the calf caused its death. Many times I've run a calf with a bike until it was exhausted and I could grab it by the tail or kick it over so I could drag it onto the bike and bring it home. In our large paddocks I'd probably never find it again if I left it, so its either that or it dies anyway. Probably what WBVS says is right but I've never had one die (that I can recall) even when slung across the petrol tank of the bike for about rough 20 miles, after being chased. Who knows what caused it to die but you did the best you could. If it doesnt work out sometimes....too bad.

 

[MO_cows]

Sorry this happened, and that you got the "tough love" from some. After 3 days, if mom didn't call the calf back in, you had to do something. The suffocating by carrying sounds the most likely to me.

Unless you are in physical shape to run a marathon, I don't think you can run a calf that big to death on foot, either. We had a two day old calf that got spooked by the horses go thru the fence and run off a good mile at top speed, when it got tangled up in some brush to where we could catch it, it was breathing hard and eyes rolling back, I thought it was gonna die, too. Hauled it back home on our flatbed trailer, just about sitting on it to keep it down, turned it back in with mom and it sucked and took a nap and lived happily ever after.

If this happens again, I would herd the mother and maybe another pair out to where the calf is, then try to get them back in together. Use the herding instinct of the calf to help you.

 

[Anonymous]

Sure are a lot of perfect people weighing in on this subject

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I think it's a shame the little feller didn't make it.

 

[djinwa]

I have found that when a guy feels bad about something, you don't need to make him feel worse.

 

[IluvABbeef]

Since I've been getting some flack for saying what I did (even AFTER I apologized to the OP!!) here's why my and the two consecutive posts were like the way they were: The thing we first noticed and obviously could not ignore was the title ran a calf to death. So sorry I was the first one to notice this and say something about it and was so "perfect" about it. :roll:

I'm done here.

 

[Brute 23]

Since I've been getting some flack for saying what I did (even AFTER I apologized to the OP!!) here's why my and the two consecutive posts were like the way they were: The thing we first noticed and obviously could not ignore was the title ran a calf to death. So sorry I was the first one to notice this and say something about it and was so "perfect" about it. :roll:

I'm done here.

So..... You judged the book by the title? :???: Any one who has cattle can look at that title and say there has to be more to the story.

 

[Nite Hawk]

Sort of a different subject, but along the line of getting a calf back that takes off.
Some people will panick at the idea,- but a brand on a calf is often a return address should they get out, and hit the bush and dissappear. I know of cattle that were turned out on the range in the spring and were picked up 35-40 miles away in the fall. They came home due to that brand on their hide when rounded up with someone elses cattle.
Now a calf who gets out in the bush can easily become "bear bait", ( or cougar, coyote, wolf etc) and I am sure that was your concern in your attempt to get your calf home quickly and safely.
But if your calf would have gotten in with another large herd of the same breed of cattle, picking out and proving ownership becomes a bit more difficult.
Only something to think about when it comes to calves that get out and take off..
Nite Hawk