To use hip huggers or not

[R&SGilles]

I am wondering what anyone thinks of hip huggers. Are they good to use every time when pulling a calf? Do they have a tendency to pinch a nerve that may do more harm than good? When pulling a calf should the cow be in a stall or small pen? Should she be standing or laying down to pull a calf. Thank you in advance for you opinions.

 

[Beefy]

i guess you are asking about a calf jack? it isnt always necessary but a lot of times IS needed. and when it is needed boy is it ever more needed.

you dont have to have the cow in a small pen or stall, assuming you can catch her and restrain her someway. like with a rope and tie her to a tree or something. BUT sometimes after you pull one out in the pasture and let her go, she will hightail it and abandon the calf, so its a good idea to have her confined.

the calf is best repositioned with a cow in a standing position. the calf may be delivered standing of lying down. alot of times they will go down while you are pulling. (so dont pull in a chute.)

 

[angie1]

The only time I have ever had to have a calf pulled, I had her in a small pen when the vet got there. The vet asked that she be taken outside and chained to a tree. He wanted her to have enough chain to do as she chose as far as up or down, but not so much that she'd get a foot in there. It is as Beefy said, and she went down on the pull. He used a calf jack.

 

[tamarack]

Calf pullers are good especially if by yourself i run out of power before i am done sometimes another good way of pulling a calf [showed to me buy older cattleman] is tie the cow up with a halter in barn or stall hook a rope on the chains [to the calf legs] tie the rope to the other side of barn or stall so you can lean or stand on rope it pulls the calf down the right way when the cow is standing and takes less work than a straight pull by hand works really slick.

 

[R&SGilles]

To reply to tamarack: that is how my husband's father used to pull calves. We have a rachet style calf puller that pulls one leg and then the other plus a hip hugger. The hip hugger is a device that has two large heavy duty rings, attached in the middle. Each ring fits over a hip bone and the device is then screwed down tight as you can. It is then hung from a come-a-long above the cow (who is oviously in a chute or stanchion) If she takes the weight off her back legs the hip huggers hold her up. But I'm thinking maybe it is better just to let her be in a pen and lay down? Comments? I mean besides getting rid of the bull that caused this!! HaHa

 

[cowchew]

Oh sorry, I thought you were talking about fashion blue jeans! retty:

 

[bigbull338]

ive never used a calf jack/puller.ive always used the OB chains an pulled by hand.if its a hard pull we put them in the chute an use the come alongs to pull the calf.

 

[R&SGilles]

To Bretsam: Girlfriend...used to in the day when they first come out, but no more!

 

[Beefy]

i have never heard of using hiphuggers when pulling a calf. only when lifting a cow that is down (usually from calving).

it would be better to just let the cow be standing or go down, whatever is natural and comfortable for her i think.

IF you did have a cow that had such a big calf that it pinched her nerves and you had her in a chute in a hip hugger already anyway, when you let her down and then saw she couldnt stand then what? that would be a mess? how would you get her out?

i think i see your point about keeping her from going down, but i dont like to use hip huggers at all if i can get away with it. thats kind of a lot of stress to put on a pointy bone.

i think if feasible it would be better just the let the cow stand or go down if she chooses. granted you wouldnt want her going down in a chute. normally waht i do is run one in a chute long enough to get chains around the feet or see what is going on and put a rope on her head and then back her back out into my lane which has a big wooden gate i can swing open on each side. and tie her to a pole just ouside of the chute. that way if she stands i can pull or if she goes down i can have room to work. and if she does go down she will have enough room to get back up.