WILD STEER? HOW TO TAME HIM?

[msscamp]

I said nothing about shocking him msscamp.

I beg to disagree:

Another way is to have one person with the leadrope pullinbg and another person behind hitting them with a paddle or shocker if they pull back and resist. Hope it works out ofr you.

It's right there in black and white.

 

[iowafarmer]

My bad i did not mean to put that in there i had several other things on my mind when i typed it and i apologize. My mistake in saying use a shocker.

 

[Cattlejock]

I have a Main Anjou steer and he has an attitude. I don't know where to start with taming him. Today was the 2nd time tieing him up. He blows snot at me and then he licks me. And when I touch him he always jumps and kicks. Everytime someone touches him he jumps and kicks at ya. I'm just wondering if y'all can give me some ideas cause I don't want to put him in the feed lot.

 

[5S Cattle]

I have a Main Anjou steer and he has an attitude. I don't know where to start with taming him. Today was the 2nd time tieing him up. He blows snot at me and then he licks me. And when I touch him he always jumps and kicks. Everytime someone touches him he jumps and kicks at ya. I'm just wondering if y'all can give me some ideas cause I don't want to put him in the feed lot.

For him up and brush him with a broom until he stops jumping around. Then work your way closer. Takes work and some of them are just stupid, just like people

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Be wary of a calf with mood swings like you describe. You may get through a while working with him and think you are making good headway, only to have him snap. These are the calves that hurt people. As mentioned, spend plenty of time desensatizing with a broom, a hose, grocery bag on the end of a show stick, etc. with the calf securly tied and you out of reach. Take your time, be consistant, and don't rush to the next step if only minor improvement is made.

 

[VCC]

It does not sound like you have had him for very long, when we first start tying them we do just that, tie him low (chest level) leave just enough slack so his head will rest in a natural position if he is standing and if was to go down he wont hang him self.
We will tie them for about 1/2 hour to an hour and just do chores around them, muck out the pen, get their feed ready, fill their water up. Just let them see you and know your not going to hurt them. Once they stop fighting the rope, flopping around or just acting stupid, we will start scratching with a rake, the plastic forked ones work real well.
Once they settle down for that we ease them into the brush, it takes time. After we get to where we can handle them with the brush we start rinsing daily, they don't like it at first but it sure helps calm them down, the day to day working with them and handling them is key. You are fighting their fight or flight instinct, once they get past that it becomes easier. A steer project is a long one, little steps each day, as long as your making progress you are winning the war.

I did forget to we keep them in a small pen at first, so they are around people and activity, they know who feeds them and it does not take long for them to associate you with good things. We started with range calves right off the cow, we selected calves that did not try and stand their ground but they were never handled prior to us sorting through them. They all tamed down.