Looking for cowboys in Eastern Oklahoma

MamaMagness · #1 03/01/13, 02:26 PM

We need the services of a couple of guys with horses and dogs to chase down some wild cattle for us. We're trying to track down a number for some people my husband's great-uncle used once, but I figured I'd ask here as well.

Our biggest problem is two cows and their calves that are out of our fences. They are running mostly in woods and down by the river, but sometimes coming up to a wheat field along the highway; getting them dealt with before they get on the highway and hit is fairly urgent. Chasing them on foot hasn't succeeded yet, there's some muddy slough that's impassable and we can't circle around fast enough to turn them back from the river where we lose track of them. (We've dealt with the wild bull that broke the fences and led them out - he's now in a chest freezer waiting until we have time to grind him for hamburger. But we'd rather not have to shoot the cow-calf pairs, they're still valuable and we don't need any more hamburger!) The cows are actually not too bad temperament-wise, but the calves are wild (almost certainly offspring of the bull we shot) and lead their mamas away instead of coming to grain.

We also have a small collection of cows, calves, and a bull that are all supposed to be sold, but they broke down the corral when we tried to load them. We don't want a corral there anyway (we're going to be re-fencing and redoing the layout on that parcel once it's empty) so depending on the price we're probably better off paying for the help loading them instead of the materials to beef up the corral to something they won't break.

dkhern · #2 03/01/13, 03:41 PM

eastern ok covers a lot of miles care to be more specific. i know some people who might but it wouldnt be practical for anyone if they have to drive 250 mi and drag a horse trailer

MamaMagness · #3 03/01/13, 03:50 PM

Sorry, I'd forgotten that I hadn't set my location to display yet. We're in Okemah, OK. It's about an hour east of OKC on 40 (also about an hour south of Tulsa).

MO_cows · #4 03/01/13, 04:02 PM

Good luck with that. Take some pictures for us, would you please? If you ran a "Cowboy Wanted" ad in the paper, no telling if the ones who respond are gonna be qualified to really get the job done or just wannabe cowboys looking for adventure. You might try contacting the nearest stock yards. Or any big ranches in your area.

dkhern · #5 03/01/13, 04:24 PM

check with local live stock auction house. they may be able to connect with local who can help.

cowbelle · #6 03/01/13, 04:56 PM

Try going to Jody Mikles website or forum - there are a number of guys there who use good dogs (with the cowboys) to catch cattle. Several are in OK. - you'd have to contact them so see who is close to you. Just google Jod Mikles cowdogs.

**gone-a-milkin** · #7 03/01/13, 06:53 PM

The stock yard is a great idea.
Do they do highschool rodeoing where you live?
The ag teacher there may know somebody. Or ask at the feed mill.
Also, the local large animal vet may know of just the ones.

Good luck!
Chasing wild cattle around in the mud is pure exasperation.

jwal10 · #8 03/02/13, 07:53 AM

You need someone to tranquilize them and enough people to roll them into trailers....James

Jessilee7 · #9 03/03/13, 02:07 AM

If you want to email me, I know a few guys and we aren't too far from you. I was actually in okemah last weekend looking at goats.

MamaMagness · #10 03/03/13, 08:35 AM

Our urgent problem has been resolved - my husband's grandfather was lucky yesterday and spotted them near enough to a gate that he could lure the tame ones in after grain with the wild ones following. Now we can take a little more time to figure out what to do about the ones in the pasture we need to sell. We've so far struck out finding anyone (got a name but no number from a great-uncle, and we can't find anyone by that name. The guy the sheriff used to use got out of the business. The nearest sale barn didn't have anyone for us...) I'll definitely email you, Jessilee, even if we don't need someone this week it would be nice to have on hand for another emergency.

We considered tranquilizers back when we shot the bull and decided against them. Our vet told us that they were expensive, unreliable since we don't have exact weights (either they end up just a little woozy from an underdose or dead from an overdose), and have either a very long withdrawal or none at all before they can be sold for human consumption.

ramiller5675 · #11 03/03/13, 03:40 PM

You probably already know it, but if you put out a whole lot of cubes every day, you should be able to tame down the wild ones in a week or so.

Don't pressure the wild ones, call the tame ones with the feed, and you'll take some of the wild out of them. Whistle or honk your horn to train the tame ones to come to the feed and they will train the wild ones for you.

It'll be a whole lot easier to spend a hundred dollars on cubes than paying someone to go catch them if they get out again.

francismilker · #12 03/03/13, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwal10

You need someone to tranquilize them and enough people to roll them into trailers....James

Great idea! Most vets have a tranquilizer gun. The salebarn is another great idea. You need to get those cattle caught, in a trailer, and to the salebarn asap. There's not too many real cowboys left that round up cattle in these parts and if you have cattle that are easily spooked an untrained, inexperience group of fellows on horseback will only make them more flighty.

Allen W · #13 03/04/13, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramiller5675

You probably already know it, but if you put out a whole lot of cubes every day, you should be able to tame down the wild ones in a week or so.

Don't pressure the wild ones, call the tame ones with the feed, and you'll take some of the wild out of them. Whistle or honk your horn to train the tame ones to come to the feed and they will train the wild ones for you.

It'll be a whole lot easier to spend a hundred dollars on cubes than paying someone to go catch them if they get out again.

A little alfalfa hay works too. Scatter a few small square bale, a bale for every 10 or 12 head, out in flakes and drive off. They can't eat the hay as fast as cubes giving the wild cows time to get a few bites. When you get them caught don't hesitate to sell any flighty ones.

MamaMagness · #14 03/04/13, 07:43 PM

We do have virtually the entire herd trained to come when we honk the horn to get cubes. Even the two mama cows that were out had been trained to do so. But the two calves had learned from the wild bull to run from the horn instead of come to it, and the two mamas' instincts to follow their calves was overriding their desire for the grain at the truck. (Also, we couldn't exactly use the tame cows to train the wild ones, the wild ones were almost never coming in sight of the main herd).

I will add for other people reading this - we do really recommend training your cows to the truck horn with grain! In general it makes dealing with them much easier. We can call the herd up from out of sight across the pasture and put them in the corral with just a truck, some cubes, and a person or two to close the gate. Every once in a while we get a few cows that are skittish and don't cooperate as easily with being put in the corral - and they get sold. We won't be keeping any heifers off the pasture the wild bull was in just to make sure we don't end up with his temperament in the herd.

francismilker · #15 03/07/13, 07:21 PM

Seems to me that you need to make sure you have an empty freezer, a sharp knife or two, and a good rifle and these wild calves might need lead poisoning! Depending on their size, it could be a lot more beneficial to you to have them in the freezer than paying damages they might cause if they are hit by a car or ransack the neighbor's place.

TedH71 · #16 03/07/13, 08:16 PM

I'm in Kansas but have a gal friend who has the same problem as yours in the Tulsa area. She has 3 of them but one stayed....the two others ran off. Her hubby isn't much of a help. She raises and breeds catahoulas. She and I are going to get our dogs started on cattle in March in Arkansas then bring our dogs over to Oklahoma to try to pen those two in with the 3rd one. We probably could help you! Have you had any experience with catahoula or blackmouth curs? Their way of herding isn't like any other breeds you've seen. None of that stalk and eyeing things. They are excellent for rowdy cattle and feral hogs.