[Guest]

I am trying to catch this calf without moving the cows ,but i cannot seem to catch him.Mostly because his mother is a crazy loon cow.She is going to be sold when he is weaned.I am not confident enough to just grab him with his mother around him.Would throwing a net around him help any , i am just wondering if it could cause him some injury.I have only owned these cows for about a year im straight out of the city and i am learning more about them all the time but separating them can be scary.

 

[Jena]

Various calf catching ideas:

If you can, get someone to help you. They get a 2x4 to hold momma off while you nab the calf. Bring a truck out to the pasture. Catch the calf, throw him in the back of the truck and do what you gotta do to him.

Feed the cows something really good. If she leaves the calf to go eat, nab him and do your thing (I always go calf checking while the cows are eating).

Rope him from a four wheeler and use that as a barrier between you and momma or "lead" (as in drag) the calf to a safe place.

Fix up a pen and chase him into it, close the gate to keep momma out.

If your place is like mine...chase him to a corner where you know the fence is bad. When he gets through the fence, go around and get him on the other side.

Jena

 

[uncle Will in In.]

If the calf is over a few days old, you can't catch him without getting him cornerd. I made an aluninum pipe with a steel rod bent into a hook clamped to the end of it. The hook needs to be large enough to go around their hind leg, but too small to let their ankle slip through. The whole thing is about 8 feet long. I would drive the pickup between the cow and calf if possibly and hook the calves hind leg. I would pull him up to the open truck door and tag him and band him. Most times mama will run around the truck and watch with her head lowered. Once in a while the cow would act like she was going to take you. If she did, I drug the calfs rear into the truck. They wouldn't do any more than smell the calf and act disgusted. You really need a small pen to get your cattle in built strong enough and high enough that they can't break or jump out. Along one side of the pen you need an alley barely wide enough for a large cow. A crowding gate at one end of the alley will force them into the alley. A head gate at the other end will hold them in that spot until you have done what ever needed doing. It is best to have it so they go into a different lot when they come on through the head gate after you have finished with them. You are going to have to catch these cows sometime and a way to do it is absolutely nessesary.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice, i had a friend over to help he grabbed the calf while i held off the mom.Then we jumped into the back of the truck. She tried to get in.My friend had experience with cattle as a child.He said that is the worst he has ever seen a cow act,as a mentioned i am going to be getting rid of her ASAP