How to Tie Up Your Cattle

June 30, 2020

I have found that tying a haltered animal to a fence or post can be confusing for some folk. I try to give demos when I sell my cattle but sometimes I forget or just didn’t have time. Well… here is a short video that will (I hope) make it simple for any livestock owner to tie their animal quickly, securely and safely. There are some variations for tying-up that you may see at livestock shows that are intended to tie the animal at a particular height. Most of us won’t have need for those in our daily practice. Here it is…Enjoy.

My Girls

June 14, 2020

It is hard to imagine the animals we talk about without a picture. Video is much better so I hope this helps. Of course, I also hope this does not prevent a trip to visit.

I lured the girls out with some range cubes to get everyone in the same place. They love the cubes and it’s best not to get too close among them while they dispute their shares. This will give you a better idea of their size and configuration. Enjoy.

Sonny and Fritz

June 12, 2020

The video below will give you a better idea of who Sonny and Fritz are as well as their size. They each have their own personality. First of all, you don’t have to keep their names. Since they’re not registered you may rename as you wish.

Sonny was born on December 1st, 2018. He now weighs 570 lbs and stands 39-5/8” tall. He is horned but had them surgically removed. He was halter-broke and had some lead training after he was weaned. It has been almost a year since he was last haltered so he is a bit nervous. He used to be more reluctant but now he has mellowed a bit and leads better now.

Fritz was born on December 23, 2019. He now weighs 335 lbs and stands 35” tall. He is also horned and had them surgically removed. He is weaned and still in training. He is halter-broke but I have not done much lead training yet. You can see from the video that he is much more balky and resists the halter much more than Sonny. Some calves, mostly steers, are just nervous from the word go. Fritz is still nervous to my touch but has gotten much better. Most of the time he allows me to halter him without much ado although sometimes he prefers not to.

“Halter-broke” means that he respects the halter and while he may struggle a little or a lot, he knows that he cannot win against the halter. This allows you tie him to a fence or in a stall and he will stand rather than fight the rope. This restraint is important when you or a vet need to attend to him or feed him. Usually, when you feed any bovine that is part of herd (even a herd of two), one will finish eating before the other and then muscle the other away from their feed. Haltering is one way to insure that each stays put and each gets the full meal.

“Leading” is the next step and the time it takes varies with each animal. Lead-training requires time and patience on your part. Neither of these guys are fully trained to lead. It is usually the animals that are destined for the show-ring that get the extensive training. There are a variety of techniques for training that can be found on the internet. I have one that I have found very helpful and will share those with you later.

You will notice that I use some “treats” to encourage them to calm down. These are available at all feed stores. They are valuable to gaining the animal’s cooperation in getting them where you want them to go. You never want to chase cattle; it does not work. It stresses the animal and wears you out. Train your guys to come to what they like the best…food; especially food that has a little molasses in it. They will eventually associate you with their treat and begin to tolerate you long enough for you to gain their trust.

I hope this video answers some of your questions. Please call for more information.

Jim