Branding pictures

[Rowdy Ranch]

Soapweed&Saddletramp-Great pictures and cattle. The country looks good also just need a little moisture. We worked some yesterday as well and did get a few head moved and to pasture and ready to work more. My favorite time of year is calving and then working them and seeing them on lush green grass!!! We use the calf table-guess my husband has too much farmer in him or well it usually goes smoothly and the boys stay out of school a time or two to help work cattle in the spring which they don't seem to mind at all. Well, all of you have a great day.Going to load out some replacement hefs. that were sold this afternoon and go around fence. I will get the kids to run the camera and show me how to post a photo or two. Thanks Soapweed and Mrs. Soapweed

 

[katrina]

Soapweed,
Nice pictures. How do you like portable roundtub and alleyway? We have one just like it and really like everything except the headcatch. We are going to change that. Great pictures........

 

[preston]

The first prototype was a lot harder on ropes than this new and improved version. Even though we are using old ropes anyway, we've done 230 head without wrecking a rope yet. There is more rubber that meets the rope on this one. It is fun to release the calf once it has been processed. You just flip the clamp on the vice grip, the legs fall down, the calf feels free and kicks once and is gone. We're then ready for the next calf.

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Soapweed,

That is an interesting configuration you have construced there!

Assuming you are using the knife for castration...with the two back legs drawn up together...doesn't that kind of hide those little fellows a bit...impeding the program/hard to get to...more likely to allow them to regress into the abdominal cavity? Or does the outstretched legs actually assist in making them available to work on?

We use a raised ramp incline(about 2'.....saves the back and knees) shute to the headcatcher and a RAV IM 2000 immobilizer...drop the side gate(with rope/pulley attached) which raises the last section of the shute incline(about 4')(if doing castration) and ..do it...animals seem to be less stressed. Just wondering if you used the immobilizer and went back to the more/somewhat traditional layout/process for a reason?

I know some folks dont't like the immobilizer approach.

 

[Soapweed]

Preston, I guess I've never used the "imobilizer" that you talk about. As far as our hanging contraption impeding castration, it doesn't seem to. Sometimes if a person is "wrestling" the calf, and holding one hind leg tight while pushing forward on the other calf leg with the toe of his boot, there is too much tension and it is hard to castrate. In that case, it is necessary to tell the wrestler to slack up a bit. With the hanging contraption there is not this undue tension, so in a way it works better. Also the castrator doesn't have to stoop as far down.

 

[longjohn]

Fantistic contraption. I wish you would show the clamp unless you're going to start selling them.
The country I came from we streched them from a stake with an inner tube attached for a shock absorber. Sometimes we'd do 300 - 400 a day.

This is farm country here and we cant find crews anymore. still find ropers but some of us are getting kind of old to throw calves.