• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Helping a neighbor brand and sort

L

leanin' H

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
7,286
Location
Western Utah Desert
I helped my neighbors brand 90 head of calves today. Their momma's are heifers. The morning was beautiful and clear. The storm some of ya'll got missed us except for a dusting of the foothills. Since my neighbors north feild is just south of my place, i just rode over.
DSCF0001-12.jpg


Another shot of our mountains! :roll: If your getting sick of my picture taking, i don't blame ya! :D
DSCF0002-12.jpg


They ran all the youngsters through the table and slapped on a new brand. They already banded the bull calves at birth so we didn't tip em'. Just shots, ralgro, earmark and iron.
DSCF0003-11.jpg


Lots of help but only one joker pushing calves up the alley. I'm like a right fielder on a little league team! They stick me where i cant screw things up too bad! :D
DSCF0004-15.jpg


Lots of burning hair and blue sky. They even have a hydraulic calf table. Some folks are spoiled! :wink:
DSCF0005-14.jpg


The pointy thingy with the medicine in it, goes here. And the hot funny shaped identification marker goes there. So where does it say how to get calf manure out of a silk scarf?
DSCF0006-12.jpg


We sorted the new mothers into groups of cows going in different directions for the summer. (different permits) And then as we finished a calf, he joined his mother in a holding pen. Scott worked the ears and checked this calf's zipcode for proper delivery!
DSCF0007-13.jpg


A great plan except one group had to get split again. So after sending 2 trailer loads off, we got back on the horses and sorted off 30 pair.
DSCF0008-12.jpg


Gary, Gordon and Joy were helping pair em' up and prepare them for the trip.
DSCF0009-14.jpg


We took the bunch of cows in three trailers and the calves in one, 45 miles west to Tom's pasture to enjoy the spring. We jumped the ponies in the tail of the last trailer to hold em' while they got unloaded and re-aquainted.
It was like a episode of daytime T.V.! Long lost family brought back together! :D
DSCF0010-11.jpg


The heifers didnt know wether to chomp green grass or beller for a calf.
DSCF0012-10.jpg


Gordon and Joy holding the bunch from going west.
DSCF0013-12.jpg


One last shot of the Simpson mountains and a flurry! Enjoy! :D
DSCF0011-12.jpg
 
Looks like you had fun! :D Great pics, although not all of them loaded for me. Pretty fancy branding... complete with a porta-pot! I hope you didn't get stuck with cleaning it :lol:.
 
Rocks n' things is right. :P If those poor ol' desert cows actually saw real live grass they would turn t!t$up from heart failure. :lol:
The places we have brought creatures and had them adapt never ceases to amaze me.
Thanks for the pictures H, looks like you had a good time and didn't get in the way of the working people too bad. :wink:

I do have a serious question though, this can be asked of everyone.

How does the average rancher justify owning a hydraulic squeeze of any kind?

I can understand feedlots and really big outfits because manual squeezes/calf tables can wear on the body but not the average outfit. Just think I could spend the money on something else than on a piece of iron that only sees a day to a week of use in a year.
 
They do run 700 head of mother cows, but it still is a big chunk of change. I agree that i couldnt spend for a chute like that without thinking another priority would need the money. But I have a little bunch> Geez Gcreek! With your capital i'll bet ya have a hydraulic table for clipping wloves! :wink: Anyway, a rope and a horse are more fun to brand calves! But to each their own! :D
 
I defense of the hydraulic chute ,when we needed a new chute I felt that the time we saved and the less wear and tear on the body it was worth the extra money. I don't know of any politician that spends my tax dollars that drives in a non air conditioned car or works in a non air conditioned office so since it was a eligible expense I spent it. Never regretted it once. Except maybe yesterday when my son was home to brand his calves and the power was out and we were running on the generator.

After a day working my old chute which was a very good chute way ahead of it's time but I was wearing out my shoulders and knees pulling levers and pushing pedals. MY kids have run this new one very well for some time now.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
I defense of the hydraulic chute ,when we needed a new chute I felt that the time we saved and the less wear and tear on the body it was worth the extra money. I don't know of any politician that spends my tax dollars that drives in a non air conditioned car or works in a non air conditioned office so since it was a eligible expense I spent it. Never regretted it once. Except maybe yesterday when my son was home to brand his calves and the power was out and we were running on the generator.

After a day working my old chute which was a very good chute way ahead of it's time but I was wearing out my shoulders and knees pulling levers and pushing pedals. MY kids have run this new one very well for some time now.
Click to expand...

Other than a little time spent watching the hydraulic chute at the stockyards I haven't been around one much. Does one really save much time? My 15 year old Morand has seen quite a bit of use and is easy to operate even for an old, out of shape phart like me. Our second-hand, W-W calf table works good for branding standing up with a small crew.
Maybe it's just the German portion of my bloodline. :D


I have spent a few days on the old scissor type headgates (never owned one myself) and they ARE body killers, more so when they pass the boat-anchor stage and are still in use. :roll:
 
I'm with BMR on this one-I've seen his setup and it's pretty sweet-I can't see how guys can justify a $10,000 quad or two so I guess you just pick your poison. I have a Pearson and other than A'I'ing cows it's a piece of crap-I've run alot through Morands and not my chute of choice either to be honest-if and when I buy a new one it will be a Stampede or a Hi-Hog. One of the smartest things BMR did other than his fesrtive coyote arrangement was put his handling system under a roof. The only table that belongs at a branding is a picnic table loaded with home cookin'.
 
Nice pics.
We had never owned a squeeze chute until about 2 years ago. We got a portable outfit. We use the self catch headgate and hardly ever use the squeeze option. Takes too long. We don't headgate much of anything, mostly used just for AI and tagging the odd cow that's lost a tag. Our main working chute was built a long time ago and is about 75 feet long, madeout of lumber and has a self catch headgate on the end. We just pile them in and go to work. I can't imagine catching every cow, every time we vaccinate or ivomec.
The hydraulic chutes are awesome in a high throughput situation though. have used a few in feedlot situations and they are nice.
 
The only time we catch every cow is at preg test or branding new purchases.

Corey, if you were as particular about how your cattle are handled as I am and only have a bunch of gumboot farmers that are more concerned about how much beer you are supplying than doing a good job, you may break down and buy a tin horse yet.
I always said calf tables were for miserable SOB's that didn't have any friends, I guess I are one! :lol: :wink:
 
gcreekrch said:
The only time we catch every cow is at preg test or branding new purchases.

Corey, if you were as particular about how your cattle are handled as I am and only have a bunch of gumboot farmers that are more concerned about how much beer you are supplying than doing a good job, you may break down and buy a tin horse yet.
I always said calf tables were for miserable SOB's that didn't have any friends, I guess I are one! :lol: :wink:
Click to expand...


Guess I'm a miserable SOB as well. :wink:
 
We put a q-catch headgate on our old squeeze chute this fall after the old automatic headgate gave up the ghost. Takes all the work out of running a headgate and it is ghostly quiet. If you haven't seen one, the two sides of the headgate just slide away from and towards each other by pulling the lever up or down. No dogs to disengage to release it, you don't have to get the cow to back up or go ahead to relieve pressure so you can open the gate, no clanging when you catch. They tend to walk in slower maybe because the opening is wider than with an auto gate. The mechanism that the gate slides and does the locking / unlocking is the same deal as a calf puller.
I ran the gate this fall, preg testing about 400 head in about 5 hrs and it was just like a day off.
 
Silver said:
We put a q-catch headgate on our old squeeze chute this fall after the old automatic headgate gave up the ghost. Takes all the work out of running a headgate and it is ghostly quiet. If you haven't seen one, the two sides of the headgate just slide away from and towards each other by pulling the lever up or down. No dogs to disengage to release it, you don't have to get the cow to back up or go ahead to relieve pressure so you can open the gate, no clanging when you catch. They tend to walk in slower maybe because the opening is wider than with an auto gate. The mechanism that the gate slides and does the locking / unlocking is the same deal as a calf puller.
I ran the gate this fall, preg testing about 400 head in about 5 hrs and it was just like a day off.
Click to expand...

Who makes it Silver? Can you post a pic or a link? Sounds interesting
 
http://www.lakelandgroup.net/
and
http://www.alcandistributors.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=56
 
Count me in the miserable SOB club as well. :wink: And since old guys like us have a more limited number of friends we hafta get the job done easier with a lot less crew by using a table. :wink: :lol:

I've been around a couple Silencer hyd chutes and a Hi-Qual for adult cattle. The Silencers are owned by different vets. They both get lots of use and seem to stand up well. One vet uses a Honda power unit and the other vet uses a pump off his Duramax pickup. Hands down my favorite is the Duramax 'cause that Honda pump unit is heavier to lug around than the vet's pickup is. The Hi-Qual is owned by neighbors and runs off tractor hydraulics. The tractor is also easier to move around than a Honda power unit. :wink:

I have a For-Most headgate on the end of the alley to catch the lead cow when giving spring breeding shots. Also use it for Bangs vac heifers in the fall and for any other misc work that needs a head catch.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top