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Aaron

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As I was walking among the herd the other day, I wondered how often people walk among their herds. I know some people never see their cows or feeders unless they are on the tractor during the winter, and it shows when their cattle try to kill anything that moves on two legs at the auction mart. How often do you walk among your herd(s)? We check ours every day during the summer and winter, and it shows when each of our mature cows can be easily approached and given a scratch on the back without giving us a swift kick or running like a freight train in the other direction. :lol:
 
Out in the field our cows don't like people approaching them on foot, as we always ride or come in the feed truck. However, when the storms come in calving time, and the cows are brought in close, they are quiet enough to walk through day and night without fear of getting freight-trained. They aren't pets, so we don't try to scratch them, but they are quiet enough to follow the sled with their calf to the barn, and I'm happy with that. The lay of the land here and the size of the pastures precludes a daily stroll through them. Checking in summer on pasture, you're lucky to see a quarter of the population in the field on any given day.
 
I always walk through our calves after we wean them and they are eating well and quite. The people who see our calves can't believe how gentle they are. And they don't forget it. You can take anythng from a horse to the kids on bycycles and gather our cows. Just makes life easier...
I have walked through the calving lot at night and be shining my light out aways and fell over a cow laying down :oops: :roll: She got up, but didn't run or kick, just moved out of my way.
 
I walk through my cows a couple time a day during calveing, but other than that I only walk through them a couple times a week. Before weaning i start working with them a little bit more and that really calms them down. When we wean i walk through the calves a couple time a day and help settle them in. They will only bawl for about 1.5 days.
Last year i weaned 150hd of my spring born calves by myself with no help and it took about the same amount of time as a friend of mine that had four guys on ATVs. And my calves didn't have near the health problems that his had at weaning.
 
I'm curious if herd numbers have anything to do with this...

We have 700 head of mama cows.
This time of year, of course, he's/we're out in the cows several times a day, checking heavies and tagging calves. But once they're out to summer grass, it'll be a couple times a week. Just when taking out salt and mineral and checking windmills.

I remember the first spring we were here. just meandering through the cows with the pickup would send them into a dither. They'd all jump up and run to the opposite side of the pasture.
A third of them were those "good mamas" that'd eat your lunch given half the chance. And moving them was always chaos as they'd run flat out as long as they could.

After a couple of years of working quiet, it's rather nice to see how much they've calmed down. Only a handful get a MEAN notation in the record book, and driving through them rarely even gets more than a glance over a shoulder.
 
theHiredMansWife said:
I'm curious if herd numbers have anything to do with this...

We have 700 head of mama cows.
This time of year, of course, he's/we're out in the cows several times a day, checking heavies and tagging calves. But once they're out to summer grass, it'll be a couple times a week. Just when taking out salt and mineral and checking windmills.

I remember the first spring we were here. just meandering through the cows with the pickup would send them into a dither. They'd all jump up and run to the opposite side of the pasture.
A third of them were those "good mamas" that'd eat your lunch given half the chance. And moving them was always chaos as they'd run flat out as long as they could.

After a couple of years of working quiet, it's rather nice to see how much they've calmed down. Only a handful get a MEAN notation in the record book, and driving through them rarely even gets more than a glance over a shoulder.
Click to expand...

Numbers play a part somewhat. Most small hobby farmers are out in there cows alot. And most ranchers with 1000's of cows aren't out in there cows much. But it mostly comes down to the person and not the number of head.
 
Yur right,does make life easier if they know you.Learned hard way last year-had home raised calves coming into herd every yr,cows know way out of river pasture,were used to dog/horses.Last year bought a mixed bunch at local auction and turned loose at river pasture-just say I had fun getting home for winter.Wasted alot of deer hunting time
 
I concentrate on genetic replacements mainly so I keep it small.

I'm in the cows every moring early, by 6:30AM or first light if earlier, and then back again by 3PM in the winter and by 5PM in the summer.

Seems by going 2x a day it kinda slows down any oncoming disaster that may be brewing. But I can just walk out of my house and down to the fields...I don't lease/own any pasture land away from the homeplace anymore.
 
Numbers play a part, but I got to thinking of some small purebred breeders in Southern Ontario that have 15-20 cows and I figure they must not spend much time enjoying those high-priced beauties, as they perk up and get wings anytime someone is in the pasture. I was quite surprised by the reaction I see on some of the operations.
 
Since I went to rotational grazing cows usually run over to see if you are going to change pastures. Of cource thats just the nature of those gental Limos :wink: :) :)
 
Keeping my cows and calves 'tame' is my best selling point. I don't let people drive their vehicles in my pastures to look @ cattle, they have to ride w/ me.

The cows just all bunch up around and the calves also. My customer LOVE tame cattle they can handle when they get them home....especially my bulls.

But I'm small time and I can do that...a lot of people don't have the time to spend the extra little needed to handle cattle like that.
 
Several times a day - - - In the summer when I rotate pastures they look for me at the gate - - - on the days I don't move them I always have a treat for them - - - a couple of slabs of hay or a hand full of alfalfa cubes.

Most of them are so gentle that if I'm alone I sometimes need to push them out of my way. If I take someone with me they are on alert but still tame if the other person does not get between me and them.
 
At calving time we use the six-wheeler and a hook to catch the calves to tag, vaccinate, and band. I always have a 5 gal bucket full of cake in the back. Makes it easier to get the tagging done, cows are busy eating cake and not too concerned about their calf. They also have very good memories so when they see the six-wheeler, they start drooling and follow us around. I try to make sure there is cake in there most times as I reward them every time we go out. Our cows are friendly and inquisitive. We spend time with them on foot when we feed them in the winter, summertime when they are out on range they will see us a couple times a week putting out mineral and checking wells (in the six wheeler).
 
We are out amongst our cattle fairly often, but usually horseback. Here are some pictures from last fall when we were sorting steer calves for size, and pairing them out with their mothers. It is good gentling therapy for the cattle. They got bored with the cowboys, and many of them just layed down. As chief sorter, I had to keep getting them up to see how big they were. :wink:

GentlecattleTwo.jpg


GentlecattleThree.jpg


GentlecattleSix.jpg


GentlecattleOne.jpg


GentlecattleFour.jpg


GentlecattleFive.jpg
 
Soapweed, that is so cool!!! Those cattle aren't threatened at all, and that is as it should be.

Our hat is off to you and your outfit for the way you work cows!!!!!! I'm glad you posted the pictures because I am sure there will be some that cannot believe it is possible for cows to lay around when being worked.

Awesome!!
 
That is certainly how it should be, Soapweed. I tell people that these cattle aren't here on the spa plan...... They are supposed to gain weight, and are handled gently so they keep their gain going up.
 
We dont' ride thru ours daily on a horse, but I"m out there on a daily basis in my truck ridin thru them. When we work cows we use horses and bring them to the corrals, and after they are in , we sort on foot mostly. If there's ever any that can't be sorted on foot after the first workin or two, they usually take a ride to town. Those with high heads and crazy eyes, dont git to stay.
 
Faster horses said:
Soapweed, that is so cool!!! Those cattle aren't threatened at all, and that is as it should be.

Our hat is off to you and your outfit for the way you work cows!!!!!! I'm glad you posted the pictures because I am sure there will be some that cannot believe it is possible for cows to lay around when being worked.

Awesome!!
Click to expand...

FH, I hope no one discovers that I'm like Soapweeds cows. It's definitely possible I might be laying around when I should be working! :oops: :twisted: :D :lol:
 

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