Rancher quiz--what do you do in a situation like this?

[Soapweed]

While checking pastures this morning, I came upon this problem. The calf had gotten his head through the angle iron cribbing around the windmill, and was really, really stuck. Possible even, his head had grown overnight--at least it seemed like it. Anyway, the head seemed much bigger than the hole in which it was stuck. At least he could breathe, and was not choking.

Keep in mind, I am eight miles from town one way, and eight miles from our home ranch the other. All I have with me are a few simple tools and a cell phone. Are there any suggestions on what to do in a situation like this? My solution will be posted later tonight.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I will be the first to do it the hard way then let you tell me the easy way to do it. I have had calves with head stuck thru the leg on a panel and have had to cut with a hacksaw the panel apart and I have also tipped their head enough as they pull back . Sometimes it seems that it will never come out the at the right angle out it come.

 

[Shelly]

Use the cell phone to call someone for a saw?

 

[BRG]

One time we had it happen but we had a little more space than you have here. We took a little hydrolic jack and widened it enough to pop it out.

 

[CarlB]

I hate to say it but, the hacksaw is the option we used once. This will allow you to reweld the space later or leave the hole if it's not critical to your fence there.

 

[Kato]

He got in. He must be able to get out. Before cutting anything, I would try getting both of his ears back, and getting his head good and wet with water from the trough. It's the ears that usually block things on the way out. If that didn't work, then it's probably hacksaw time. :?

Bonus, you now have a halter broke calf!

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

I'd slick him up with either dish washin soap or some kinda oil...usually a quart or two in the ranch truck. Git him good'n slick n turn him where ears are in the corners since that'd be the widest spot..pin his ears back n push....or cattle prod to the nose.

I thought on this....n am thinkin this is a trick question..hehe
(answers prolly real simple)

Also I'm not seein a weld on the post behind the panel???? possibly pull it outta the ground if not welded and wallahhh.????

 

[jigs]

well, here in Kansas we always hear stories about the stump broke cattle up in Nebraska.....but I never heard tell of a critter being taught to stand like those pictures show! guess a lonesome cowboy knows no limits! :wink:

 

[pknoeber]

Pull the post if possible. If not, bend it over.

Phil

PS: Had to laugh, short on tools (glad that happens to people besides me ), long on electronics (camera, cell phone, or they might be 1 and the same now!).

 

[feeder]

I think jersey lilly and pknoeber have it right. It looks like a steel post wedged between the bars. It took a few looks to see the bottom of the post.

 

[rancher]

I would call onstar since you have a phone. If they couldn't help I would use the pick-up jack to widen it enough.

 

[Soapweed]

This wasn't a trick question. :wink: All the welds were solid and the angle iron was good stuff. I tried to get in front of the calf and push him backwards, but he didn't cooperate. There just didn't seem to be any slack to be had, and he kept lunging forward. Next, I pulled the pickup around behind him and caught both hind feet with a rope that happened to be behind the seat. He kept kicking out, and I was afraid if I pulled tight that he might start to choke. Nothing was working, and frustration was setting in.

I called my son's welding shop, hoping maybe he would be on hand to bring out a cutting torch. No one answered the phone, as he was off on a field job. Then I left a message on his house phone, hoping he might be eating an early dinner. No luck.

After scratching my head a bit, I thought, "why not just catch one hind foot and then he would not go down?" This I did, and then tied the very far end of the thirty-foot rope onto the pickup bumper. I got in the pickup and drove it ahead until the rope was just a bit past snug, and shut it off in gear. That put tension backwards on the calf, and I was able to push him on through from the front. Both the calf and the windmill are fine. It was not too hard to get the rope off, and he didn't even try to take me when we parted ways. All is well that ends well.

 

[George]

Great solution

Several years ago I was checking my cattle and noticed my neighbors bull looking thru the "hedge apple" fence. For those of you that are not from the midwest in the 1930s the county extention agents planted Osage Orange ( hedge apple) trees every 12" in the fence rows to form a natural living fence - - - works well but makes fence rows about 100' wide.

I thought nothing of it but the next day he was in the same spot so upon further looking it was apperant he was caught.

After getting the owner / he liked to check his animals monthly or whenever needed. We tried several things to free the bull, finally we tried the screw jack from under the hood.

When we got him free I spent a couple of hours keeping him from to much water. I was afraid of water founder. If you looked at the ground on his side it was depressed about 3" in a fan shape - - - I feel he was there about 3 or 4 days.

 

[Faster horses]

One thing I'm glad you didn't have to use was the HOT SHOT! My gosh, nothing like a little torture to help things along.

We had a horse that was always getting stuck somewhere it seems. We had to cut a tree down once, because he was caught between two cottonwood trees. Just kind of whinnied and squealed til we went to see what the problem was. Got the chain saw to get him out that time. We had Jackleg fences in w. Montana and he got caught in them somehow and we had to cut the jackleg to get him out. He was really accident prone.

 

[nenmrancher]

I remmeber a couple of times as a kid that we had to lift yearlings and calves out of the well boxes on a couple of windmills.

 

[Silver]

I had to disassemble a kitchen chair in order to extricate my 5 yr old's head from between the slats on the seat back. :lol: :!:

 

[nr]

Great solution

Several years ago I was checking my cattle and noticed my neighbors bull looking thru the "hedge apple" fence. For those of you that are not from the midwest in the 1930s the county extention agents planted Osage Orange ( hedge apple) trees every 12" in the fence rows to form a natural living fence - - -.
.

They must have done that in the east also. There's a tight row of those old trees a block from our house. It appears they hold up well over the years. Too bad there's nothing practical to do with all those "oranges" they drop. Nothing seems to eat them but kids do like to roll them down the street.

 

[Soapweed]

I had to disassemble a kitchen chair in order to extricate my 5 yr old's head from between the slats on the seat back. :lol: :!:

That reminds me of a little first grade girl back when I was in the fifth grade. She got one of her fingers stuck in the top ring on a clipboard. The custodian was called upon to help, and soon came into the classroom armed with a hacksaw. The little girl panicked big-time and was crying her eyes out until the teacher explained that the hacksaw was to cut the steel ring and not her finger. The kid brightened right up. :? :???: :shock:

 

[Mike]

I had a yearling bull get his head caught in the metal frame of a mineral feeder last year. It was one of the tub type feeders with a rubber flap on top to keep out water.

Anyway, the tub was over his head and he couldn't see where he was going and was p.o'ed at the world. Couldn't drive him to the barn and couldn't get close to him.

Wound up darting him with some xyla-ject and cutting the angle iron off with a hacksaw. There was no other way.

Glad you came up on the calf Soap. Lesser managers might not have caught him until it was too late.

 

[nr]

I had to disassemble a kitchen chair in order to extricate my 5 yr old's head from between the slats on the seat back. :lol: :!:

That reminds me of a little first grade girl back when I was in the fifth grade. She got one of her fingers stuck in the top ring on a clipboard. The custodian was called upon to help, and soon came in the classroom armed with a hacksaw. The little girl panicked big-time and was crying her eyes out until the teacher explained that the hacksaw was to cut the steel ring and not her finger. The kid brightened right up. :? :???: :shock:

That reminds me of the erroneous, self-centered perspective we humans
can put on events. Right after 9-11 when folks were afraid of terrorist attacks on large important buildings one inmate told me how afraid she was that the prison where she resided might be the first place attacked since it is a govt. building close to an interstate and a bridge. :shock: It took a long time to find some kind wording to explain that it is the last place the terrorists might choose.