Wild Cattle

[RasorFarms]

My boss bought 12 purebred Shorthorn bred heifers last fall to "get back to his roots" (he's a pig farmer by trade, cattle farmer at heart) and we've had a heck of a time with a couple of them. When moving the herd to their summer grazing pasture, 2 of the nuttier ones managed to evade capture.  They were on a piece of land that was set aside mainly because it was not ideal for crops (many trees, rough land, very very hilly etc).  Over the summer the land has become basically a jungle with the two "wild cows" as we've dubbed them, hiding in the thickets and the brush.  Now we're really getting late on our breeding schedule and we're at the end of our wits with these nutters. 

Our latest endeavor involved feeding them daily at the same time in a small makeshift corral.  We had been feeding them for about a few weeks and they would generally come down at "feeding time".  But they would BOLT if someone came towards the gate once they were in the corral or they would stay away completely if a truck/trailer was anywhere in sight.

Last night we tried tying a rope to the gate and had one of the guys lay about 40 ft away over the driveway so he was out of the way.  Another guy fed the cows and drove away but stayed near enough so he could watch.  Only one of the cows came in.  The rope was pulled and it actually worked very well. She didn't even know the gate was closed until we had her shut in.  Afterwards was a different story.  I've never seen a cow goes as nuts as she did about being enclosed.  If we had not been using bull gates for the corral she would have been up and over it in a minute.  Our problem is a lack of a good working area.  We knew this from the beginning but we attempted to work with what we had.  We threw two gates together to make the corral bigger so we could run her up into the trailer but she had other ideas.  As soon as we opened the gate to the corral she literally ran headfirst through the two gates we had tossed together.  Granted they were just held together by some wire, but this b*tch could have been going through a cement wall for all she cared.  Now we're certain she'll never come anywhere near that corral again. 

So we're running out of ideas and patience.  Anyone have ideas? Suggestions? Experiences? We've been talking about some sort of tranquilizer?  Of the two "wild cattle", one didn't take calf so she will most likely go to the sale barn and we might just send the other one with her so we don't have to deal with her again.  We've also given up any idea of getting them AI'd like the rest of the herd.  We will probably turn a cleanup bull out with those two if all else fails, and who knows what we'll do with this year's calf.  UHG!

Just a disclaimer: This is my second post and its about nutty calves again, I swear all of our cattle aren't nutters!!

 

[Okotoks]

When you catch them I would send them straight to market and replace them with 1 or 2 quiet ones. In my experience the crazies are not worth the extra work and grief!

 

[librarian]

I would forget about them for the rest of the summer. About hunting season they will come down to feed much easier and they will be fatter for the butcher from being on vacation all summer.

Catching just the one by itself was probably a doomed deal anyway. At least now there are still the two together so there is hope.

Otherwise, can you borrow one of those feeder wagons with head locks to trap them with? That's what they do around here.

They will probably come back to the corral. Make it bulletproof and get them together next time.

 

[GoWyo]

Second the idea of waiting until hunting season.  Would add a little corn starting in September.  Then, any good elk or moose round should make short work of them.  Have a loader and gambrel handy to make the butchering easy.

 

[diamonddls]

Depending on your area you could try to hire a couple of day work Cowboys and have them roped and skidded into a trailer. It's western but with experienced hands makes shirt work of them hard to handle cows. We've worked a number of cattle this way as we worked the char influence out of our herd.

 

[GoWyo]

If you want them alive then probably need a couple of good hands on horseback with a good set of dogs.  The guys who are good at this probably live several several states away from you.

 

[trevorgreycattleco]

I had a calf like that last year. Just nuts. We shot it in the field and processed it all into hamburger. Crazy cattle we hurt you or themselves eventually. Id ship them first chance you get.

 

[RasorFarms]

Thanks everyone for the ideas! I should have mentioned: we're in Ohio, and they're fed corn screenings. 

Okotoks:  I agree with that idea more and more every time I look at these dumb things!

librarian & GoWyo: I guess I don't follow the hunting season idea.  Will the gunshots spook them down?  Also I'm pretty sure no one hunts on or around that piece of land.  & GoWyo, no elk/moose here in OH, but we have plenty of whitetails! 

diamonddls & GoWyo: Funny you guys mention roping them bc one of our guys is big into barrel horses and roping and wanted to try his hand at them.  We thought he was asking for a death wish with these nutters though! 

E3 Durhams:  That was what I suggested but the boss paid too much for them to just shoot them I guess.  He's a conservative fellow.  And I agree whole heartedly that someone or something (the cows) could get hurt.  When we were trying to run her into the trailer, I had been standing in the same spot where she ran through the gates just minutes before but decided to move to hold another gate steady.  Had I kept standing there I doubt she would have cared and kept right on trucking.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! 

Any ideas as to why they are as crazy as they are?  Is it the Shorthorn breed?  Not bashing the breed at all. We've always raised cross/Angus influence and I've heard that Shorthorns can be flighty.

Also has anyone used or heard of a sort of tranquilizer or sedative?  We're wondering if that might be an idea.  Another farmer we know has one of the medicine guns so if we could somehow get a sedative in it and hit the girls when they're in range. Then have a bunch of guys lift them into the trailer?  I never would have thought we'd be looking into something like this! 

UPDATE:  We drove past the corral last night around the time the nutters  are there and they were there! Went and grabbed some feed and of course they stayed clear until we left, but I think it's promising that they've even came near. 

 

[kiblercattle]

My family has raised shorthorns for 4 generations and we just got into the angus breed about 25 years ago. Our experience is they aren't flighty at all when we started with angus we always wondered why anyone would want them due to their flightyness. I suppose you guys just got a bad bloodline or handling techniques from the past owner has left them with a attitude problem.

 

[librarian]

I suggested hunting season just because by November when the weather starts to get cold it's easier to get then to come to bait in the corral. If you have reinforced the corral so that it's a good working situation then sometimes putting a couple of tame old cows in the corral makes it a lot easier. The owner should invest in enough material to build a corral with two sections with a gate been them. When the wild ones get shut in, open the gate and put them together with the tame ones and they will probably act right. They sound like stupid harebrained heifers more than hardened criminals. I think the one went ballistic in the "corral" because it was alone.

 

[Bulldaddy]

If you can cut off their water supply so they have to come to the corral for water, you will have them back in the corral within 24 hours.  They will come to water no matter what.  Then make sure your gates are secure and load them up.  Good luck!

 

[GoWyo]

Check out the water traps they use in places like Arizona.  They have a one-way gate that cattle can go in, but can't get back out (usually set the gate so they go to water for a few days without catching, then set the trap.  Those work really good for trapping the wild ones.

http://www.cowboyshowcase.com/arizona-trigger.html#.VYMbSEZBlWY

 

[obie105]

I have a friend who travels the midwest with his horse and dogs gathering up wild cattle and getting them loaded for people. He worked for several ranches in Texas also. If you need his number let me know.

 

[Part Timer]

Try backing your trailer up to the gates and feed the corn out of the trailer. Slowly feed the corn deeper in the trailer until they get comfortable with climbing inside and slam the gate like you did with the corral panels. Corn is like crack to cows,they will get nosey and jump inside to get the corn.