Greg taught us a really cool way to sort cattle this week. This method works well for him when he needs to sort cattle in the field and doesn’t want to take them all back to the corral. He has 8 different farms and 240 head of cattle that are always grazing, so flexibility is key. To set up the infrastructure for handling at each one of those farms would cost a fortune. This method is also low stress for both humans and the cattle. With a discussion beforehand, it’s also easy.
Note: In order for this to work, you livestock will need to be trained to electrified polywire.
This could work if you have a large herd, or a small one. You need a few things before you get started. They are:
- A reel with polywire
- 3 people
- A plan of action – Where are you going once you get the cow/calf you are after?
Now that you have all of the above you are ready to get started. See my illustration below, then I’ll explain the process.
Now that you are behind a group of cows, with the one you want to separate out in that group, you can start to narrow down the group until you’ve gotten the one you are after. To do this, all you need to do is walk/jog/run behind the group. You can then just raise up the polywire over the backs of the cattle you don’t want to isolate. These cattle will run off and rejoin the herd, and your group size will decrease. Let’s look at the next illustration.
I would recommend that you take a friend along with the cow/calf you are trying to isolate. This will decrease the stress of both animals and they will be easier to handle and more comfortable.
So in review all you need to do is:
- Create a polywire triangle with 2 other people
- Isolate a group of cattle with the one want in that group
- Raise the polywire over the cows you don’t want to isolate
- Walk the cattle that you’ve isolated to do whatever you need to do (corral, lane or trailer
I didn’t have much experience handling cattle up until this point. This was really easy and most importantly stress-free. I’ve never tried this with sheep or goats, and I don’t know if it would work, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Let me know if you do!
What are you experiences with handling cattle in the field? Do you have a different method? Let me know if you tried this, and how it worked for you.
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I use a similar technique. I am usually alone when sorting, I park my trailer outside of the paddock at a gate(assuming I am loading animals), I then create a new paddock usually long and narrow, and call the cattle as if they are getting moved to fresh grass. Once they are all in the paddock I slowly separate as I make the paddock smaller pushing the animal(s) I want closer to the trailer. A few weeks ago I was able to separate and load 5 cattle with in 45 minutes including making the paddock. When loading cattle it is helpful to have panels or gates near the trailer I have found having a round bale toward the trailer can help in the sorting process enabling you to pressure the animals you don’t want around the bale and out of the paddock.
Josh,
That is a great idea. I was trying to come up with a way to do this alone, and I really like you method. I’m assuming you don’t have a corral nearby? Either way, this is an awesome method, and the best part is that it’s low cost! Thanks for sharing.
I want to stress that you NEED to bring a buddy with your target animal. One cow is stupid and flighty, two cows are cool cucumbers.
Yep, for sure
This is especially true with sheep. NEVER leave one sheep by itself. If you are loading sheep into a trailer, make sure you get two at the beginning. One sheep in a trailer will flip out and hurt itself. I watched a mature ram that was left alone in a corral for 1 minute repeatedly bash its head on a steel pole until it bled. The other three that were together on the other side of the corral were like, “hey… what’s up?” Same goes for unloading from a trailer. Grab two and throw them out together or they will run right through your fence. One sheep is stupid but the flock is (kind of) smart. This is the most important reason to have two rams. They need to be separate from the flock for 6 months of the year and they need a buddy.