It’s an exciting time of year. Many county fairs are wrapping up and showmen are starting to look to the promise of next year. For us, we are starting to work with the calves that we will sell. We evaluate their dispositions and appetites. It sounds like a good time right?
Before you get too far into the process, let’s think about some things to avoid when you get your calf home. Being prepared ahead of time can help keep you from being one of the comical examples we use in the blog! Let’s check out the tips…what not to do with your new calf.
Don’t Jump Him Off The Trailer in an Open Area
One year, we had some friends who bought a gentle but green broke calf from us.
They loaded a kitten and unloaded a tiger.
Somewhere along the way, he decided he was 100% done with that trip. He had himself so worked up that he traveled miles before they were finally able to catch up with him.
And…They unloaded him in a fairly confined area. While this was an unusual example, I tell you this to illustrate that cattle can be a bit unpredictable.
We’ve all heard stories where people unload their calf and are unable to find him for a day or so. It’s best to out-think and outmaneuver them.
At all costs, try to avoid jumping your calf off of the trailer in an open area (no fences). Even broke cattle can spook after a trailer ride to their new homes.
Losing Her Mind
We had a Hereford heifer one year lose her mind on the ride home from the show in Reno. She had no real good reason to do that after having just been shown. Of course, we were quite complacent while unloading her. I mean, she’d just been shown at a big show. But, down the road, she ran…
Unloading your new calf in a confined area is especially important if your calf is green broke or just broke to tie. If you hauled him loose, then make it so you can back the trailer up to his pen or alley to his pen. Shoot, if you hauled him tied, do the same thing.
Before you even leave home to go get him, evaluate his pen and your facility. Are there low fences that would allow him to jump out? Is the area wide open? Is there an obstacle course of random stuff for him to navigate on his way to the pen?
Oh, The Destruction…
Never underestimate a calf’s ability to destroy anything in his path. It’s a true talent, really. Blowers, fans, wheelbarrows, rakes, forks. I’ve seen them all dismantled, squished and otherwise broken by cattle. And those are the broke cattle!
Don’t Push Him Too Soon
Give him a minute to think! Who ever got a new toy or gadget and left it in the box for a few days? Nobody. Well nobody normal anyhow. We get something new and we want to use it! If you get a new kitten or puppy, you’re loving on it as soon as you pick it up.
Cattle…are often a different beast. Now, there will be some that make liars out of me. Come to think of it, they do it often. However, you are much safer to assume your new calf is likely to need some time to settle.
All that fluffy hair may look like fun to get to the wash rack and start working, but it’s best for him to chill a minute.
You’ll have plenty of time to get to work on him. This is a long project. Don’t set yourself back by pushing him too soon.
Let him acclimate to his new environment for a few days. If he’s traveled quite a distance, you may give him the better part of a week. Work him into it slowly. Let him realize that you are the guy or gal who brings the feed. We aren’t all that different from cattle…bring me good food and we are friends for sure.
Avoid Dramatic Changes in Feed
Avoid big changes in diet when you get him home. If you have the ability, ask the breeder what feed he has been on and have some of that feed on hand when you bring him home. If you plan to switch from whatever he’s been on, do it slowly.
Hay
Hay is super important to cattle. Whenever we get fresh cattle home or wean our own calves, they always get free choice hay. We vary from year to year, sometimes we have rye-grass, beardless wheat, triple grain or other non-alfalfa hay for show cattle. You’ll see this as a common theme in these articles. We do not recommend feeding alfalfa to show cattle on a daily basis.
No Spotless Trailers
Whoa…what? You like things clean right? Clean, yes void of bedding…no! I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had families show up with a squeaky clean trailer to haul their calves home. There’s not an ounce of bedding in them. I always cringe but never say anything because I don’t want to offend them.
Bedding Please
So, here I’ll shout it from the rooftops…please bed your trailer so the calf you just paid hard-earned money for doesn’t slip and hurt himself on the way home. Even rubber mats get slippery when they are wet.
My friend in high school used to joke that her cattle grew claws in order to stay upright when she drove. It seemed much funnier then than it is now. Protect your new project and bed your trailer.
A Little Planning
So you see, with a little planning you can avoid some common mistakes we’ve seen. If you’ve read Stock Show Stories for a while, you know that we are always trying to help you avoid the many mistakes we’ve made…like what not to do with your new calf. Admittedly, they usually make for entertaining stories!
I think my new mantra may be: It is just as important to know what NOT to do as it is what TO do. At least, I seem to say it often. This time of year is so much fun! Of course, I think it’s all fun. From new calves to shows…there’s lots of fun to be had when you are best prepared to enjoy it!
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