chasing cattle?

mmidlam · Jan 6, 2012

I have 12 cattle out. They have to go back down the road to get around a 12 foot deep muck ditch. That"s the path they took to get out. They only want to run back and forth across the road. I thought about temporally putting up some snow fence along the road to keep them from the other side. Would the bright orange of the fence spook them?
These are grass fed Anxiety 4 th Herefords and don't know what grain is. They also have not been fed any hay yet. They have had limited human involvement.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 6, 2012

did you try luring them with pails of grain?As soon as mine see me comming with pails of grain they come running.i run about 80 head and learned that is the best way to teach them instead of chasing

rustred · Jan 6, 2012

they are just stupid. can even try a round bale on loader and back up and let them follow.
or hay on back of truck , what ever works.

rrlund · Jan 6, 2012

Yep,baitin is always better'n chasin.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 6, 2012

I'm thinken you must be new at dealing with cattle,,,,O boy''
Just take the 4wheeler an run the crap Uta them....Or else an old pickup with a good grill guard....Dog,,,Horse....The ol Lady's car....
Cars not the best idee....She WAS Pi$$ed..LOL

Mike (WA) · Jan 6, 2012

I always called it "chasin' them from the front"- they know which way to go, which is follow the feed. Only danger is them running over you, but if they're just a little wild, you can wave your arms and holler to keep them at bay.

Chasin' them from the back, they're just guessing on where to go, and with single digit IQ's, its pretty likely to turn out wrong.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 6, 2012

Another thing to remember, is to make sure that they have SALT! My grandfather said, if you give them salt, they will always stay near, the source. I would get some sweet horse feed and try baiting them back in, as others have said.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 6, 2012

I found there is no benefit in chasing them and causing them angst. slow and easy seems to work. I you are by your self and walking, they will make a fool of you. Take your dog with you seems to give them a different mindset.Once I had an obstinate beast that always wanted to break away and run, so I accommodated it, got on the tractor and ran it from one end of the farm to the other and back again.That changed its ideas, too busy puffing to think about anything else, docile after that.If they want to run, they can,but it will be further than they expect.

Mel in SW Iowa · Jan 6, 2012

What is your location. Are they still out?

Mel in SW Iowa · Jan 6, 2012

What is your location. Are they still out?

Mel in SW Iowa · Jan 6, 2012

How were they handled in the past if you raised them
or by whoever did?

Mel in SW Iowa · Jan 6, 2012

How were they handled in the past if you raised them
or by whoever did?

tjdub · Jan 6, 2012

I suppose that's the trouble with the grassfed program; You can't feed them treats to train them.

If you can't bait them with hay, maybe look around to see if you can buy a good quality balage bale. The smell from that is probably the next best thing.

I feed my cattle wet brewers grain from a local microbrewery. They come running for a look every time I even start my truck and would follow me all the way to town if they could. It's funny how they have the distinct sound of a Ford 460 programmed into their brains because they ignore every other vehicle, but when my father-in-law drives his dumptruck over with the same engine they come running too

flying belgian · Jan 6, 2012

Mike(wa) I sure enjoy your colorful way of saying things.

RalphWD45 · Jan 6, 2012

Sure works for me!My grassfed cows& calves, will follow me anywhere, if I carry a white plastic bucket with me, I seldom need to put lasses grain in it!

Nebraska Cowman · Jan 7, 2012

Oh good grief! Get the local law enforcement to help. They seem to be pretty good at "chasing" cattle. NO, you don't "chase" cattle. Chasing them only makes them go away from you. It does nothing to control where they go. Use your head a little bit. Try to out-think the cow and know how she is going to react. You want the cattle to think they are going where they want to go when in fact they are going where YOU want them to. If the cattle have not been around humans much that means you do not have to get real close to make them move. And you sure don't need to be making a lot of noise. If I had frightened cattle I would NOT want any "help"

showcrop · Jan 7, 2012

call the police. In my town both the fire and police chiefs have expeditions to drive around in. They love it when livestock get out. They run through fields, pastures, backyards, swamps until they break down or get stuck, and then the animals are tired and manageable.

donjr · Jan 7, 2012

You got problem. Have yu tried contacting a local riding group? Some of the local 'cowboys might love having a 'cattle drive' to get them 'doggies' in, and doing it on horseback may give some mobility while chasing them. Cows usually don't get as upset being handled by horse the way they do if a four wheeler is chasing them, and a horse can go places a four wheeler can't.

Waltmo · Jan 8, 2012

Having chased wild cattle, horses and pigs I thing your idea has merit. Just take it slow and easy so they don't stampede. It is always best to let them go at their own speed without pushing them. WaltMo

Ron in Nebr · Jan 10, 2012

Actually, cattle have a "flght zone" and will tend to move away from whatever it is that they are trying to get away from in a predictable direction.

A person who REALLY understands cattle can 9 times out of 10 make them go where he(or she) wants from behind. Usually at a slow pace if desired as well. If that person doesn't know cattle good enough, it's really easy to get a little too far one way or the other and then they're off going the wrong direction, or get things moving too fast, also with bad results.

We calve out 800-1000 head every spring, and for one man by himself in the middle of the night during a snowstorm to get an old cow to leave the herd and shelter of a tree grove to go a half mile or more into the barn to pull a calf, takes a very good understanding of cattle, but it's done on a nightly basis.

Lead an old range cow who's on the fight with a bucket of grain?? Heh heh...don't think so!

chasing cattle?

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