how do i halter train a calf?

[clarmayfarm]

Sorry, I have to agree with the person who suggested tying first. Always works wonders, unless it is a beef calf with a serious "crazy" gene.

DO NOT use a rope around the neck, if they pull very tight, it will cut off their airway. Always use a halter.

Tie them up with the halter, give them enough rope that they can lie down, but not enough to tangle themselves. Give them feed and carry water to them for a day or so.

Then, start leading them to water on day 2 or later. At first, hold on and they will fight you, but if it is a baby, you can hold it.

Usually in a week to 7 days they will be "Broken" to lead!

 

[Electric]

I have halter broken both my foals and both my calves with one method:
Patience.
I put a halter on when she was 8 months old. (the one I bought.) And she tried to rub it off for a few days, but she got used to it. Then, I tied a lead rope to her and let her walk around with the lead rope hanging. (But short enough not to get stepped on) And after a while, I tied her the the ball of the tractor (Or something sturdy) and let her pull, and fight it for a bit, eventually, I could tie her anywhere. Then, I practiced walking her. At first, when she stopped, I pulled her head from side to side, throwing her off balance and forcing her to step forward, while putting pressure on the rope. When she stepped forward, I let the rope slack and rewarded her with a pat or a scratch. Then I did it again and again. Within a week, I could walk her around the round pen (or small enclosure) and I practiced walking her to the end of my driveway, to get used to cars, using the same technique I used in the small pen. Now, I can lead her at a run, and walk her down a busy road with me.
Hope this helps!
Edit : here is her pictures!

 

[rittert3]

I have heard from many people that a donkey is very useful in this task. You just halter the animal being broke to lead and tie to the donkeys halter and leave them for 2 or 3 days as long as the donkey is stronger there is no reason it wouldn't work. Also Donkeys are cheap right now where I'm at a heathy jack can be had for $25.

 

[goodhors]

While the donkey method has been used in times past, it is usually with larger animals, not calves. And not all donkey's are equal as trainers. Some kick the tied-on victims into hash. Are you willing to have your bovine severely damaged? Donkey really WILL NOT give in to the bovine and eventually will pull it where donkey wishes to go, but some bovines are NOT smart so it takes a longer time to learn to "go with the pull" instead of arguing.

Can also be hard on the donkey, attaching a huge lump of flesh restricting his movement. Untrained donkey can not understand, fight that pull strongly. Donkey Jack will kill a stallion in a fight, they have no quit.

Our friends have a donkey TRAINED for leading cattle, she wears a harness so there is no pull on her head and neck to cause donkey spinal damage. They consider her a huge asset in cattle training, but they raise a lot of show calves for steers. Saves them a great deal of time with that many. But at the price of their calves, they would not consider using ANY donkey they found for teaching calves to lead.

I also did the halter on my young heifer, but I did leave a rope dragging so she stepped on it. This taught her to respect for the rope, not to pull against it. Self taught. Rope was about 14ft from her head, so I could grasp the end when it was time to handle her. I wasn't close, so she didn't run, still could get the rope! I had nothing for rope to snag on except the heifer's feet, so it was not a danger to her.

I would go out in the field, pick up the rope to hold her, then "reeled her in" for treats from my hand. We also did the driveway walking UNDER CONTROL, so she learned obedience to the rope. Just lots of turns, stop and wait for ME to move on. All the handling, walking about you can do daily, even just a few minutes a day, will GREATLY help your cow handling later on. She learned to come when called in fairly short order, got scratched, a treat, then I walked away. She spent time tied so she was easy about it, got bathed, fed while tied. Learned it was no big deal being tied. Tying well is GOOD for any bovine to know, reduces problems later in their lives.

All the work really came in handy when I took her to a friend with a bull kept in a wooded field. She was there a couple months, but EASILY was haltered in the corral and led quietly to be self-loaded back into the trailer. Tied and rode quietly home in the trailer, unloaded gently. Only took a day to be coming again when called at home. We barn the cattle at night for safety, so they MUST be handled daily, behave well on the twice-a-day leading sessions to go in and out of the barn. No run-ins, HAVE to be haltered and led.

 

[Electric]

While the donkey method has been used in times past, it is usually with larger animals, not calves. And not all donkey's are equal as trainers. Some kick the tied-on victims into hash. Are you willing to have your bovine severely damaged? Donkey really WILL NOT give in to the bovine and eventually will pull it where donkey wishes to go, but some bovines are NOT smart so it takes a longer time to learn to "go with the pull" instead of arguing.

Can also be hard on the donkey, attaching a huge lump of flesh restricting his movement. Untrained donkey can not understand, fight that pull strongly. Donkey Jack will kill a stallion in a fight, they have no quit.

I agree . No donkey will quit a good fight. We had our standard donkey knock out our Belgian stallion a few years ago, we came home and the donkey had the stud by the bottom of the neck(where the windpipe is) and had pulled him halfway over the fence, and would not let go. We had to use a hammer to lever the donkeys jaws apart.