How do you get a 2,000 lb bull in a trailer?

[siroiszoo]

Thanks Wolf-Kim. As long as he doesn't find a new exit route we will be okay.

So far, he's still pouting about the whole thing in his favorite escape corner which is now blocked by a trailer & a truck.

 

[siroiszoo]

Good news. We are making progress.

A) George the Bull is still in his pen! YAY!

B) He went in the trailer last night; ate most of his feed & hay and drank 1/2 of the water.

This morning I went down to feed & water. He is much calmer but very cautious - just like last week when I started feeding him at the back of the trailer.

I brought my horses in for a little grain and could see him stick his head in the trailer and sniffed while I was in my pasture with my horses. But he must have seen me and walked away. He should be happy, my miniature horses are hanging out around his pen. So at least he has company.

If I can keep him where he is - in the pen - I'll be willing to give it one more week to get him good & comfortable with the new arrangement. Hopefully, we can get him safely to market by Friday.

 

[Imissmygirls]

YAAAAAH!
Now I'm starting to feel sorry for poor George. He's such a nice guy; misunderstood; lonely.
And you are sending him to market.


Ok... smack me.

 

[jhm47]

OKAY, you've succeeded in getting him to enter the trailer. Now you should remove the feed and water from the trailer and leave him alone for 24 hours. Then, put feed and water in the trailer and be prepared to shut the doors. He may not go in at first while you are there, but eventually he will go in. Just be patient. Good luck, and BE SAFE!

 

[siroiszoo]

YAAAAAH!
Now I'm starting to feel sorry for poor George. He's such a nice guy; misunderstood; lonely.
And you are sending him to market.


Ok... smack me.

You and me both, friend. I'm having feelings of guilt too. I know I'm gonna miss him. Wish I had money and a bit of cow sense. I'd buy him some cows and keep him around. But, I can barely afford what I have.

 

[siroiszoo]

OKAY, you've succeeded in getting him to enter the trailer. Now you should remove the feed and water from the trailer and leave him alone for 24 hours. Then, put feed and water in the trailer and be prepared to shut the doors. He may not go in at first while you are there, but eventually he will go in. Just be patient. Good luck, and BE SAFE!

Oh, Okay. I was doing like I did last week but keeping the feed, hay, & water up in the nose of the trailer. He still stands as far away from it as he possibly can - at least by daylight.

But I"m willing to do it your way. Thanks!

 

[2468herdsrgr8]

 

[siroiszoo]

jhm47:

We had a weather front move through that has caused a rain event all day. I was going to remove all food & water today. I had to get hold of the stock yards to make sure I could deliver that bull any day of the week before I got him locked in the trailer. They said I could but now I can't be sure that I will be able to get the stupid trailer out with all this rain. I even got a friend that will drop what he is doing and come haul that bull for us if the Guy won't show up when we need him.

What would you do at this point?

I haven't been able to get down to see if the bull went back in the trailer for food & water last night. I imagine he did but as of 5PM yesterday, he hadn't. I don't see him roaming the pasture so I have to assume he is still in the corral. I'm not sure how badly this rain will mess up my plans.



OH NO! The news just reported that this rain will last all day and over night! Then, Thursday & Friday are listed at 60% chance on each of those days! AAAAGGGGHHHH!

 

[siroiszoo]

Man, I'm just sick of this.

We just got back from checking on the bull. He is still in the pen but hasn't been back into the trailer since Saturday night.

And, while the ground is nice and firm around the trailer & corral area, it's soft around the only gate out of the place cause the owner chose to put his hay rounds in that spot when he fed his cattle. So there are 7 years of soft, soggy hay build up in the area we need to swing a truck & trailer through to get a straight shot at the gate.

I feel the agony of defeat luring around the corner

 

[jhm47]

Just be calm. Feed the bull about half of the hay and grain that you were feeding him. At this stage, you want to keep him hungry so he continues to enter the trailer. You might need to put some hay and grain near the door so he is tempted a bit, but only enough to get him interested. You want him to have to go all the way in. Don't worry about getting in a hurry about getting the trailer out of the area. As long as the bull is getting something to eat and drink, he will probably not try to escape. Be patient, this thing will end soon. As you have seen, sometimes slower is faster, better and more successful.

As to rain/snow, we've had about 8" of precipitation here in the past weeks. Lots of crops in the fields yet, and no way to harvest them. Looks like we're getting set up for another flood in Fargo next spring. Hope I'm wrong about that.