Showing Veal Calf???

[Dreaming Of Goats]

I'm in 4-H ( ) and my friend and I have both gotten a calf, and we're keeping them at her farm. They will be processed when ready, so we will only be able to show them once- At the 4H Fair. She and I picked up her Jersey yesterday (Samuel Adams) and today, her dad picked me up a Red Holstein (Bud-Weiser) today from the auction. So, I need to know the run-down of showing. I've read a few on-line articles, but I figured it would be best to ask you guys I've shown chickens and goats, so I know the basics.... Here are the questions:

How do you halter train a calf? I tried walking Bud-Weiser and he refused. He almost fell, and totally resisted!!! He's still on milk, so I can't use any grain.

What supplies will I need for showing him? I will be doing showmanship, and dairy showing, since he isn't a "meat" breed.

How do you pose/stand the cow? I read on-line you want the legs staggered...

Anything else I should know? Any tips?

Thanks, Dreamin of Goats!

 

[goodhors]

Well if calves are still on milk, perhaps they will still suck enough to hold your finger and follow you with a halter and lead rope on. The BEST time to get them leading is NOW, while they are still small, not larger animals. You should also practice tying them for short times, because they probably will be tied at the Fair. You lengthen the time they are tied, so they learn.

With both of you girls on one calf, one leads, while the other can lift calf tail and help him learn to follow. You each lead your own calf, while the other does the tail thing to keep him going. Other methods could include flicking the hind legs with a short whip, NOT HITTING, but aggravating calf so he moves away from the whip.

Once you get them walking, you need to walk them daily, up and down the driveway, down the lane, around the pasture. Walked someplace every single day.

You work at showing by getting them responsive to the halter and chin chain, showstick with hook. This means calf needs to easily turn when you pull the lead, step forward, step back if asked. Stick is used to tickle the belly to lift his spine for straight appearance, tickle the legs, hook them forward, pick them up when poked. The more practice you put in, the easier your calf will handle in situations like the show ring.

If you have a trailer available, do practice loading and unloading the calves into it, making them wait until you ask (word command, rope pull) for them to get out. No fun getting knocked down when the calf tries to escape! With practice, calves and cattle can load quietly, easily, if you teach them and they are familiar with the the trailer.

Have you asked your 4-H Leaders for help? Our Club does workouts, where kids bring calves, practice what is done in the show ring, walking in circles while the Judge inspects them. Calves get used to strangers, new places, riding in the trailer, all good stuff. Leaders critique your position, handling, presentation of the calf, so you avoid errors at the Fair.

Daughter said your stick should come up to your armpit, too long or short, makes them hard to use. If you are small, calf or cow is long, you do need stick to reach the hind end without moving from the head area. Practicing with the stick makes calf easy with you using it on them, you are smoother at handling it on the calf.

Daughter made her calf halter and lead shank from a black rein from the tack store. Was about half the cost of buying a halter, not difficult to sew. We do have leather tools, but all she really used was hole punch, thread and needles to anchor the buckles and ring for noseband. Looked very nice.

 

[Dreaming Of Goats]

Thanks so much!!! The cows are actually being leased from my 4-H leaders.... I think they have a trailer, I'll have to do that once they learn the halter. Also, since it is much easier for them, they pan feed, but they lock them in a stanchion so they can tell what the cows are getting.

Good idea with the halter, but my feed store also has some really nice ones I'll probably get.

 

[goodhors]

We have a pretty good bunch in the cattle showing, so leather is pretty much what you want here. Nylon or rope here, makes you look like a rookie. Plain leather halters were about $50, and we didn't want to spend that much.

We attended a big cattle show, looked at what was being used in the ring and sold, took the ideas and made a halter to fit her calf. Checked out the clothes kids wore, and all carry a scotch comb!! Current top level halter styles have "bling" in sparkles on the noseband and behind the ears, very short lead straps to hold up heads as you walk. We did that bling, short strap to hers, halter was very cute on her calf. I will sell the halter after Fair, daughter is done this year, get our money back for it.

Around here the smaller calves are called "Prospect Beef" and sold at the Fair auction. They have to weigh from 250 to 500 pounds. Can't sell if over or under weight, but the kids can show them. You make your money in the selling, so everyone tries to make weight at Fair. Kids buy for using as a steer in big beef next year, while other people buy the calves and put them in feed lots. No one seems to have a veal calf class locally at the Fairs.

Calves can be quite rewarding, but you have to put in the time. Cows LOVE routine, even as calves. So the daily walking all over keeps them reminded that they need to go where YOU say. Calf will help you, if he understands what you want in showing him. Daughter's calf was pretty unflappable with noisy ring, bellowing calves, just followed her and set up as she asked him to. She and I both put in a LOT of time with him, and it really showed when she needed him to behave. I did her walking when she couldn't, tied him up,
so calf did SOMETHING every single day before Fair. He was a really nice minded calf. This year's calf is kind of strong minded!

Another good idea is to pick up all his feet while he is tied or in the stanchion. Then if he needs hoof attention he will cooperate while you smooth off his toes. Our calf got some chips jumping on the rocks, was easy to rasp toes even before Fair. Starting while small, he knows how to balance on 3 legs, this is "normal" as part of his brushing and grooming routine.

 

[Rdandersom]

The method that worked best for me was to halter the calf in its pen for a couple of hours to get them used to the halter but more importantly to get the notion in thier heads that the rope does not give and that it is easier to submit to the rope than fight it.It is important to be close in case the calf gets tangled or throws itself and can't get up.This is enough training for the first day and may have to be repeated if the calf will not stop fighting the halter.

The next step is to tie the calf to the back of a wagon and take it for a walk.Tie the calf to the middle of the wagon so it can't get around the edge of the wagon.You want the calf on a short lead tied in such a way that the rope can be unhooked easily if it throws itself.Get someone to drive a tractor pulling the wagon very slowly while you walk at the calfs head as you would showing.The calf will balk and fight until it realizes that all it is being asked to do is to walk slowly.

I learned this method from a dairyman who raised and showed fancy Holstiens years ago.He used self unloading forage wagons so that the calf can't see ahead and so is not spooked.I showed holstiens in 4-H then guernseys later.My sons all showed beef heifers in 4-H and this method was used on many calves.Daily walking is the key once the calf has been halter broken.Some calves take more work than others.One guersey would lean back against the halter until she cut off her airway and threw herself backward gasping.Another calf was so wild it never did calm down and had to be sedated a little to show.

 

[greybeard]

The stall trick has worked wonders for the kids around here--it gets them used to the halter and rope and they learn they can't pll out of the halter or off the lead rope. Get the halter on as soon as you can as stated in the above posts. IMO, it's best to start off their training in a small pen--not out in open pasture.
Try NOT to let the calf break away from you with the lead rope attached to the halter. A calf will often learn more in those few seconds of rebellion than in all the hrs you spend otherwise--he learns he/she CAN get away.

Above all, be as gentle as possible but as firm as needed. That holds true in all areas of livestock handling.
Be patient--some calves halter break easily---some, ehhh--not so much.
(my first one drug me from one end of the pen to the other--a LOT--it was debatable which of us was actually being halter trained.)