Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[farmerjan]

@Mike CHS I think that your steers will do fine. I would put the trailer, hooked to the truck where you want it to load out, a week before you want to load them. Then feed in the pen like normal. See how they do. If they just look at it and say oh well, and go to eating, then I would pull it out again after they are done eating. Then do the same the day before you need to load them. Does your slaughter place allow you to bring them the night before? Some like it so that they have an emptier gut tract, some don't care. If they do, then I would go ahead and load them and take them the night before. They should be in a secure pen there. If they act up at all the first time you try it then you have a week to work on it. But I really think that they will be fine. If you get them in the pen and then get the the gate open to the trailer you can probably get them to follow the feed pans into the trailer like @Shellymay suggested. I have cows that will load themselves out in the field into a trailer because they have been fed in it before; even when I have no feed. They see the open trailer and say oh boy, I'm going somewhere to get fed ......It is funny. And some see the trailer and go the other way unless they are already penned. Yours are pretty quiet and if you don't do anything too different, they will do what you want. Just do things the same way. If it is just you then do not get anyone to help you. Or like we do, we might go to the field in the same vehicle, but i will stay in the truck when he calls them in. then once they are penned, I will get out to help. Or I will go to the field first and get them in and he will be in the truck and trailer say at the end of the road and I will call and say they are in the pen. Do a partial trial run of having the truck and trailer there so they can see it and you are not doing anything suspicious.... then they will just act like it belongs there.

 

[Mike CHS]

Thanks @farmerjan. I have had Teresa go out with me several times a week so they are used to seeing her outside of the fence to make sure they aren't afraid of her and don't react when she is there.

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, it is the thing of something being different. If our cattle see 2 of us together, they will watch us closely because we mostly always do things singularly. And up to 2 years ago, the cows didn't think anything of someone out walking around when I was walking through the cows. Now, some places they freak out if they see someone walking through the pastures. They are used to us in a vehicle, truck, or on the 4 wheeler. I used to walk the pastures alot when we were calving, but if they saw 2 or "god forbid" 3 of us for any reason.... the heads went up and they were heading in the opposite direction because that meant there was "something terrible going to happen"..... It is all routine with them.

 

[Mike CHS]

Our butcher is booked till the third week in February for the cows.

Our #34 ewe is the one that I used to call Wild Thang and was nearly as wild after being here for 2 1/2 years as she was the day we brought them home. All of the others were hand tame within two weeks of being here. I was petting one of the ewes while I was out hauling water for them and another ewe nudged me and I reached over to pet and was surprised that it was 34. I was giving the other ewe some small pieces of animal cracker and 34 came right up and looked expectantly for her share. She took several pieces and came back for pets as I was on my way out of the paddock. Little things make me happy.

 

[Bruce]

Wild Thang has become Tame Thang!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Congrats on Wild Thang changing her tune! I've had that happen with goats - who knows what goes through their mind for soooooo long and then one day they just morph into a friendly critter.

 

[Baymule]

You got good advice on loading the cattle. I see rib eyes in your future.

 

[Bruce]

There are ribeyes in my future too!
Of course ... I had to buy them I have 3 in the freezer along with 1 tenderloin, 3 porterhouses and 3 sirloins. Jersey X black angus.

 

[Mike CHS]

That's what we had for dinner tonight and they were good. We all pay for it one way or another.

The bunch of beef we got from him was swapped for a bunch of lamb. He sells most of his beef in the field for right at $1.00 a pound on the hoof.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Looks great!