Yesterday it was Sunday (well we all know that already ) and it was Hugo’s day off (and he was lying on the couch with a “cold in his face” – later he got up off the couch and made more of Pats banana pudding as medicine) and John was chain-sawing dried tree trunks from a hedge the farmer took down so Hugo could split them next week. Well you get my drift. I did not want to call for help thereby interrupting any of these other important activities so I swanned off to move Queenie’s Bobby by myself. I wanted to bring him home to create another mini herd.
Queenie’s Bobby is a big beast. Nothing like the slight Daisy’s Bobby who I can move about with my hip. Queenies Bobby is huge.
But a lonely cow is such a sad cow so I wanted him home.
But to get him to the stock trailer I had to move him through the big empty West Barn, around a corner and down into a race that would take him to the trailer that was backed up to the door. Then he had to jump up onto the trailer. And as you know – you only get one chance. Once the animal knows what you are about and balks, you may as well give up and come back tomorrow – especially when working alone. And also moving a lone animal is so much harder than a herd.
Think like a cow (my favourite talk). 
It is all in the preparation. I put three buckets with a little grain at pertinent points. I placed my sweatshirt where he would see it from the corner of his eye and think it might be a person, I sat dogs along the route and hung my sunglasses up so they did not fall off my head at a bad moment. Then, once I was sure I was prepared, I opened the gate. Seeing the bucket and without missing a beat this big boy roared in the gate, slammed on the brakes, paused, gobbled a little food, then trotted anxiously across the open space, past the dogs guarding the stacks of hay, avoided the scarecrow sweatshirt which dodged him to his left then he saw the next bucket of feed and rushed through the gate, into the race – 
I ran behind shutting the race door, he kept on going and just as he reached the point where he had to jump into the trailer I called “Bring him up” and Boo shot through and nipped his heel then ducked for cover and up the Bobby went into the trailer for his last reward with me slamming the big metal trailer gates behind him.
It was all done in about 30 seconds and I sat down on a bale of straw and felt quite pleased with myself – all by myself.
I drove him back home and released him into the field and after The Milking – Aunty and Lady wandered out to meet up with him again and after a bit of head butting they all dispersed to munch on the pasture. My little herd.
Mission accomplished. You cannot be over prepared when moving a big animal. Think like a cow.
Can you see the little calves sleeping in the shade ? Yesterday Pania’s three chicks went to their new home and we candled Hugo’s eggs and it looks like most of them are viable. I was worried that my new rooster may be too young. My other question is about Mrs Flower’s eggs. She has not been near Mr Flowers in over a month – would her latest batch of eggs be fertile? I am thinking maybe not – but once the hens eggs are hatched we will incubate them and find out.
I hope you have a lovely day,
Love celi
PS. Just to clarify. A Bobby is an animal of the bovine persuasion that I am raising for beef. A Plonker is a pig that I am raising for pork and when I do another couple of sheep for mutton they will be Murphys. The farmy has a language all of its own.
The Kitchen's Garden 
54 responses to “How to Move Large Animals”
Assuming that this Bobbies next ride will be on processing day I have to ponder (because this is how my brain works) if he will have any memory of his adventure and be more prone to balk while being loaded? Needless to say, you have grown him VERY well Miss C. He is huge. I could feel the growing excitement held within your words as you led us through his rush to the trailer. I might have been caught at the end doing a little ‘happy dance’ had I been the one moving this big boy.
He is a beef cow and on pasture which takes a while, so he will go back and forth a few more times between the farms before he is taken to the abbatoir late next summer.. I danced on the inside sitting on my bale of hay. c
I like and appreciate the language of the farmy. And, your work is very much about common sense and knowing what works and what doesn’t from years of trial and error. Your narration of moving Queenie’s Bobby was so clear, that even without the photos I would have understood. In my mind’s eye I saw the reason for every preparation in advance… and what a boon to have Boo as a dependable and capable ranch hand! Bravo!!!!
Did Boo receive a treat for his hard work? >
Boo gets a pat on his big head!
So true about the herd. Brent can move 90 cows before I can get four kids out the door for school. True story.
That made me laugh!! c
Jean how old is the norm for your grass fed beasts (though your alfalfa fields far exceed mine) before they are processed I know you grow to a size and so forth but what is the average age.. c
Long story short …. we slaughter around 22 – 24 months. We are slowly bringing in our age. Our customers want “beefy” and “tender” In France supermarkets, you will buy beef much older than that. It’s not aged. The result is tough beef full of water that doesn’t brown. You buy older mother cows. The label will tell you what you are buying if you know where to read. It’s a mother herd with calves off to feed-lot bidness here. Though, you would never think that. We keep trying new things and new finishing. It’s such a slow turn-around. Though, I think our beef tastes great! It’s tender as well. We are working on the different cuts at the moment. French cows are much larger than American cows. A rump has three names. Okay…..I could go on and on, but I have to get the kids!
Yes that sounds about right – dairy cows are so hard to fatten – but a good beef cow is such a different animal.. thank you!! hope you put on the lippy for the after school run. c
Thanks for the information. I wish we labeled our meats as to gender and conditions raised. Grass fed, Grass Finished and ” ” are not enough information to make good choices here. Love the quote about moving cows vs kids!!! So true.
LOL Thanks for the laugh this morning, Jean.
making people laugh warms my heart.
🙂 😉
Most hearty congratulations, miss c. Reading this reminded me of a steeplechase, and I found I was holding my breath.
High five for an enormous job well done. Did he moo at all during the proceedings? Temple Grandn would be proud of you.
No, not one sound.. he only mooed when I got him back here and he saw his old friend Aunty Del and now they are all sleeping peacefully in the long grass,I will creep out and take a photo soon.. c
Oh well done Celi. I wish there was some CCTV at the farmy, would have made a fabulous video. 😀 You know, from bad Boo puppy to wonder dog. That little guy’s a treasure. At my late father’s cabin is a ranch where the cowboy has an Australian kelpie named Shank. I probably told you this before, but I don’t care, that dog’s is just Shank the wonder dog! He can manage a herd of 50 cows by himself working with the cowboy. Isn’t it just amazing when dogs are given the opportunity to do the work they were born to do. 😀
Especially if they are clever dogs like Shank. With a clever trainer like the cowboy. I wish i knew more about training working dogs. c
I AM impressed… really impressed. And, like many of the others who have mentioned it, I too was holding my breath in hope and concern about the success of the operation. And also impressed with Boo’s well trained actions to bring it all to fruition. How in the world does one train a dog to do that? And from that photo of him on the truck, he really does look like a huge bruiser. Well done!
Hope Hugo’s ‘face cold’ is easing up… he doesn’t have a sinus infection, I hope.
Hope your day is a lovely one too! ~ Mame 🙂
The corn is dry and dusty now and we are surrounded in it, I have a feeling he is allergic to the dust, as am I. (Though the soy beans are worse) when they are harvested our noses will clear up overnight. c
Your forethought and planning was rewarded. Well done!
That was an amazing thirty seconds! Queenie’s bobby is a big boy! We don’t always get size perspective, but that shot in the trailer says it all. He is a handsome fella. Glad the little herd is happy to be back together. Hope Hugo feels better today. Banana pudding sounds like the perfect remedy.
It’s right dangerous to be in my environs right now because I am so proud of you that I am bustin’ my buttons, hence the danger factor. Lots of love, Gayle
You are “our Celi” and I/we applaud everything you do; you go girl!
Nobody can Think Like a Cow better than a wild woman, eh! Well done, C!!!
😀
xo
Well done miss c, am mpst impressed!
I’m always a little sad when the offspring of absent mothers head off to the abattoir, because that’s the last we have of her on the Farmy. That being said, Queenie’s huge bobby is making me hungry. *L*