Working Ranch Blog

My second week at home has been a little more eventful, but I have somehow managed to sneak a little more time for rest in there. I have been helping quite a bit at my family’s cattle auction (Dad can always use a little free labor) and this is no easy task let me assure you. We have been socked with some rain this week so it seems we are only digging ourselves deeper in the mud and farther away from being able to make our first cutting of hay.

Our auction is every Tuesday and this week we were a little short on hands and stock because of the heavy rains the day before, so I jumped in and worked wherever someone needed an extra hand. As I was going throughout the barn helping the vets push cattle through the head gate, helping tag in cattle on the docks, load cattle into the scales, or sort cattle to be loaded out, I noticed something different about how the cattle are handled in our barn. About a year ago my dad took away all of the cattle prods in the barn with the exception of two; one at the vet’s chute and one in the loading chute to go onto the scales. There has been such a difference in the cattle handling without cattle prods.

Since we have stopped using cattle prods or “hot shots” as we like to call them, one can sit on the catwalk and observe that the number of cattle slipping and falling, bawling in the chutes, and running in circles around the pen has significantly decreased. This is easy see just by observation, but it is difficult to measure just how much improved out cattle handing is with the change. Maybe the most measurable indicator of improvement is the number of insurance claims with each auction. There was a time when we would have a couple of claims each week from cattle becoming crippled or older, thin cows getting down.  Since dad has taken away the use of the hot shots, insurance claims have been reduced to maybe a couple every few weeks.

Some might ask why there would be any claims at all with good cattle handling, but the truth is there will always be situations where some cattle will be injured. When you have several hundred cattle coming through a barn in one day, from many different sources, something will catch a leg in a wrestling match with another calf or someone will bring in a poor cow that was holding onto to her last before she ever came to town. Many times, we will see customers bring in cattle that have a flight-zone of several yards, so on their first trip to town they really do not know what to think and this is where it gets dangerous for the handlers in the auction barn.

I am making it a point to read some books from people that are influential in the cattle industry with the hope of improving my skills. One of these authors is Temple Grandin. She has been very influential in the feeder and packer sectors in the cattle industry and I hope to learn a thing or two about understanding animal behavior and handling from her writing. This could prove to be helpful seeing how I will start my job with the feedyard next week! Currently I am reading “Animals in Translation” and next I have “Humane Livestock Handling,” by Grandin. These books are very helpful in understanding how animals view the world in hopes of improving our skills as better cattlemen. Next on my list is “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, a book that was very influential in legislation governing animal harvest in the early part of the last century. I recommend reading all three of these books.

Do you have any suggestions for books that will help me become a better cattleman and gain a better understanding of cattle behavior, handling, health, or nutrition? Share these with me by email (rjlgoodman@hotmail.com) or find me on Facebook and Twitter. Until next time, ARranchhand

CattleFact: Dr. Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed are located in the United States, and more than five other countries. In North America, almost half of the cattle are handled in a center-track restrainer system that she designed for meat plants. – grandin.com