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

siroiszoo

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I raise horses & chickens so I have no idea how to get a 2,000 pound bull in a trailer so he can go to auction.

He belongs to my neighbor who just got transferred to California by his employer. The neighbor has deligated people to care for his place while he is gone. One guy has been deligated to get the man's cows to marker while it is my job to care for the pasturage while he is gone. The guy got the cows loaded and to market, but for two Saturdays in a row, he has been trying to get the bull loaded.

The sooner that bull goes the sooner my horses get the pasture which I really, really, really need! (We've had a pretty severe drought here in Texas and my pasture is gone.)

I watched and helped to the degree I was able, yesterday.

I see three problems:

1) the bull is 2,000 pounds and not afraid of anything.
2) the bull is 2,000 pounds and doesn't want to get in the trailer.
3) the bull is 2,000 pounds and is very upset that his girls are gone.

oh yeah,

4) the bull is 2,000 pounds and smarter than the humans left in charge of getting him to market.

It took 4 hours just to get him in the stock area, another hour to get him into the shoot - which he immediately turned around in and left no solution for getting him the right direction for loading into the trailer. After another hour, he decided he didn't want to be there and bent, snapped, and broke all the rails, the gate on the shoot, and the adjoining panels before lifting the whole thing up and going out underneath the whole thing.

so, then

5) the bull is 2,000 pounds and the neighbor didn't build his shoot & stock area sturdy enough for an animal that large.


Oh, and another thing, the guy's wife got in the pen with the bull - against everyone's advice & warning. So this bull penned her against the fence and broke several ribs before we got her out. Thank God he didn't have horns!

So now, the bull is very, very upset and knows he can hurt people. NICE!

So back to my question: How do you get a 2,000 pound bull in the trailer so we can get him to market?

I'm desperate to get that bull out of that pasture before he starts breaking fence lines to get to other cows nearby.

ANOTHER QUESTION: If I do manage to get him loaded, what do I do with him? Are there only certain days you can haul cows to auction/market or can you do it any day of the week?
 

jhm47

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There are several options here. One is to hire a veterinarian and tranquilize the animal with a dart gun. Second is to make an appointment with a butcher and shoot the bull in his head with a large caliber high powered rifle. Have a loader handy and haul the bull to the butcher. The bull will make wonderful hamburger and sausage.

One thing is for sure, whatever you do--------BE CAREFUL. Animals like this are nothing to fool with, especially when you are not used to handling animals like this. Good luck!
 

siroiszoo

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Thank you jhm47. I did make the suggestion yesterday; kill it where it stands and off to butcher. Will butchers take a fresh kill in Texas? I thought they had regulated them to death so they couldn't do that.

I will certainly pass your suggestions on to the guy in charge of this project. The vet idea might be a solution.

I wonder what it would cost to hire cowboys to wrangle this thing into a trailer; or even how you'd go about finding men who would do this kind of job?
 

Cara

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Yes there are guys who will help..for a small fee. You might post an ad on Craigslist looking for help. Someone with some Black Mouth Curs could certainly help ;)
 

oldbarncat

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We had a similar problem here and our bull had horns.It was either get the Vet out ,tranquillize him and winch him into the trailer or shoot him, hoist him up, clean him and quarter him to go to the Slaughter house. We opted for the second.
 

siroiszoo

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Yeah oldbarncat, I'm thinking that may very well be what we have to do but I need to check around first. I do believe that the FDA (or whatever) regulated the mess out of the butchers & slaughter houses around these parts. I remember hearing that a number of family owned shops had gone out of business due to all the federal changes.

If that is the case & we can't get him to market alive, then we will have to wait til winter and do the butchering ourselves. Just not real sure how we will get that much meat processed by ourselves. The largest thing we've ever done on our own would be a gigantic farel hog that wound up in our yard one day.

Ya'll tell me if I'm crazy, but if I can talk the guy in charge of this mess into parking a trailer by my side of the property for a week (the bull hangs out there anyway to keep company with my horses), I'm thinking I can get that sucker in there with a large bale of alfalfa pushed up into the nose of the trailer so he has to go in to get it. I figure I might be able to do it on my own considering he's used to seeing me there and doesn't associate me with the guys trying to wrangle his big butt into a trailer headed for slaughter.

Just a thought.
 

Imissmygirls

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You may want to sweeten the pot with some grain too.
My Question: Can the TRAILER hold this boy? I'd hate to see him break out on the way down the road. Then, of course, you don't have much option with what happens.

Ask around. Usually there are some local butchers still operating. The key may be that the meat is for your own consumption, not for sale.
 

jhm47

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Since you will not be selling the meat, I suspect that your butcher will not need to have it inspected. At least that's the way it works here in South Dakota.

After thinking about your predicament, I would rather have the animal shot in the pasture. The dart/drug option might work to get him loaded, but how much drug residue will be left in the meat? Also, if you have him roped and haul him to the butcher, will his meat be affected by the extra adrenaline from being chased? I'd shoot him in the pasture, and he won't know what hit him. Quick, easy, safe, and end of problem.
 

Beekissed

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I'd grain him for a few days with a red bucket while giving a cattle call. Then back up the trailer to the gate, place the red bucket in the trailer, give a call, open the gate and see if it works.

That's how they got my granny's bull, Tiny Tim, in the stock trailer. It took 6 guys at the livestock sales to get him UNLOADED but, by then, it wasn't her problem! :D

That bull was a horribly MEAN piece of beef..... :tongue

ANOTHER QUESTION: If I do manage to get him loaded, what do I do with him? Are there only certain days you can haul cows to auction/market or can you do it any day of the week?
You need to call your local livestock auction/sale and ask what days and times you can bring your baaaaaad to the bone bull. You might also ask them for advice...they do this every week! ;)
 

siroiszoo

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jhm47 said:
Since you will not be selling the meat, I suspect that your butcher will not need to have it inspected. At least that's the way it works here in South Dakota.

After thinking about your predicament, I would rather have the animal shot in the pasture. The dart/drug option might work to get him loaded, but how much drug residue will be left in the meat? Also, if you have him roped and haul him to the butcher, will his meat be affected by the extra adrenaline from being chased? I'd shoot him in the pasture, and he won't know what hit him. Quick, easy, safe, and end of problem.
You make a most excellent observation. I was worried, myself, about the affects (effects?) of sedation & food consumption. Since it appears to be a common practice in these parts, it really makes you wonder about what we are ingesting. (Wonder if that's why I crave hamburgers so much; the calming affect one has on me LOL!)

I hadn't thought about the adrenaline aspect, but I imagine you are most definitely correct in that line of thought, as well.

Not sure if I can train a 5 or 7 year old bull, but I would like to get him calmly in the trailer with food. So far, I've been able to train him to meet me at the fence for his dinner - now that all his cows are gone and he's always been fairly well bonded with my horses. He knows my feeding schedule for them and has quickly picked up on the fact that I will throw a minimal amount of food in one spot for him. If I can talk the guy in charge of this mess into parking a trailer close to where he hangs out by my fenceline, I'll start putting the feed in the trailer. At least that's the plan. I have no idea if it will work. One thing is for sure. He won't go near the stock & shoot area where he's been traumatized for two weeks in a row.

Thanks.
 
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