GATHERING OF CATTLE

By Kip L. Lukasiewicz, DVM, Production Animal Consultation

Gathering of cattle is the art of going to a pasture or pen and bringing individual cattle or pairs together back into a herd to prepare for moving to a new destination. That destination may be a new pasture, new pen, or simply coming into a corral for annual or routine processing for vaccinations and health prevention strategies to improve immune function and protection of the herd. How we prepare and collect the individuals to bring them back into the herd is imperative to how they respond to their new environment or vaccinations they will receive.

In this article, I will go into the purpose, method, and expected results and then follow up with a short discussion of gathering cattle or pairs in the ranch or feedlot environment.

Purpose

When we go to gather cattle, we are intent on moving the animals to a new destination that may be permanent, or for a short 1-2 hour stay and then back again to a home pen or pasture. One reason for moving pairs is to take them to new or fresh grass that is prime for grazing. Depending on the grazing strategy, some rotationally graze with fences and have to move their cattle every 1-3 days, others may move them every 30 days, and some may move them every 5 months. In the feedlot scenario, we may be moving the cattle to a new pen to make room for new cattle additions to the yard. In some cases, we may be gathering cattle to simply process and provide vaccinations and/or deworming protocols to the cattle for preventative herd health events.

No matter the reason for gathering, it is important that the caregiver knows the reasons and purpose for the movement and that how they conduct this event will have some lasting impact on the animals they are moving in a positive or negative way depending on the method used. Therefore, it is important that we strategize and know how we are going to handle the cattle and have a plan for the time we start, where we are moving them, and how we settle the cattle at the end of the process.

Method

I would like to start with the cow-calf scenario as this is the first time calves will be handled, moved, and asked to pair up with their moms. If you are intent on tagging or placing identification on your calves when they are about 12 hours old, then understand that you are training the animal at that age to move, separate, and come back together with its mom for the very first time. This is the first day of weaning and preparation for all the events that animal is going to undertake in its life and how you handle this can make all the difference for future generations and shaping the herd’s disposition for life.

On some ranches, they move pairs to a new pasture post calving or move them for general processing at about 8-12 weeks of age for the new calf. When we go to gather these pairs, it is essential that we go with a plan of pairing them up first. To do this, we ride through the herd and ask cows and calves to find each other, stand, stretch, and begin nursing. I would never ask the herd to move until I have gotten all of them up and then allowed enough time (30 minutes or more) to nurse and get a meal for the calf prior to moving. The reason this is important is that now the calf can move more comfortably and will have the energy needed to make the move with mom to the new destination. This also provides comfort to the mom as she knows where the calf is and can move with confidence as she is not searching for her lost calf.

Once you have allowed enough time for nursing, you can begin creating movement by asking individual pairs to move together. Understand the calf is typically slower than the adult, so moving and focusing on the calf is your primary goal and working to keep pairs together or in the same vicinity during the moving process is important. If you notice separation of the pairs as you move and the calves are falling to the back, you need to pull off the herd and allow time to pair back up or just slow down. The main reason for separation is your speed of movement. Learn to take time as this will be faster in the end. The final goal of moving pairs is that you do not have 20 or more calves at the back of the herd without a mom and all animals have gone into the corral or new pasture gate except these 20 or so calves. The calves’ strongest instincts kick in when they feel they have lost their mothers. That instinct is to return where they came from. A lost calf will always go back to where it felt it was safe and it is difficult to change its mind. Therefore, the goal of moving pairs is to end with a cow-calf pair at the very end and all animals paired up or in some order of pairs so that the calf has comfort and the cow has comfort once they enter the new corral or pasture.

Once to their new pasture, you will want to settle the herd. Take them to a place in the pasture, preferably where the water source is, and fall off the herd or remove the pressure of movement and allow the pairs to find each other, find the water or fresh grass, begin to drink and eat, and simply settle. Today, we think we need fences to stop the herd or to provide organization but in reality, we need a presence. We need to be the shepherd and learn to guide, lead, and create organization and yet freedom so that the herd is always in a better place, and we always need to do this in a form of giving and receiving.

Results and Discussion

The end results of our methods should be a calm, collected herd oozing with confidence and wanting to graze and hydrate themselves with no fear of their new environment. There is always a level of stress no matter if you are a prey or predatory animal. Stress of not having enough nutrition or hydration is on their minds always. Stress of losing protection or being alone can be consuming. Understand that your presence at the end makes a big difference. Settling cattle to their new environment is essential to reducing that stress. An understanding of the purpose and method used in gathering and a knowing of what you want your final result to look like are equally important.

We do all of this to ensure that we keep the herd safe and healthy, and if our purpose is to vaccinate, then we want to the herd to be in a mindset of confidence and not of worry. We want our actions to be of positive leadership and not in a fighting mode. Know that your attitude bleeds to the cattle. Your actions depict how the day is going to turn out. Gathering cattle should not be a chore; it should be a positive adventure that we all look forward to. It should be you and your animals enjoying nature and all the great things that are out there. I realize that Mother Nature sometimes throws a zinger in there and conditions can be harsh when gathering has to occur. Do not let that impact your results. Remember your attitude, leadership, and guidance will make all the difference for what can be a positive or negative day. It all starts with YOU!

Dr. Kip Lukasiewicz received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1999 from Kansas State University. He is the owner of Sandhills Cattle Consultants, Inc. and a partner with Production Animal Consultation, LLC. Dr. Kip’s primary focus is feedlot consulting, animal handling, and facility design. Dr. Kip trained under the late Bud Williams and has worked and trained extensively with Dr. Tom Noffsinger utilizing Bud’s thoughts on low-stress cattle handling and caregiving. Dr. Kip along with Dr. Tom works and trains with over 20% of the US fed cattle industry and also travels to Canada training feedlot clients on low-stress cattle handling and caregiving. Dr. Kip resides in Grand Island, Nebraska, with his wife and two children. He is an active member of the Academy of Veterinary Consultants, Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association, and American Association of Bovine Practitioners.