One of the wise old sayings that my Dad uses is "the only difference between man and boys, is simply the size and cost of there toys." So very true and one of the very useful toys we reacently invested in was a cow catcher.
As you can see its is mounted on the fore end loader of the tractor. The front can open using hydraulics but I have found the most effective way is to bring it down over the top of the beast. Last night Dad and I checked the cattle and one had weepy eyes, so she needs catching and eye drops. Before this machine I would have had to build a pen and try and seperate her out from the other 65 and I would have definately needed several people helping. All in all it would probably have taken a good 2hrs.
So here she is all caught up in the pen and secure. I drove onto the field and had her caught in 3 mins. The pen contains a simple crush which swings round.
Ropes then hold her in
and I force her head through a yoke. Then its easy to get the halter on.
I can now administer the eye drops safely and easily.
All in all the job took 10 minutes and she just walks out the front door!!
This bit of kit has got me out some serious muddles and saved alot of time. Its a bit of a luxury, but only as much as a loo seat I could live without it but it would be a pain in the arse.
This is an amazing piece of kit. I know a lot of people are slightly sceptical and regard it as a luxury, but talk to those who use it. They wouldn't be without it!
ReplyDeleteI live in the central part of the United States. can the cow catcher be bought here would appreciate any information on price or any contact info
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