Dan came over to help me with the de-worming solution and ear tagging. I had never put a de-worming solution on cattle before as the cattle I had bought in prior years already had it done to them.
The smallest size of the de-worming solution available in the local stores was 5 liters. This size can treat up to 200 head of cattle. Much more than I need but I had no choice. The solution I bought was Ivermectin.
I also bought a nozzle sprayer made by Pfzier. It had a chamber where you can set the dosage based on the cattle's weight. This is good as in the heat of the moment all you have to do is spray and not worry about spraying too little or too much.
Once we got the cattle into the loading ramp I took a large wooden panel and pushed forward to crowd the cattle into the front part of the ramp. Since I have not finished my corral rebuild I do not have a mid-ramp gate to crowd the cattle. Holding the panel protected me from getting kicked.
The spraying went well and quick. All you have to do is spray the solution on the cattle's back. Once Dan sprayed the backs of all the cattle we turned to tagging the heifers (and steer) who did not already have tags. That was five of them.
The last heifer to get an ear tag was the white heifer. She knew to avoid the ear tag. She kept her head down low to the ground. She also put her head on the opposite side of the loading corral from Dan where he couldn't reach her. She was closer to me so Dan gave me the applicator. As crowded as she was the heifer quickly moved so her head was close to Dan. I handed the applicator back to Dan and the heifer moved to the other side of the corral before Dan could use it.
Dan walked around to the other side of the corral and the heifer moved her head to the other side. Dan half climbed into the corral but still couldn't reach her. I told him not to get into the corral but the next I knew he was in amongst the cattle. He didn't try to tag the heifer and instead moved over to the other side. This side is the old corral which I hadn't rebuilt and one of the boards was loose. It was a challenge for Dan to get back up onto the corral.
Eventually we tagged the white heifer.
One red heifer with a white face got the tag in a vein in her ear and was bloody for a while but it didn't take long for the blood to stop.
The de-worming solution needed to be on for six hours to take effect. After an hour or two it rained. The rain wasn't hard so I hope it didn't wash the solution off their backs.
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