Ear tagging and release to the pasture

Before releasing the cattle into the pasture Baby and four others needed to have ear tags.  Thursday Dan and his son helped me tag the cattle.

While the small end of the loading corral packed cattle in tight there was still a little room to move and several cattle got excited and climbed up on other cattle. Then they tried to climb higher and out of the corral!  We backed off, especially as one of the cattle was standing on the bottom boards with two or more hoofs.  I didn't want it to slip off and get a leg out of the corral and possibly break a leg.

One of the cattle backed down but the other steer kept going and crawled up and out of the loading corral breaking the top board.  The steer quickly calmed down once it was out of the loading corral.  He already had a tag so it didn't matter.

Otherwise the ear tagging was quick and smooth.  The cattle couldn't move their heads much so the tags went in quick and clean.  No blood this time from hitting a vein.

After the tagging was done...  As you can see, normally the fence is much higher than the cattle.  Part of the broken board is on the left.  One steer hid his head under the belly of another cattle but after tapping him on his back he raised his head and we tagged him.

After the cattle were tagged I released them into the pasture. I was almost out of hay.  Dan had brought a few of his cattle over and his were already released into the middle pasture.  Once in the north pasture my cattle were so excited to have green grass they put their heads down and began to eat, ignoring the other cattle in the other pasture.

One of the screwball steers hung back in the corral when the others left.  I went in the corral to herd him out and he freaked out.  He ran back by the barn.  When I went to herd him from there he ran towards the open pasture gate but then suddenly took a hard left and jumped over the fence dividing the corral.  Or tried too as he crashed down on top of the snow fence and barb wire.  He then ran to the cattle's "safe place" in the corner of the corral.

Just to the right of the red panels is where the steer jumped the fence

 
I then opened the gate by the barn to allow him back around the barn and to the part of the corral with the open gate.  He was extremely excited and I slowly went to herd him back around the barn.  He then took off and made a hard left again and jumped over (and on) the fence in the same spot.  Then he wildly ran out of the corral to join the others.

My cattle just wanted to eat and be left alone and not be herded.  After a little effort we herded the cattle from the north pasture into the middle pasture to join the other cattle.  Momma then ran over to one of Dan's cattle across the pasture and began to headbutt it.  The cattle are now in the process of getting to know one another.

Before the board broke

After I added another board on top

After adding the extra board I also added a "holder" for another gate in the loading corral.  While the gate is level and does not swing on its own, I added a board on the railroad tie to set the gate on so the livestock won't push the gate closed on their own.  And it will help prevent the gate from sagging over time.