Cattle Roundup – Fall 2013 – Part 2
Well, here it is at last, part 2 of our fall cattle roundup. This week has been very busy here as I’m sure it has been for you too. In Part 1, I showed you how the cattle are called up to the corral. That happens on a Saturday evening. After they are all in the lot behind a locked gate, we head for home. Then we head back to the pasture again the next morning in the predawn darkness. As we arrive at the pasture, the sun is just rising. We drive the cattle into a smaller lot, and then sort off the cows from their calves. We do this because the calves are too small to travel with the cows because the larger cows may inadvertently hurt the smaller calves. The cows and calves travel separately. After the sorting, we await the arrival of the hired trucks. When they arrive, we load the cattle on board in small groups at a time. Semi-truck load weights must be evenly distributed in the trailer. The trailer has an upper and lower level, with each level being divided up into several compartments with gates in between. We load the cattle onto the trucks in small groups which the driver herds into the different compartments, one compartment at a time.
In the following video, you’ll see Harland, his brother -Gerald, and the truck driver driving the cattle onto the trucks in small groups.
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Love your video and your selection of the music is hysterical! We just went through almost the same thing, except on a much smaller scale. We only had to haul 60 cows and calves plus 2 bulls, and they “go south” for the winter to a ranch about 45 minutes away. We aren’t set up to feed silage or large amounts of hay. I documented the operation in a tongue-in-cheek account in my blog on my website.
Thanks June. Glad you enjoyed this. What is your website so we can see your cattle move?
Thanks for asking,Suzanne! I didn’t want to post my website on yours without permission. My website is, http://www.fromhighheelstogumboots.com/ and the blog is on the same site at http://www.fromhighheelstogumboots.com/gumboot-tracks-blog.html. My photography skills are limited and I was working in late afternoon under low light conditions for the loading pics. But you get the idea. Thanks!
I hopped on over to your blog. Great post about your cattle move. I liked how the cattle all complained when they reached their destination. Isn’t that just like them- never happy with what we give them. 🙂
Great choice of music for these videos! Didn’t see the photographer in the list of credits.
Loved it! Absolutely loved it! Never thought of cattle hauling as being “classical”!
Very entertaining and likely much more so than the actual “cattle drive”. 😀
How do they get the cows to the upper level in the truck?
There’s a ramp built into the trailer.
Very interesting! I, too, loved the music choice! I’m curious – is someone inside the truck during the loading? (I’m just a little late, since we were gone!)
Nope, the truck driver gets out and helps with the loading.