Rope Cows With Your Tractor

Rope Cows With Your Tractor LIVESTOCK Handling 28-6-19 "It's almost like roping your cows with a tractor," says inventor Dave Dahlberg about his tractor-pulled "cow catcher" that lets you catch and work on cattle safely on pasture. The "Big Rope", as he called it, measures 30 ft. long and rides on four wheels. The corral narrows from 8 ft. wide at the back to the 3 1/2-ft. gate up front. A hydraulic cylinder on back opens and closes the entire unit. To catch a cow, the driver extends the cylinder to swing one side of the corral out about 30 ft. away from the tractor. Once the cow is inside the corral, he retracts the cylinder to close it in. A built-in headgate behind the gate can be used for vaccination, ear tagging, pulling a calf, etc. A "butt bar" keeps the animal from backing out. To release the animal, the driver simply opens the gate. "It lets you catch cows and calves slowly and quietly, without putting a lot of stress on them," says Dahlberg. "If you want, you can walk the animal right up to your barn and then open the gate to let it in. It works best if you drive less than 1 mph. "It works a lot better than trying to set up a bunch of corral panels and using a 4-wheeler or horse to round up the cattle. Most cows on ranches are used to a tractor bringing them feed during the winter, so it's easy to catch them." Dahlberg says he used the Big Rope on his ranch last spring on every cow that calved, attaching brisket tags and to ear tag calves. "The corral kept overly protective cows away, providing us with a safe work environment," says Dahlberg. "It also works great for cows that won't accept their calves. You can capture the cow inside the corral, then bring the calf inside, too, so she can suck without her mom getting away. It also works great for moving bulls from one pasture to another or into a trailer. You can open the trailer door, then hydraulically open the corral just to the width of the trailer and let the animal walk up into it." Sells for $3,895. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Real-Tuff Farm Products, 15242 460th St., Clearbrook, Minn. 56634 (ph 800 474-6016 or 218 776-3188; email: dahlberg@gvtel. com; website: www.tuffequipment.com).

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