Truck-Mounted Calf Catcher

Truck-Mounted Calf Catcher LIVESTOCK Handling Alberta rancher Clint Howard can capture newborn beef calves roaming in a pasture from the seat of his old Ford pickup Howard says his dad came up with the idea to build a portable corral on their ranch work truck They say it’s a “calf tagging beast” that lets one person do the job of two people To build the device Howard says his dad first reinforced the front and back truck bumpers with channel iron to support the weight of the corral Lift cylinders and pivot brackets were mounted to the channel iron The U-shaped corral has a sturdy steel frame with square tubing on the corners that mounts to the bumper brackets A Honda motor in the bed of the truck drives a hydraulic pump to raise and lower the corral Hydraulic lines run to a control valve in the cab Howard says he uses the corral to capture calves that are born in a 20-acre pasture for tagging and shots before they’re 36 hrs old He drives alongside the unsuspecting calf lowers the corral and quickly jumps out of the pickup to work with the calf The mother cow meanwhile is safely outside the corral The Howards have tried using the corral on cows but they’re too hard on the pickup Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Clint Howard Alberta Canada

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