Cows on the Highway

[lonecowhand]

  Many of you know I'm a long way from the Dexter-Rich East Coast, so getting some out here safely and as stress free as possible is my goal.

  I am reasonably concerned about how long cows can stand being couped up in a cattle truck or trailer, in terms of hours, before they need a break onto  Terra Firma.

 Can you share  your experiences either with moving them yourself, and / or using a cattle moving service?

 Whats the longest you've driven? (I DONT mean a cattle drive!!!) I don't have the appropriate callouses for that!

[lakeportfarms]

Bill, we once shoehorned a Highland bull and cow into a small two horse trailer and drove almost non-stop from Michigan to Connecticut and back again on New Years Eve/Day in a snowstorm from Pennsylvania all the way home. I wouldn't recommend it, but they made the trip just fine. I think it was around a 15 hour drive each way. Of course it would be different in the summer and probably more stressful. I'd suggest sticking to the cooler months of the year though for transporting if you can.

We sold a heifer to Colorado a few years back, and we dropped her off in Grand Rapids where she rode with the Wieringa's to the AGM in Missouri if I remember, and then hitched a ride to Idaho or Wyoming, and then down to Colorado. Quite a few days on the road and some hot weather that she wasn't used to, and she had some difficulties with the trip that took some work by the new owner to treat. She's doing fine now though. She was mixed with other cattle from several different herds. I think she was around a year old when she went through all that.

Other than those two experiences I can't tell you much more about long distance transportation. A day long trip is a lot different than a multi day trip. I would think that if they have adequate room in the trailer they could easily stay in it for the entire trip in cooler weather, but in more crowded conditions a couple of stops with 12-16 hours of a break outside the trailer would be advisable.

[ssrdex]

Hi Bill
We recently drove to Kimball, NE from Sacramento for our bull. We took a steer with us on the the trip there as well. We used a small horse trailer, & both animals seemed to do just fine. Around 1150 miles each way, we stopped as few times as possible & just tried to make tracks! You can find places to board here & there...after we made the exchange in Kimball, we drove back to Rawlins, Wy where we boarded the bull for the night at an equestrian center for $15. That allowed us a nights rest as well.

[Deleted]

I have done a couple 1000 mile trips and have another one to do in the spring. I generally plan on driving late. Give them hay and water at night and then get up early in the morning hay and water and move on. I dont like to drive more than about 60. The trailer get s to bouncy for the cows on most roads over that. unless I happen to hit a newly surfaced road.
I give hay every time I stop but no water until night. I have found they just will not drink until they get thirsty enough and stopped for a while.

 

[lonecowhand]

Thanks Hans. You just thought you'd pack up a Highland or two and take a long drive in a Snowstorm?

We used to take a drive to go look for cows, not take the cows and go for a drive.

That was a long circuitous route your heifer took to get to Colorado!

Just so you know, I would not do this in the Winter. When I have just driven back East, it's a 3 day sojourn, and that was not with a trailer!

I also don't know if I'd use a hauler, or drive it.

Thanks Dexterfarm.  Mike, I see you beat me back here. So they stay in the trailer overnight? How many in there?

[lakeportfarms]

     Whatever the embarrassed smiley is.... Ok, I was rushing and my sentence structure could have been a bit better, but I think you know what I meant.  I did get a good laugh out of your post!  I wouldn't suggest the winter either, but cooler months are probably a bit less stressful on what you're hauling.  Like Mike says, water is about impossible to give except at the end of the day, if you try to give it during the drive it just makes it a sloppier mess than it already is.

And as Joel (ssrdex) mentions, there are places where you can overnight board.  Highly recommended, more so for you I think.  As a youngster racing my bicycle I used to drive all over the country for races.  It's a lot harder as you get older!

[lonecowhand]

ssrdex, I didn't know about cattle boarding, Thanks, Joel. What do you search under to find those? And tho it sounds stupid, do they need reservations?

[Deleted]

yes they stay in overnight.
I have a 16' by 5' wide. I haul 4 at a time. 2 in each compartment. You want to select animals that will ride together well. In general cow calf is a good combination. A bull will general ride well with any cow as long as it is not in heat. yearling or less calves should ride ok together. adult cows riding together will depend on who they are and there position in the herd.

[lonecowhand]

Has anyone used an outside hauler?

[genebo]

I did once, and it soured me on doing it again. It was the worst!

One of my heifers was picked up by the buyer and taken to Colorado from here in two days, with a stopover at a farm in Missouri. She arrived in good condition. She (the heifer, not the buyer) had been given preparatory shots 3 weeks in advance to get ready for the trip.

Judy tells me that there are a couple of good shippers out there, that take good care of the animals. Maybe she'll tell you about them.

[Deleted]

I sold a bull that went to New Mexico. The owner used a shipper out of Kansas David Deichen. He was very nice and I do believe he took good care of the animals. He did have an issue with his truck and ended up taking them to his own place in kansas while he got it fixed.
By the way I do have Legacy bulls for sale.

[genebo]

[lonecowhand]

Good One, Genebo! Perseverance wins out!

[lakeportfarms]

We have a lot of experience with this Bill.  A shortie bull with a couple of heifers.





I don't have a photo, but we sent a 6 month old heifer home in a brand new Lexus SUV (leather interior) once.

This is another customer, with a 8 month old Dexter bull.  This is how I loaded him.  In the last photo you can see my wife crawling into the back to lead him in.

[Blessings Farms]

Bill, When you finalize your plans you would more than welcome
to rest a day or two at our place to rest and have your own
area. That long haul driving is not as easy as it use to be.
We make our trip to Rice Lake in two days now use to drive hard
for 9 -11 hr. but no more.

[lonecowhand]

Thank you, Blessings Farms. That is most generous.

Those are great photos, Hans, particularly the 3 cattle in an SUV! Plus one Happy Girl!
That's got to be some kind of a record!

[Blessings Farms]

Hans and Gene those photos are great. I wounder what the
vehicles were used for if they traveled very far ?

[ssrdex]

Bill, in my very limited experience, you just have to start calling around in the area you're looking to board in. I don't think you'll find a "cattle boarding" facility in the yp's...at least I didn't. It was an equestrian center, & they usually have lots of empty stalls. I think the kids that owned the place were really more interested in the fact that someone wanted to board a bull. "You want to board a bull?"...I can imagine the images in his mind before I explained. Dixon got a small coral to himself right next to the indoor arena. When my wife & I arrived to pick him up he was watching about a dozen future barrel racers practicing. He probably would've been happy to spend the rest of the winter there.