Cattle Selection & Contracting

Selecting cattle is one of the major concerns and responsibilities associated with staging a trial. While there are never any guarantees, the odds of making good choices and establishing trusted contacts, can be increased with some extended consideration.

Cattle Selection

Happy Cattle

First and foremost, think "happy." Happy cattle are well fed, in good weight and routinely vaccinated. Snotty noses, runny and/or cloudy eyes, coughs, lowered ears and lameness are all telltale signs of a possible problem. Happy cattle also all come from the same herd - cattle are easily stressed when thrown into a mixed lot (and most self respecting cattlemen are also stressed when their cattle are mixed with others).

Past Work Experience

Often times a cattleman willing to part with his cattle for a trial, may have done so for other competitions as well. It is important to keep in mind that past work experience can affect the working relationship between cattle and dogs. Roping calves, for instance, have a tendency to be "trained" to run from one end of an arena to the other and hunt a stripping chute, while cutting cattle have been "trained" to settle up and stay on a back fence. In order to make for a successful event, one has to keep these things in mind and make adjustments (i.e., opt for pasture work if the cattle are arena sour).

Contracting

Costs

Agree on all costs up front and in writing. A few main costs to consider are use of cattle, shipping, and replacement value. Some cattle suppliers charge a flat fee per head delivered; some charge per head, per time used; while others charge a flat fee per group, per run.

Shipping can be agreed to in the price of the cattle, contracted for separately or done in person, whatever the decision, make sure the cost is accounted for in the budget and those responsible for transport are knowledgeable and capable of the task at hand.

Always remember that cattle are money on the hoof. For example, 100 head of 600# cattle would be worth about $48,000.00 (+/- depending on current market). So when delivery is taken, plan on caring for the cattle as intently as if someone asked you to hold an equal amount of cash for them for a few days and be ready and able to write a check to replace any loss.

Care

Simple basics are in order:

Secure, disease free, holding area (inspect and remove debris that may be ingested and/or hazardous fencing that might cause injury).

Fresh, unlimited supply of water.

Plenty of feed - a 600# calf that is dry-lotted, will need about 14 pounds of feed per day. For instance, 100 head of 600# calves would need a little under three tons of hay for a Saturday/Sunday trial, including the feed needed for a Friday delivery and a Monday departure.