VIKING, Alta. – A few unfriendly cows at calving combined with aging cattle producers prompted Wayne Lusk to invent a portable calf catcher.
“You whip out and grab a young calf, process it safely or transport it,” said Lusk of his Quad Roper. “It’s safe and handy.”
The Quad Roper hooks to the back of a quad and with the gate open, the driver moves beside a calf, pulls the rope and locks the calf safely in the portable pen. Inside the Quad Roper is a small platform where the calves can be nudged. The platform is raised and the calf is carried to the safety of the barn.
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“The majority of cattle producers are now middle aged and can’t lift as much, or work (away from the farm) and their wives are doing the calving,” said Lusk of Viking, Alta., who built his first Quad Roper about 12 years ago for his own operation.
He has since modified and changed the design, adding a rope to close the gate from the quad, a box to carry veterinary supplies and a tall pole for a portable weigh scale.
Lusk said the portable pen is ideal for small, newborn calves, although he has chased down older calves.
He also built a model with higher sides for a draft horse breeder who wanted a way to transport newborn foals.
Last June, the drought forced Lusk to sell most of his 300-head cow herd. With fewer animals, he has more time to devote to inventing and building handy devices in his shop.
Over the years, Lusk has built horse cutters, silage wagons, bale loaders, feed bunks and wagons.
“I’ve built horse-drawn stuff be-cause of my love of horses. Instead I should have built stuff for the oil field. I would have been rich by now.”
