An Alberta rancher says cattle are better behaved if they can walk into a corral calmly and quietly instead of being chased
Dylan Biggs recognized the benefits of quiet cattle handling early in his career. The Hanna, Alta., rancher learned from Bud Williams, who spent many years in Alberta practising and teaching low-stress methods for moving and sorting cattle.
“The first thing that sets the stage for good handling in a corral is how the cattle were brought in,” says Biggs.
“If they arrive upset, it’s more difficult to handle and sort them. Bud said that 90 percent of the problems people have in corrals reflect the cattle’s state of mind when they come in, which is reflective of the process you went through out in the pasture to get them in.
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“Cattle are a lot more forgiving if they can walk into the corral calmly and quiet.”
Cattle may take the blame for bad behavior but it is an anxiety response to people shouting and chasing them.
“It’s easy to blame the cattle but if we look at how we would feel if we were coerced to go into tight quarters — unhappy about how we were manhandled to go there — we would not feel comfortable in there with the same people who tormented us to get us in,” notes Biggs.
Improved behaviour starts with getting cattle into corrals without upset. Good facilities, though helpful, are not the entire solution.
“In today’s technological age, we rarely question our own contribution to the ill behavior of cattle and quick to remedy it with a technological change. I’ve done livestock handling clinics for more than 25 years, and when discussing human behaviour and how it affects cattle, there is reticence,” says Biggs.
“There is a lot less reticence when people ask how they might change the design of their corral. They become very engaged in a discussion of technology, design and gate placement. … It is much easier for people to embrace changing their corrals than changing their own behaviour.”
Corrals designed for ease of loading are an advantage.
“There are differences of opinion about specifications and features, but it is demonstrably true that cattle like to keep going the way they are already going,” Biggs says.
Abrupt stops or directional changes can make animals uncomfortable.
“A corral system that allows the whole herd to go straight in is best, and ideally, they can see the exit — daylight out the back side — with no visible barrier to indicate a dead end or trap. When I design a system, I make it so the flow continues straight and you can get all the cattle loaded into the system without having them change direction.
“Bud said that you control the flow, when there’s movement, by pressing into the side, then coming back in the opposite direction of the flow to feed the movement. Then you are not stuck behind the herd pushing, like you would a wheelbarrow. When you get stuck behind, pushing, especially if there is any kind of barrier, the herd balls up. Cattle want to flare out instead of continuing forward,” says Biggs.
When cattle come to a gate, keep them moving, he advises.
“You don’t want to be at the back of the herd. You need to be in position to keep the leaders going if the herd starts to stall.”
When trying to funnel cattle toward the gate, a wing can be a disadvantage because it constricts the space closer to the entry point.
“This takes away opportunity for the lead person to be in a position to pressure into the side of the front cattle and keep them moving when they start to slow. The wing constricts access for cueing the movement and for pressuring herd movement effectively. The wing is in the way,” Biggs says. He got rid of all wings in his corrals 20 years ago.
“Now we can more easily feed movement from the front, and back against the flow, in position to bump them at the hip or ribs with pressure and pop the lead cows forward if they start to slow.”
Some people struggle because they are uncomfortable near the front or side of the herd. “They feel more secure with the traditional idea of being behind and pushing. Yet in the pasture, if you understand how to drive cattle effectively, you train yourself for proper manoeuvres and the cattle become comfortable with those manoeuvres as well.”
Once cattle are in a corral and sorting begins, there are ways to make it easier, especially when sorting calves from cows. Biggs uses a calf-stripper bumper gate, set up so calves can go under and into another pen as the cows go out of the corral or into a different pen.
Cattle tend to circle after entering a corral and they want to go back out the same way they came in.
“I take advantage of that natural behaviour to facilitate flow for sorting or loading into a crowd tub. You don’t need to push them to get them to come out that gate. If anything, you might need to slow them down.
“We separate calves from the cows this way for branding since we use a calf cradle/table. The gate we come in and go out with the cows is adjacent to where the calves slip through into a different pen.”
Experienced cows will come to the gate and exit, while calves are shunted under a panel into a different pen.
Many people used a hinged gate to trap calves behind it and force them through the bumper gate.
“But if you can control the natural flow, you can use your position better to sort off the calf because as soon as he gets stuck behind that gate and he sees mama going on without him, and there’s the bumper gate to go under, he tends to hesitate rather than just slipping under the bumper gate as he moves along with mom,” says Biggs.
If the calf can keep going alongside its mother and is suddenly on the other side of the fence, it keeps going.
Biggs is a proponent of using natural herd flow to get the desired results.
“I’ve seen people have problems using bumper bars at brandings and at weaning when it’s a traditional get-together with neighbours there to help. Often there are too many people trying to push cattle to the gate. They want to be helpful but usually make it more difficult.”
Cattle handling goes more quickly when animals are moved slowly, he notes.
“Too many people wanting to help can be counterproductive. One or two people that the cattle know and trust can sort cattle easily. A bunch of strangers can mess it up.
“Sometimes even the natural flow is almost too fast. You might need smaller groups coming toward you. Depending on the number of cattle, you might want someone to shut gates farther back in the corral and have smaller groups trickling the flow rather than having a tsunami of cows coming at you.”
