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Tagging a bison.
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Previously:
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...307#post218666
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...7366#post85606
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...226#post211273
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...280#post121662
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...844#post210132
A new media unit...
Big as a bison's head!
OH,NO! just when I was getting comfortable with a boulder as big as a boulder.Quote:
Originally Posted by mklotz
Know I've relayed this before, entertaining never the less.
Live in town but there's farmland and ranches 360° around all of Missouri. Well, there was a Craigslist ad, a guy who desperately wanted to rid himself of a buffalo he'd raised.
Provided a single picture, taken hiding behind a telephone pole, the Buffalo, 80 or 90 ft away. Because he didn't dare expose himself to it at all. Apparently, not a well-tempered example.
He invited potential buyers to come out prepared to haul off. They could shoot it, they could anethetize it, they could tag it, they could rope it, they could dart it.
Capture by whatever means necessary, they were going to fix the fence regardless.
That man is pretty short, but the bull is a good sized one. I'd put his age at 8-10, based on his horn caps. And you can tell he is a bull because of the shape, size, and angle of the horn caps...Quote:
Originally Posted by mklotz
Got to be careful, even in the chute, that bull can flick his head enough to catch an arm with his horn. Lots of hair, which does not hold him still.
I don't miss those days...
What are bison head chutes made from; scavenged bits of battleship armor plate, perhaps?
That's silly...Quote:
Originally Posted by mklotz
The chute is made from tubular steel. The one I had (Powder River) was more sturdy than a lightweight beef device, mostly because the buffies would move quickly and crashing into the end to try to get out of the enclosed space was their way of dealing with the chute. Mine also had all the openings covered with 1/16"-ish plate so movement outside the chute would not be visible as that spooks them. I did have a crash cage on the head end, it was the easiest way to get them captured - close the cage, open the neck squeeze, open the side squeeze, open the tail gate, and then open the chute gate to let one in. Invariably, it would charge the cage which it could see through to the outside world and then we could close the neck squeeze and the tail gate.
The crash cage was 2" square tubing. The neck squeeze is tubular steel as well, don't recall for sure, but 1 1/4" round tube is my guess. The neck squeeze also had a rubber collar to protect the animal.
I did have a couple of old bulls that got in a fight and one was pushed backward - into the fence - pushed parallel to the fence, but a slight angle so that the pushed bull's rear end snapped off eight 4" wood fence posts just like they were match sticks.
Most of the time the buffies thought the fence was a good thing as it kept those pesky two legged things out of their field, but if they got in a fight, barriers weren't much use. In places where they were more tightly corralled, then fence posts were 6", spacing was closer, and if need be, I used guard rail instead of wire. When I took it down, I had about 38,000 pounds of guard rail to sell off...
The people around here that raise bison have a fence made of railroad ties and head chutes that might hold an angry bull. Kudos to you and anyone else who deals with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffaloJohn
Well, there is an old saying - you can make them do anything they want to.Quote:
Originally Posted by ductape
I learned a long time ago that if I could work that method, my life and their life was much, much easier. A simple example was when I needed to capture the herd in the corral, I would shut off all other water sources except the corral. Wait a day and they know where the only water is, so if they are outside the corral, close the corral gate and let them get thirsty. Wait some hours, and then open the gate and they will all walk in calmly and close the gate behind them. It worked every time.
When I had to cowboy it, that was hard on the buffies, hard on me, hard on the truck (my trusty steed to wrangle the herd), and I didn't get them where I wanted them much faster. My truck couldn't accelerate as fast, nor turn as fast. A horse wouldn't have been able to do any better. The buffies could do 0 to 25mph in three steps.
Tough facilities are there for when they get their space compressed and they aren't happy about it because they don't want to do what those stupid two legged things want. That is when you sometimes need your brown pants...
I'm OK with domestic and farm animals; up to a point. Plenty happy to armchair wrangle buffalo. Somewhere on the net, a pic circulates of Teddy Roosevelt riding one. No, thanks.
Missouri is where US Army sourced nearly all their mules; met descendants of the biggest family involved. The stories they share; a bit less intimidating; but hordes of those at a time. It was the source of "Stubborn as a Missouri mule", no question. They also disclose best horse they ever had, was the right mule.
One last story - bison have a pecking order - herd bull on top, then the females, then the younger bulls. When out in the field with them, you need to be able to read the herd so you can stay safe. It's not so much that they will charge you, but that if things get stirred up, you need to keep yourself out of the way. If an animal feels it needs to verify the pecking order, that can be a concern as you can imagine. Bison don't fight unless there is no other choice. Their first instinct is to run and as the fastest North American land animal, they could run and run - two hours at speed - a bull's windpipe is 4" to 5" in diameter and is a blower...
So, how does the two legged human work out in the pecking order. Well, if you try to fight, you will lose, they can move faster than you can think. But, if you provide the food and water and you act like you are confident in the middle of the herd, they will respect that. That means not challenging them unless you are willing to back it up. In the very dry part of the summer, I would take the big bales (8'x3'x4') on the tractor out into the field and cut the stings and then spread it out so many could feed. But, sometimes they got excited and wanted to eat while the bale is still tied up, which won't do. The herd bull wants to pound the bale, the younger bulls think that is how to behave, mayhem ensues. What to do? Well, this is where you have to find the stones, if you will, and stand your ground and cut the strings. That means at times, you put both hands up high like they are giant horns and face the dominant animal and take one step toward it ... and hold your position until the animal backs down. Now, before doing this, of course, you have figured out your escape path. But, if there isn't a fight going on and you have the courage, it works. You might have to repeat toward other animals, but soon they back off enough and you get your job done and then you let them have at the food...
Well, enough of that - bison are magnificent beasts and quite tasty too...