How do you get a cow out of a cattle gaurd?

Question

How do you get a cow out of a cattle gaurd?

Answer 1

We have rolled them over onto a large piece of plywood then pulled the plywood off with a tractor... neighbor had a pallet made just for that purpose.  One time the cow got stuck sideways so she couldn't be rolled -- would break her legs -- so they borrowed our front end loader.  Husband had some rubber sheets that they put hooks through and lifted her just enough to basically get her legs out then pull her across the guard.

Happens frequently... we don't use them in the smaller pastures, but in the larger pastures where the cows rarely come to the gate area they work fine.

Answer 2

Tough.  If you have a tractor with a loader big enough to lift her you can improvise a sling to go under her and bodily lift her out.  You may have to put webbing under her an end at a time and lift each end up enough to put broad straps under her.  A two inch wide web will probably injure her.  A chunk of heavy duty canvas will work as a sling if  you can figure out how to get it under her and tie something to the ends so you can hook the tractor to her.

Answer 3

If you use the a cutting torch then you have to make sure you make the cuts at the ends far away from the cow.  If the cow is stuck at one end of the cattle guard then you cant really use a torch without hurting the cow.

The best way would be to get a tractor with a bucket loader or hay fork and rig up a sling.

It is possible that you could laydown some plywood or sheet metal to her side and roll her onto her side or back and use a truck and tow rope to gently pull her off the guard.  Better yet get a piece of heavy gauge sheet metal and weld some loops on it, then roll her onto that and tie her down to it and use it like a sled to tow her off the cattle gaurd.  You are gonna have to get creative and make sure you tie her legs up and make sure you can get her legs out by rolling her.  If she is a big cow then your gonna need lots of help and it maybe necessary get a tranquilizer shot from your vet so she doesnt hurt you or herself when you go to moving her.

What ever way you do make sure you put down some plywood or sheet metal across the rest of the bars so the cow has somewhere to step after you get her loose.

Answer 4

The easiest way to get her out without further injury is with a cutting torch to remove the bars that are holding her. You can always weld them back if you need to.