This morning I had two cows to send down the road. With our drought getting worse and worse every day and cattle prices continued strong, there is no reason to carry over a cow who has or might have a problem.
Two days previous I had sorted off the two cows and one calf (of one of the cows) at the gate. Auction morning I easily and quickly brought all three into the corral, sorted the two cows into the Bud Box (leaving the calf in the corral), and handily loaded them. Then I brought the rest of the cows around to the corral, opened the gate, the calf mixed right in, and the process was finished with no fuss at all.
Before I learned Stockmanship I’m not sure I would even have considered sorting off and loading cattle so easily and quickly. What a great management tool!
2 Responses
What is a Bud Box?
That’s a great question! A “Bud Box” is the term many people who have been around Bud Williams have given to the rectangular (rather than rounded or “tub”) corral leading up to either a loading chute or cattle working alley. If you have designed the facility so the cattle come into the Bud Box near where you want them to go out, and if you position yourself correctly (working toward the cattle from the gate you want them to go out of rather than trying to “drive” them away from you up the alley) it’s quite easy to put cattle into the alley. Remember, you do NOT need to actually be in the Box in order to use it. Wild or mean animals can easily and safely be worked from outside the box.