I have a pb drought master bull who is about 2 and he's super quiet but he will not go in the cattle crush, we wanted to weigh him and put fly tags in but nothing we did worked, as soon as he gets close he backs off and short of using a prod which I'm hesitant to do as he will go but then we probably will never get him back in the yard and forcing a 950kg bull to do something is not easy! Any tricks that I could use would be great !
Yes we also tried leading him in with food but that didn't work either, normally he will follow the bucket anywhere
Do you have the ability to put a board or bar behind him threw the alley to prevent him from backing up?
Can u put a gate at the end of the alley and put a bucket with feed in it in the alley and when he comes to it move the bucket enough to shut the gate and latch it some how behind him?
I think your about out of options short of a spanking with a cattle paddle or cattle prod. This is a common problem with pet like cattle. You may want to improve on your corral design a bit for the future. Add a "better" alleyway (longer maybe?) or a tub so he has no option but forward.
We all have changed/modified/replaced our set ups as time goes on. No one builds the perfect set up the first go.
Cows can be spooked or confused by the strangest things. Have you checked for shadows across the alley? They have poor depth perception and can think it is a cliff or drop off. How about chains clinking close by? They have good hearing but can't pinpoint the source too well. They also usually focus on one thing at a time. Is everyone else quiet and out of sight??and SOME use of the prod can be helpful but for me it is a last resort and I never carry it in my hand but to use it and put it down.
Set up an alley way with some panels to get him into the chute (aka crush) as you call it. Use a bucket of feed let him get a taste and then he will follow you into the alley. Have the alley setup so he cannot back up.
Then short of a cattle prod you are screwed. Maybe try running some cows in with him? Cattle are herd animals and if one or two go in he is likely to as well.
Put a feed trough in there shake the bucket and let him see you dump the feed in. Walk away and watch after a while he will go in there at some point in time.
