Cattle Trap Caught Wild Calf

Cattle Trap Caught Wild Calf LIVESTOCK Beef When R C Cannon needed to catch a calf that had run wild all winter he built a trap to do it The calf had disappeared into a backwoods area in the fall and by spring it spooked at the sight of people “It would go into the neighbor’s barn to eat but I knew we couldn’t get near it ” recalls Cannon “I was at an auction and saw a small cart someone had built for hauling calves to the pasture I bought it and rigged it up as a cow trap ” Cannon fashioned it after the common live trap design He replaced the rear door/gate with a sliding plywood panel He fashioned aluminum sleeves in the doorway to provide a smooth surface for the 1/2-in panel to drop through “I needed a release for the panel so I drilled a hole through one sleeve and stuck an old screwdriver through it to keep the panel propped open ” says Cannon At the other end of the trailer on the inside Cannon hinged a piece of plywood to the floor as a trip plate A trip wire that runs from it to a pulley on the ceiling and back to the screwdriver Cannon then pulled the trailer to his neighbor’s yard He let the air out of the tires and put rocks beneath the frame to support it so it didn’t rock when the animal entered “I put some fresh feed and hay in the trailer on and ahead of the trip plate ” he says “I left it there on a Sunday and the following Wednesday the calf had tripped the panel and was caught ” Cannon says he shipped that calf directly to market rather than try to tame it down He has used the trap since once catching a wild turkey in it by accident “I’ve built other cow traps in the past ” says the long-time cattleman “It’s a safe way to catch a wild calf or cow ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup R C Cannon 1840 Butler Inn Rd Worthville Ky 41098 ph 502 514-1572

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