Restraint is the first step in the examination and treatment of cattle. I’ve done many exams in less than ideal conditions. I have been lucky to not be injured, and the results could have been better with proper facilities.
On the beef side of our practice, we have instituted a “No chute, no go” policy. I’m sure as the younger, smarter generation of veterinarians takes over, this will spread to dairy. Restraint is like ice cream. A little is better than none, but once you’ve had the big bowl with toppings, you appreciate it every time.
Safe and accessible
I’ve examined and treated many cows on the end of a halter, a few at the end of a rope, many behind a gate, and thousands to millions in headlocks, palpation rails, and chutes. In my early years, I stuffed a halter in my boot and used it at almost every sick cow call.
Most veterinarians charge by time, myself included. We can get more done quicker and better with a head catch compared to a halter or swing gate. A head catch can go at the front of a swing gate, and for years I passed out drawings of how to construct one of wood in an hour or two. One is shown in the photo.
Two posts are secured 30 inches apart with two-by-four or two-by-six crosspieces between them front and back, top and bottom. A two-by-four is placed as an upright 8 inches out from the wall side of the head catch. Another two-by-four taller than the upper crosspieces is fastened so it has an 8-inch gap to the upright board at the bottom. At the top, it must open at least 16 inches for cows to put their heads through. A hinge is mounted on top of the upper crosspieces so that when the cow puts its head through, the taller upright can be pulled and the hinged board comes down, holding the taller upright in place. Ropes are commonly attached to the taller upright so it can be closed from behind the cow.
I have also worked with swing gates attached to commercial headlocks, which work well for cows that are headlock trained but forgot to lockup. Cows that are not headlock trained are less likely to catch in a headlock than in the head catch I described. Either works, but consider that to do our job well, we need to be able to get all the way around our patient, including the front.
This is why many farms have created chutes and efficient ways of getting cows into them. A 14-inch man pass behind the chute is handy to get to the patient without restriction by the gating that gets the patient into the chute. These are my preferred facilities to do a surgery or IV a cow. We like to have someone around when we do surgery, but with these chutes, they can be doing other things within shouting distance. Without the side restraint/protection, assistance is needed to tail fractious animals and keep them from swinging. Cows just seem calmer in a chute than in a simple head catch.
Commercial chutes designed for beef cattle are safe enough, but they often limit access to the areas of the cow we need. Hoof trimming chutes can present challenges in surgery restraint, but they are ideal for a quick suture of a bleeding udder or milk vein. I had a foreign veterinarian ride with me this summer when I laid down a cow to work on its foot. He said he wouldn’t work on a cow’s foot without a proper hoof trimming chute. He is probably right.
Reproductive exams
Now for the rail versus headlock discussion. Both are methods of restraining cows for reproductive and other exams. Headlocks can be a way for one person to take care of a lot of cow tasks. They are available with 24- and 30-inch centers. The 30-inch centers fit large cows better and may be a better choice in hospital pens where you may choose to work between cows to do physical exams. This is not one of my favorite ways to do physicals as you need to be really skinny, very determined, or quite willing to be crushed to do an exam properly. I’m not any of those things, so I let cows out as I can to thoroughly examine the cows of interest.
For reproductive exams, 24-inch headlocks are good when they are tightly packed and all cows are caught. When there are gaps in the row of headlocks, cows swing back and forth, making the exam difficult or potentially dangerous. An assistant pushing on the cow can be helpful, but we lose our labor efficiency.
The biggest challenge with headlocks is the cows that don’t catch. We lose a lot of time on these few.
Palpation rails are inexpensive ways of containing cows for exams. They have limitations for physical exams, but they can be excellent for reproductive exams. They work well paired with sort gates either directly into the rail or into staging pens near the rail. We have farms that sort cows during night shift, holding them at the end of their regular pen by two gates with feed, water, and beds available until we arrive and they are brought to the rail.
The rail itself is two 4-inch parallel steel pipes mounted 36 inches above the ground with 46 to 48 inches between them. The front bar extends 30 inches in front of the rear bar, creating a herringbone placement of the cows. I like a 4-inch raised platform where we stand. Even at 6 feet tall, this mechanical advantage is appreciated. Pour that platform behind the posts so cows can’t stand on it. It is important when the cows are loaded that they are encouraged to move forward and stand with their rump against the rail. We have farms with two parallel sets of rails so one can be loaded while the other is being checked.
Rails are not great for examining or treating cows. Some of our rails have a chute in front of them. This is a pretty efficient system.
Whatever restraint system you choose, it is better than a rope tied to a tree. Think through your chore routine, and you should be able to make it more efficient and safer. You can have restraint and your ice cream, too.
