Muck Boots 'n' Slickers - Life of a Livestock Hauler

It takes as long as it takes I would run 2 or 3 back in and walked off a minute. The only way to move cattle quickly is slow. Like @Catmando said let him group up then open the door and see if he’ll follow the others out

 

Anyone remember his first load of sheep; that someone else loaded, and he hooked to and went to deliver?

 

I been fortunate never hauled anything but cattle in a livestock wagon.

 

Lol nope. But something tells me we is about to hear about someone who did.

 

Then you have not lived a full well rounded troubled life. Sheep do not head out of the trailer when you remove the gate, nor will the one you grabbed the leg and hurled down the chute continue on down. No other sheep will try to go down to him, as he as already turned and scurried back into the trailer.
If you think a hog can turn and get by you, a sheep will be past and mingling in the trailer while you wonder; Where did he go..?

 

I guess those are good reasons not to haul sheep. I have only hauled bovine creatures and I guess it will remain so.

 

Hauling is good. Stay low, well padded, don't lurch like hogs. It is at the point of debarkation that you find out a lot about a sheep's nature.

I was in at Starkville. There was a double deck trailer of sheep sitting in the yard. Jimmy Garrard (dispatcher) says: " Hook that trailer of sheep and run them up to South Memphis Stockyards for me, got nothing better for you right now." So I hook, connect lines and lights, an look over my woolies. 34 foot trailer, one cut gate in middle of each deck.. Like a pasture... Scenic, all we needed was dark and 3 wise men, almost biblical.
Pulled out and off to Memphis. Wheeled in, opened the doors, backed up to the combo chute. Went in the barns side gate, down to my chute, opened it to the alley and an empty pen. Be done here in no time. Heard a voice shout that "be with you in a minute" as I climbed up to the top. So I open the inside gate and step back. No sheep stream out...OK, bend down and reach in (all them hovered up to the cut gate like chickens from a hawk) grab a hind leg and drag out to toss down the chute. Turned him loose, mid throw and he beat me back inside. Sheepherders drive sheep. So I crawl in to get behind to run them out. I'm not wide enough with open arms to shoo them forward, they just split and encircle me as I crawl out. The voice I had heard arrives in a little old bowlegged man in Stetson and worn boots. Ask me if I want him to "Get the Goat"? Told him right off in a direct way that I did not need no #### goat, just needed to get these sheep off. He kinda nods and says "I'll go get the goat." I try another sheep or two tossed and getting nowhere.

Hold up , son. The old man has returned, steering a LARGE billy goat by one of his about 10 inch horns. He open the alley gate enough for the goat to get thru and boots him away. This goat simply clippity clops up the chute; by me standing and goes into the trailer, roots around thru the sheep. Then he turns and strolls out and all the sheep follow along like on a lead line. I know a good thing when it is right in front of me, so I scramble up and undo the cut gate, swing it back as Mr. Billy is returning to out the rest of the top deck.
Old man says " Get the bottom open and we will get them off." So I did and they did I was really sold on teamwork after that.

Still with Garrard; but year or so later, I had run a load of Holsteins from Waukesha to Miami and called in to come home. Jimmy had a "few"
hi dollar sheep in South GA (do not remember the location) Just inside GA/FL line. Few was about 10 of them so gated up snug in nose to cut gate pen of trailer and whisked them on to Lex, KY. Some horse man wanted to balance out his show farm with some sheep. Got there, hit his chute opened the cut gate and walked up to them standing there. Tuned around slowly and walked out with them following. That was all of my sheep hauling experience.

 

When I 1st started & pulled for Monfort in their final days.. I got blessed with a couple loads of those Range Maggots I was lucky I guess cause the 2 Ranchs I loaded off of both had dogs that did most of the work and basically I only had to run my gates in the trailer
Where I unloaded in Denver at the lamb chop shop they had a goat at the chute that would walk on the trailer for each draft and circle in amongst them and basically lead them.off and down the chute.. then he would come back for the next draft and do that again .. Damnest thing I even seen .. but everytime he came back you had to give him a Oreo cookie but that was his job and that was his reward for doing his job.. I've only ever hauled 2 loads in all the years I can only tell Ya'll they stink.. they really stink bad if they are wet.. and their dumber than a bag of hammers and they like to pile up .. I also made sure I pulled them.under the cover of darkness in complete cognito.... I have zero desire to ever do it again

 

FMCSA denies livestock haulers’ hours-of-service exemption
Not that it changes anything thing for me ...All I got to say is .....FY Uncle Sam
Rant over

 

Anybody remember Valley Livestock out of Dixon, California? My uncle ran sheep...Suffolks mostly...and one fine fall morning he had me help him load two truck and trailer loads up by Mad River. He's paid his regular hands the night before. Big mistake
That was the beginning and end of my sheep career. We had good dogs and I still think that was the only thing that saved us.
The only thing I know for sure is that a guy on foot in a tight space is going to get run over and cut up a little if he can't roll out of the way. They're not like cows. You can leave them for an hour hoping they'll settle down just to watch them explode the first time somebody spits.
We got both Valley Livestock trucks loaded and gone by noon. I think the sheep finally just felt sorry for us, figured out on their own what to do, talked it over with the dogs and gave up.