LOR, Libby 4-H team up for safe cattle handling
Hailey Matthews shows off the Arrowquip Q-Catch. (Photo courtesy Kara Matthews)
Leah Matthews attaches an ear tag to a Hereford cow while in the Arrowquip Q-Catch. (Photo courtesy Kara Matthews)
Miss Montana, Leah Matthews's Black Angus heifer, in the Arrowquip Q-Catch. (Photo courtesy Kara Matthews)
Handling ornery cattle is a tricky proposition, but the LOR Foundation recently teamed up with the Libby South 40 4-H Club to make it safer for its young people.
LOR stepped up to buy a Arrowquip Q-Catch mobile cattle shute for the local club and its young members are now able to safely handle animals weighing a half ton or more.
LOR’s $12,300 grant helped the club buy what many consider the best cattle shute on the market. Now their members are getting more hands-on experience with veterinary procedures, weighing and training to show cattle.
Kara Matthews, whose daughters Leah and Hailey are both members of the South 40, said teaming up with LOR has been great to further expand the club as well as the Troy Kootenai Kids & Critters 4-H Club.
“We wanted to give the kids more choices and while we were using makeshift setups, the Q-Catch makes it a lot safer,” Matthews said.
Leah said she feels more confident working on a cow than she did before.
“Miss Montana (Leah’s Heifer) needed its hoof nails trimmed and we had to use a grinder to do some of the work, but she nearly kicked me,” Leah said.
Leah also said the device is very handy for holding cattle securely and safely when they have to put in ear tags, remove warts or when a veterinarian comes to treat an animal.
“I’m also going to use it for artificial insemination of one of my cows for a breeding project,” she said. “I’m hoping I can get a steer calf so I can show and sell it at market.”
Decreasing stress on cattle is another important element. The Matthews explained that the device provides control and that not having to take a cow to the vet can also lower the animal's stress.
Bailey Haugen, also a South 40 member, said if injuries occur during fair week, having the Q-Catch can be extremely convenient.
“Giving them vaccinations and ear tags, drying them off after showering, there are a lot of things we are using it for the cows and it’s much safer,” Haugen said.
Leah said she got into the ranch life with cows and pigs because of their neighbor Chris Noble, who has some cows.
Now, they have a few head of black Angus and Hereford of their own.
