The paperwork finally went through and I had to go get my heifers boyfriend. He was named Arod by his breeders. I figured they were baseball fans, but it turns out Arod is a word in a made up language from the Lord of The Rings or something like that. In that language Arod means fast, so he is a spry little guy.

We had to go all the way to Tennessee to get Arod. A long but Manageable 600 mile trip. Last year I made a wood cattle rack for my truck when I decided to start buying calves. I made it from used lumber that came from our old house that we tore down. I over built it and it was very heavy. It was also too tall and had some substantial wind resistance at highway speeds.

Back to the drawing board. I made a lighter one from new 2×3’s. It was slightly taller than the cab and worked well. The original rack was used to bring home Keakwa the Jersey steer. I then used it for moving hay several times. The new one was used to bring home my Holstein, Angus and Dexter heifers.

So we loaded the rack and grabbed the minimal amount of stuff needed to get Arod home. It was too long of a trip to make in one day so we stayed the night in Nashville. The next morning we picked him up.

Since Arod was the largest calf I have moved with the small rack we brought a halter in order to keep him from getting too wild. Every corner of a Mazda pickup has a hook and we had a rope going across the front with a steel ring in the middle to attach a lead from his halter. This gave him freedom of movement, but not enough for him to get himself in trouble.

Loading went very well and Arod didn’t get too carried away. Tethering him to the front and limiting his movement was the only way he could have been moved and after about 50 miles he decided he had no choice but to come along for the ride and laid down.

The calf in the back of the truck drew a lot of attention especially going through St. Louis. People seem to forget that most cattle were moved in the back of trucks just several decades back. When we stopped at Arbys for a quick meal several people ended up taking pictures. Maybe it was the small truck doing the work, or the redneck rack I don’t know but there were a lot of stairs and pictures taken.

I don’t have a cattle trailer and have moved half my small herd using this rack. The registered Dexters in my herd were delivered as well as the older cow and her calf. Everything else was brought home in the back of my truck. For moving a calf I would rather use this rack then pull a trailer, and for the time being I don’t have a trailer anyway. The rack gives you more freedom on the road and doesn’t slow you down. You also get much better Mileage with the rack than a trailer.

So if you want cattle bad enough you can figure a way to get them home. In the future I will buy a trailer when the right one at the right price comes along. I am looking for a light weight small trailer for one or two Dexters so I can pull it with my Mazda. I probably will not ever need more than that. 

Arod will be the future Dad of the cow family as my daughter Jade stated. He will be in solitary for awhile before I put the steer in with him to give him some company. I want my heifers to calve in spring so they have a couple months to go before I want them bred. I am looking forward to seeing what my calves will look like next year.