Going slow speeds handling process

An Alberta rancher says cattle are better behaved if they can walk into a corral calmly and quietly instead of being chased

Dylan Biggs recognized the benefits of quiet cattle handling early in his career. The Hanna, Alta., rancher learned from Bud Williams, who spent many years in Alberta practising and teaching low-stress methods for moving and sorting cattle.

“The first thing that sets the stage for good handling in a corral is how the cattle were brought in,” says Biggs.

“If they arrive upset, it’s more difficult to handle and sort them. Bud said that 90 percent of the problems people have in corrals reflect the cattle’s state of mind when they come in, which is reflective of the process you went through out in the pasture to get them in.

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