ON FARM NORTHERN CATTLE Whistle while you work There are few He consolidated the muster in November but SNAPSHOT: fences on animals’ learning by always also muster in autumn. Harry and Alys ‘Carey Downs carrying a bucket of grain In 2018, when there was a Station’ – not and a whistle in the vehicle lot of surface water around McKeough, Carey even the boundary of when he travelled around in autumn, the self herding Downs Station, l the 179,000ha property the property. approach came into its own. Gascoyne, WA is fenced. Station Harry has since bought more “There was a beautiful pool owners Harry and Alys lick feeders, all moveable in the creek about 300m McKeough were keen to units on wheels. Drums of a from the trap yard, but we find a way to make sure loose mineral mix are also still managed to get about their cattle stayed home, placed near feeders, along two-thirds of the animals with molasses in a lick roller.in the yards using the so when Harry heard about ‘self herding’, he “Whenever I see a few cattle attractants. It’s much more signed up to be part of in the scrub, I stop and go efficient,” Harry said. Area: an MLA-funded trial. and tip a bucket of grain on “Alys and I can muster 179,000ha the ground and blow the with just the help of “We already had a lick whistle,” he said. some inexperienced Enterprise: feeder that we’d been using Cattle “Now, the cattle come backpackers. ■ to feed out some lupins running out of the scrub Livestock: to supplement the cattle,” when they hear the whistle. 800 breeders Harry said. LESSONS “My original thought was to use“To start with, there were LEARNED Pasture: it to help finish cattle, but we’dalways a few of the wilder Mulga shrublands, native had limited success with it.” animals that would hang > Self herding improved pastures and buffel grass around the back, but slowly the efficiency of That lick feeder became a they’ve come forward as well. mustering. Soil: tool in the Carey Downs trial Even the rougher cattle have > Cattle became quieter From red sandplain to on self herding. quietened down now. They’re and easier to handle. stony hills “We hung some bells and all much better to handle. > Consistency and Rainfall: CDs off the feeder to draw “At mustering, we use commitment are 200mm the cattle’s attention and grain and supplements as needed to make the every time I cleaned it out attractants to encourage approach work. and filled it up, I blew an them to come into the trap umpire’s whistle,” Harry said. yards and improve the The results weren’t efficiency of the trapping Harry and Alys immediate but the cattle operation. It makes McKeough mustering a lot easier.” E: careydownsstn@ soon came to associate gmail.com the whistle with the feed. The McKeoughs do a main Harry McKeough blows a whistle to alert cattle when he cleans and fills the mobile lick feeders. 27