Calf Table

A calf table is a restrainer that holds a calf and tips it onto its side for work. Branding, castrating, vaccinating, tagging and implanting all go faster and safer when the calf is held at waist height instead of being thrown and held on the ground.

The table also protects the calf. A restrained animal is not stepped on or dropped, and the crew is not bent over a moving target with a knife or a branding iron.

Most outfits set the table at the end of the alley, where calves can be pushed in one at a time. Some tables are built to work from either side, which lets two people work at once. For anyone who works calves every year, a table pays for itself in labor and in the condition of the crew at the end of the day.