If you're tired of seeing your cows constantly rubbing against fences and gate posts, a homemade cattle oiler might be exactly what your pasture needs to keep the herd happy and pest-free. There is nothing more frustrating than watching a group of cows lose weight and stress out because they're being eaten alive by horn flies and face flies. You could go out and drop several hundred dollars—sometimes even a thousand—on a commercial backrubber, but honestly, most of us would rather save that cash for feed or fence repairs.
Building your own setup isn't just about saving money, though that's a huge perk. It's also about making something that fits your specific gates or mineral feeders. Most of the stuff you need is probably already sitting in your scrap pile or at the back of the tool shed.
Why bother with a DIY oiler?
Fly control is one of those never-ending battles on the farm. If you don't stay on top of it, those pests can seriously impact your bottom line. Flies cause stress, and stressed cows don't eat as much, which means they don't gain weight like they should. Plus, they can spread pinkeye like wildfire through a herd.
A homemade cattle oiler provides a way for the cows to treat themselves. Instead of you having to round them all up for a spray-down or a trip through the chute every couple of weeks, they just walk under the rubber, get a dose of insecticide-laden oil, and go about their business. It's a passive system that works while you're busy doing other chores.
What you'll need to get started
Before you start swinging hammers, you need to gather some basic supplies. The beauty of a DIY project is that you can substitute things based on what you have, but here is a solid list of the basics:
- A heavy chain or wire rope: This is the backbone of the oiler. It needs to be strong enough to handle a 1,200-pound cow leaning her full weight against it.
- Burlap sacks or old carpet: This acts as the wick. Burlap is traditional, but thick, old-school carpet (the kind without the plastic backing) holds oil incredibly well.
- Wire or heavy-duty zip ties: You'll use these to secure the "wick" to the chain.
- A reservoir (optional): Some people like to use a PVC pipe with small holes drilled in it to slowly drip oil onto the rug. Others just prefer to soak the rug manually every few days.
- Mineral oil and insecticide: This is the "juice" that does the actual work.
The classic horizontal rub design
The most common homemade cattle oiler is the horizontal rub. It's basically a long, oil-soaked log or chain hung between two sturdy posts. To build this, you'll want to space two posts about 10 to 15 feet apart. If you're putting this in a gateway, make sure it's high enough for the cows to get under but low enough that it actually drags across their backs.
Take your heavy chain and wrap it tightly with your burlap or carpet. You want a good, thick layer—think two or three wraps deep. Secure it every six inches or so with wire. If you leave long gaps between the wires, the cows will eventually tear the fabric off with their horns or just by rubbing too hard.
Once it's wrapped, soak the whole thing in a mixture of mineral oil and your choice of livestock-approved insecticide. Don't use motor oil. I know some old-timers swear by it, but it's really not good for the animal's skin or the environment. Stick to food-grade mineral oil or a dedicated carrier oil.
The "mop" style face oiler
While a back rubber is great for horn flies, it doesn't always hit the face where the face flies hang out. Face flies are the ones that usually lead to pinkeye issues. To fix this, you can add "mops" to your homemade cattle oiler.
These are just short lengths of oil-soaked rope or strips of burlap hanging down from the main horizontal chain. As the cow walks under the main rub, these strips drapes over her face and around her eyes. It looks a bit like a car wash for cattle. It's simple, but it's incredibly effective at getting that medicine right where it needs to be.
Using a gravity-fed PVC system
If you don't want to go out and manually pour oil on the rub every three days, you can get a little fancy with a PVC pipe. Get a 4-inch PVC pipe, cap both ends, and mount it above your rub. Drill tiny, tiny holes along the bottom—we're talking 1/16th of an inch or smaller.
Fill the pipe with your oil mix. The oil will slowly drip out and keep the carpet or burlap saturated. You'll have to play with the hole size a bit; if the holes are too big, you'll find a puddle of expensive oil on the ground by morning. If they're too small, the rub will dry out. It's a bit of a balancing act, but once you get it dialed in, it's a huge time-saver.
Where to place your oiler
Placement is everything. If you put your homemade cattle oiler in a corner of the pasture where the cows never go, it's just a greasy lawn ornament. You want to put it in a "high-traffic" area.
The best spot is usually right in front of the mineral feeder or the water tank. If they have to walk under it to get a drink or a lick of salt, you've won. Another great spot is in a gate that you use to move them between paddocks. If you use rotational grazing, you can even make a portable version that hangs from a frame you move with the cows.
Keeping up with maintenance
I'll be the first to admit that it's easy to build one of these, see it working, and then forget about it for a month. But a homemade cattle oiler only works if it's actually oily. During the peak of fly season (usually mid-to-late summer), you need to check it once a week.
Cows are surprisingly rough on equipment. They'll lean on it, lick it, and try to scratch those hard-to-reach spots. Check your wires to make sure none are poking out—you don't want to scratch an eye—and make sure the burlap hasn't been shredded to pieces. If it's looking a bit thin, just wrap another layer of burlap right over the old one. It actually works better as it gets thicker over time.
A quick note on the "juice"
When you're mixing your solution for the homemade cattle oiler, always follow the label on the insecticide. It might be tempting to make it "extra strong" to kill flies faster, but that can irritate the cow's skin or even lead to toxicity issues.
Most people use a ratio of about 1 gallon of insecticide to 10 or 20 gallons of oil, but again, read the label. Some chemicals are specifically designed for backrubbers and will give you the exact mixing instructions for mineral oil or diesel. If you're worried about using diesel as a carrier, mineral oil is much gentler and works just as well at holding the chemical in the fabric.
Wrapping it up
At the end of the day, a homemade cattle oiler is one of those projects that pays for itself in just one season. You'll have calmer cows, fewer eye problems, and better weight gains. Plus, there is a certain satisfaction in watching your herd use something you built with your own hands (and a bit of scrap carpet).
It doesn't have to be pretty, and it definitely doesn't have to be expensive. As long as it's sturdy and stays wet with oil, your cows will think it's the best thing you've ever done for them. Just grab some chain, find some old sacks, and get to wrapping—your cows will thank you for it.