And then you throw in the wild card of the cow that has been calm and easy going for years and one year she is a total nut job when she calves then the next year she's back to being laid back and easy going. They're cows, I have yet to see a cow that doesn;t occasioanlly have a bad day/week.
Almost got me.
- Thread starter kenny thomas
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pdfangus
Well-known member
I always assumed that any cow out there was subject to killing me when I was tagging calves.
Ya never know when a calf might bawl and a totally unrelated cow might nail ya. A bawling calf could bring a half dozen cows at my place.
my cows were not wild or mean and a lot were scratch em in the field types but a bawling calf at calving time could get you hurt by accident.
I never turned my back on mama and tried to keep the calf between me and her. I caught em and got a foot rope on em and then let mama see they were all right. tied up three feet so i could turn loose and let her sniff while I got the tags and stuff ready. tagged and weighed using the foot rope to hang em up.
to hang em up I had two pieces of pipe that made a ten foot pole and always placed the pole on the ground toward mama and then lifted the calf with the pole. tried to keep the calf and the pole between mama and I. that and selection for disposition and being in the cows enough that they knew me as part of the herd. I have got thru the last 25 years without being bumped. I always had a plastic cow sorting stick 5 feet long with me just as insurance. some cows if you pop em with the stick can make em worse though. So it is something you use with discresion.
Ya never know when a calf might bawl and a totally unrelated cow might nail ya. A bawling calf could bring a half dozen cows at my place.
my cows were not wild or mean and a lot were scratch em in the field types but a bawling calf at calving time could get you hurt by accident.
I never turned my back on mama and tried to keep the calf between me and her. I caught em and got a foot rope on em and then let mama see they were all right. tied up three feet so i could turn loose and let her sniff while I got the tags and stuff ready. tagged and weighed using the foot rope to hang em up.
to hang em up I had two pieces of pipe that made a ten foot pole and always placed the pole on the ground toward mama and then lifted the calf with the pole. tried to keep the calf and the pole between mama and I. that and selection for disposition and being in the cows enough that they knew me as part of the herd. I have got thru the last 25 years without being bumped. I always had a plastic cow sorting stick 5 feet long with me just as insurance. some cows if you pop em with the stick can make em worse though. So it is something you use with discresion.
novatech
Well-known member
I think that if anyone ever gathered the statistics they would find that about 99% of injuries from cattle were caused by the assumed docile pets. I have always assumed that a mother will protect her offspring. My wife taught me.dun":1a9nn4mq said:
I would not have a clue wither my Brahmans would have ever actually gotten me, as I have never approached a newborn without some sort of protection.
For those of you that want to sell high quality cattle that have this undesirable trait PM me I am quite willing to to buy them for about half price. :lol2:
Suzie Q
Well-known member
Yes you can buy her for half price. When the calf is ready to wean, but you also have to pay all the freight costs :compute:
novatech
Well-known member
Only if you can figure out how to E-mail her. :lol2:Suzie Q":m1luwsjd said:
kenny thomas
Well-known member
UPDATE, Went back Monday to seperate out some cows to sell. Turned the cow and calf out into the pasture and everything was ok. Went back Tuesday and the calf was weak so I thought I would put them back in the lot and care for the calf. The cow was just as mean as the first day. She would not let me within 20ft of the calf. Finally said heck with both of them. Calf died on Wednesday and she still will not let me near it today. Had to take the loader and scoop it up to bury it. The cow is still standing there. If she calms down by Monday off to town she goes.
Suzie Q
Well-known member
novatech":17e1whmm said:
LOL
Sorry I only know how to send pics.
Here she is.
I am so sorry to hear kenny thomas. If that happened with Pearl I would have brought the whole herd up and then using them separate her from the calf in the yard. I find that is a little safer. Once I get her in the crush I can open the bottom up to try and put the calf on. Luckily that hasn't happened, and I want to get rid of her before anything like that happens. Our other cows I just open the gate and in they go.
pdfangus":2al1hf21 said:
You shoulda just poked her in the eye Jim. I am surprised that a Cowman of your magnitude didn't think of that while you was plowing snow with your behind @ 30mph.
Seriously, very good story and well written. You got some of the same satisfaction I did when the partner got it between the eyes from the cow I had been telling him to get rid of for 3 years.
Suzie Q":3ggsb6rv said:novatech":3ggsb6rv said:
LOL
Sorry I only know how to send pics.
Here she is.
I am so sorry to hear kenny thomas. If that happened with Pearl I would have brought the whole herd up and then using them separate her from the calf in the yard. I find that is a little safer. Once I get her in the crush I can open the bottom up to try and put the calf on. Luckily that hasn't happened, and I want to get rid of her before anything like that happens. Our other cows I just open the gate and in they go.
Suzie Q you cannot possibly think that any cow with that beautiful ole Gelbvieh head and those purty brown eyes would ever hurt you. She just looks like Love on the hoof to me.
Seriously,you better keep yer powder dry darlin. I can see from here that she's a tuff sob, Better ship her before she makes mush out of you.
Suzie Q
Well-known member
Thank you for your concern 3waycross. Yes she will be culled. She came for me only seconds after taking that photo. Where as she was not cornered, I was not near her, (a pretty good camera I don't need to get near them to take that photo) and she had plenty of ground that she could have taken the calf away from me if she didn't like me.
I haven't had any trouble with her recently as I feed the cows out by myself, but the other day hubby helped me and for a change I drove the tractor and he stayed with the cattle waiting for me to return with the bales. He said she had a go at him when I asked why he had dried cow manure in his hand. That calf was born on the 25th of May, so it is not a day old like when I took the photo.
The only reason she didn't go last time was because we sold a lot and we didn't get to the paddock she was in, so none were sold from there.
I have at least 2 heifers from her and a steer, not counting this one, (called Extant as the last calf she will produce). I have had trouble with none of her progeny yet and the 2 heifers have calved. We will see what happens in the future.
?? Powder dry??? Thinking.... thinking..... thinking...... I assume you are referring to gun powder?
I haven't had any trouble with her recently as I feed the cows out by myself, but the other day hubby helped me and for a change I drove the tractor and he stayed with the cattle waiting for me to return with the bales. He said she had a go at him when I asked why he had dried cow manure in his hand. That calf was born on the 25th of May, so it is not a day old like when I took the photo.
The only reason she didn't go last time was because we sold a lot and we didn't get to the paddock she was in, so none were sold from there.
I have at least 2 heifers from her and a steer, not counting this one, (called Extant as the last calf she will produce). I have had trouble with none of her progeny yet and the 2 heifers have calved. We will see what happens in the future.
?? Powder dry??? Thinking.... thinking..... thinking...... I assume you are referring to gun powder?
cattleman99
Well-known member
When her eyes are on you like in that picture and the ears come forward like that it's the cows way of indicating she is locked and loaded. If you aren't already running it's likely too late. I'll bet you she'd run right over top of her own baby to get at you.
Suzie Q
Well-known member
I thought the powder must mean something like that.
Yes I was ready. As I said I was not near her I also had round bales to duck around and an electric fence I could crawl through if needed, but once I backed off behind the round bale she didn't worry about me any more, as there was quite a distance between us. You can see the tractor coming down with the next round bale. I took the netting off that one with hubby watching and then went back up with the tractor so wasn't left down there any more.
When I feed out by myself I keep an eye on her and will stay with the tractor or at least the round bale between her and me. I am also careful with the 3 new brahmans. One is a bit antsier than the other 2, but they are new and don't know me as well as she should by now. I don't usually have a problem with Pearl as she will go to the first round bale and I don't have to worry about her while I am bringing down the other bales. I was actually surprised when hubby said she had had a go at him.
One of the brahmans makes a bit of noise with the new calf, but so far none have taken a step towards me, just Pearl.
When I feed by myself there are normally the same 2 or 3 that come up while the bale is still on the spike and I am taking the netting off. All of them know that the netting must come off. They all take a step back as I wind the netting off, they have also learnt that they can eat from the end of the bale without stepping back.
All must step back if I ask or if I take a step towards them. I do not pat or touch them. If I do go to touch them they will then take a few quick steps back. I am happy with that.
Yes I was ready. As I said I was not near her I also had round bales to duck around and an electric fence I could crawl through if needed, but once I backed off behind the round bale she didn't worry about me any more, as there was quite a distance between us. You can see the tractor coming down with the next round bale. I took the netting off that one with hubby watching and then went back up with the tractor so wasn't left down there any more.
When I feed out by myself I keep an eye on her and will stay with the tractor or at least the round bale between her and me. I am also careful with the 3 new brahmans. One is a bit antsier than the other 2, but they are new and don't know me as well as she should by now. I don't usually have a problem with Pearl as she will go to the first round bale and I don't have to worry about her while I am bringing down the other bales. I was actually surprised when hubby said she had had a go at him.
One of the brahmans makes a bit of noise with the new calf, but so far none have taken a step towards me, just Pearl.
When I feed by myself there are normally the same 2 or 3 that come up while the bale is still on the spike and I am taking the netting off. All of them know that the netting must come off. They all take a step back as I wind the netting off, they have also learnt that they can eat from the end of the bale without stepping back.
All must step back if I ask or if I take a step towards them. I do not pat or touch them. If I do go to touch them they will then take a few quick steps back. I am happy with that.
Five years ago a cow almost killed me. I wasn't trying to tag I leave that chore for the men, basically I am chicken. It was after hurricane Ivan so things were still in a mess, we had pushed up some of the trees that had been knocked down and some fence was tangled in the pile. I went over to the farm to check cows for the guys who were tied up on another project. When I arrived I saw the cows over at the pond, but as I was driving down I found this calf on the edge of the pile hung up in some fencing. I assumed (yep break it down) that mamma was with the herd. I got off the gator, grabbed the calf and heard that deep ticked off mamma beller sound! From that point on it was a train wreck, I came away with five or six broken ribs, and a broken shoulder a smashed face and a broken ankle. The good thing as while mamma stomped on me the calf got all excited pulled himself loose and once mamma realize he was free she just trotted off. This was a cow that we knew was protective so we would just leave her alone for a few weeks then she settled down, however after this she realized she could do damage and would come after you every time anyone would be in the pasture. Needless to say she went to town. We cull for disposition, but any cow can hurt you don't ever believe otherwise. I guess what I am saying don't be complaisant that is when it will happen. This was as much my fault as the cows, I wasn't paying enought attention, and I paid a heavy price.
Gizmom
http://www.gizmoangus.com
http://www.gizmoangus.blogspot.com
Gizmom
http://www.gizmoangus.com
http://www.gizmoangus.blogspot.com
Jake
Well-known member
I would rather have a cow that I know is going to come after me when I"m messing with her calf than one that lulls you to sleep and then takes you out. I've been hurt by way more "calm" cows than I ever have been by one that shows aggression. If you know it's coming its easier to avoid.
The second worst I've ever been hurt by a cow was a yearling heifer that my wife called Sweetheart because she was so gentle and calm. I was running her into the alleyway to AI her and a huge clap of thunder hit. She did the prettiest rollback that would have done any quarter horse proud, ran over the top of me. 6 months later I went to the doc because I hurt so bad inside, bruised kidney, bruised lung, bruised liver, etc. but nothing broken.Jake":16914487 said:
She has been on the short list ever since. That was 8 years ago.
novatech
Well-known member
I am not one to go out and sell a cow that protects it's calf. I had Brahmans for way to long and it is expected. But if a cow ever made contact with me 2 things have happened. Once the cow knows she can and will more than likely continue and two it instills way to much fear into me. Therefore the cow goes to the sale barn.gizmom":2h5lo3hr said:
Having been married for quit some time I know there are hormonal changes in both men and women through out their lives. Cows are no different. I never know when any cow or bull for that matter will change their attitude. The assumption that those genetics have been bred out may have negative results.
Good post Gizmom
Suzie Q
Well-known member
>>>>>>try doing that with a single breed herd and let me know how that works for ya :cowboy:>>>>>
LOL even with different breeds, calves can still look the same. Some of our brothers and sisters.
LOL even with different breeds, calves can still look the same. Some of our brothers and sisters.
