Bull Fight

[greenwillowherefords]

Just got home. Went over to the lease to put out some mineral and check on the cattle. This was at dusk. Noticed bull didn't come up with cows, saw him faintly across the pasture near the neighboring fence, couldn't make out for sure if there was another animal near him or not. Called for him, no reply. Drove back to see what was going on. Found the neighboring bull, a young black Angus, was in our pasture, sparring with our bull, Hudson. Hudson was patiently keeping himself between the black bull and the cows. He is a little taller, a little longer, a lot thicker, much deeper, with better muscle expression through the hindquarters. He looks to outweigh his opponent by perhaps three hundred pounds or more.

The other bull would attempt to butt his way by. Hudson would give a few inches here and there for a while, then suddenly drive in hard, plowing his adversary backwards across the pasture. They stopped to rest and threaten for a while..... the typical bullfight.

I called Sherry to find the number and call the owner, then waded in alternately with my Ranger and a steel T-post. For three hours I chased this Angus bull up and down the fenceline, trying to get him either penned up or let him find the place he came over. When I got him a sufficient distance from the cows, Hudson would head back to the cows, as there was one in heat causing the whole problem. When he got by me and back toward the girls, Hudson would come back to meet him. (The cow in heat has a one month old calf, BTW) Finally penned all mine in the corral, took the fence down in the weak spot by the pond, and after three more tries, got the Angus to cross back over. He went splashing through the pond, and bellowing over the hillside. I patched the fence back up.

It is awful trying to see an Angus in the dark, especially when he is bellowing and roaring at you. They said he was a several thousand dollar bull.

 

[frenchie]

They said he was a several thousand dollar bull.

I think if that happened on a regular basis...he would be a dead several thousand dollar bull.

 

[greenwillowherefords]

Several things came to mind while all of this was happening. # One It would have been nice to have my old horned bull back for the night. #Two the hereford head appears to be a better battering ram than the angus. # Three I was glad it was their bull out and not mine.

My bull has one cut on his face that is bleeding mildly, and the top of his poll is rubbed raw.

 

[LegacyBreeder]

Reading this reminds me of our old Beefmaster and Red Angus bulls. Jeeze, those boys would knock the crap out of each other! The Beefy was definitely more agressive (while not so bad as to be unmanagable), but the Red Angus was rock solid when push came to shove. Later, when we replaced the Beefy with a Polled Hereford, the old boy finally did meet his match. The younger Hereford just seemed to be built for the fight compared to the Angus. Funny to think that it could be a breed-wide thing.

As a side note, that Angus that gave you issues is lucky he wasn't in with our girls. I think I wouldn't have been as nice to him as you were. ;-)

 

[Bez]

GWH

Read what I said to your wife in the "Bed Time" post.

Take heed.

Bez

 

[flaboy]

Several things came to mind while all of this was happening. # One It would have been nice to have my old horned bull back for the night. #Two the hereford head appears to be a better battering ram than the angus. # Three I was glad it was their bull out and not mine.

My bull has one cut on his face that is bleeding mildly, and the top of his poll is rubbed raw.

Things to remember, #1 bulls fight, #2 bulls fight, #3 bulls will fight. Now with that said, Angus bulls like to fight. This is the one and only thing I don't like about them. I am fortunate enough to not have neighboring bulls. If your neighbor will be keeping this bull in the pasture next to your you two will have to put up a secondary fence. Three feet or so from the first fence. If they can't touch they very seldom will tear the fence down. I have used one barbed wire fence and one electric fence side by side. I know it is a pain but if you have bulls you WILL have bull fights. It's worse when it is a neighbors bull because of the damaged fences. Talk to your neighbor and maybe you both can share in the solution. Something will have to be done or it will happen again then matters just gets worse between you and neighbor and the bulls. IT's NOT THE BULLS FAULT! It's nature.

Now I have separated a few bulls before and here are the methods I have used (don't try this at home folks). #1 A bada__ dog I had would separate a pair of bulls in less than 20 seconds god rest his sole. He died of old age BTW. #2 I use a 12 foot bull whip the new nylon type so it doesn't rot down here. Usually laying this thing across the as_ one time will get them apart but you can't stop there. You need to continue to put it across his rear until he decides to leave the area. Usually one bull will be the one really mad and that is the one that requires your attention not the other one. If you can get the mad one to leave you should be in good shape. Now some may say I am crazy but I have buried and butchered too many bulls to let them fight. Trucks or tractors usually won't work to separate them. Now, if you elect to try this at home (not recommended as you will be entering the battle field) make sure you know how to use a bull whip. Not just crack it (yeah I'm a cracker) but be able to crack it right on the animal with maximum tip speed on the cracker. That's step one. After you have just placed a nice welt on his rear you should be able to pull it back in the same motion and repeat over and over as necessary. You can't get tangled in it and stop to get started over. You should also be able to do this directly in front of you or to either side without stopping the motion of the whip. I carry one of these in the Jeep, truck, and tractor so I always have it available. BTW, my 81 year old dad can take a cigarette out of my hand with a 12 footer and not touch my hand. If you want to learn, start with an 8 or 9 footer and move up in length from there. The "trainer" whip can be kept in one of you vehicles and does the job also but you have to get closer.:shock:

If you harm one of my bulls without contacting me (unless your life was in danger), you and I are going to have a problem. I know it is a real pain but remember these are ANIMALS and it's our responsibility to keep them in line.

 

[bigbull338]

its best to never jerk with fighting bulls on foot cause they can an will turn on you trucks an tractors are ok if you dont mind them getting tore up you did right keeping the truck tween the bulls my great granddad gave big money for a reg horned hereford bull back in the 20s an gave $2500 for him brought him home put in in the barn stall next t his herd bull jr an they told him not to well jr broke though the pen an broke the new bulls leg fighting in the stall $2500 gone but he always sold his bull calves for $700 off the cows scott

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

its best to never jerk with fighting bulls on foot cause they can an will turn on you trucks an tractors are ok if you dont mind them getting tore up you did right keeping the truck tween the bulls my great granddad gave big money for a reg horned hereford bull back in the 20s an gave $2500 for him brought him home put in in the barn stall next t his herd bull jr an they told him not to well jr broke though the pen an broke the new bulls leg fighting in the stall $2500 gone but he always sold his bull calves for $700 off the cows scott

I agree. A couple of years ago, we had an older hereford bull that we had bought. He was used to being by himself and he was real quiet. When he came to my place, he had neighbor's bulls on three sides of him and he was constantly pawing, posing and bellering at them. We went to gather up the cows one day and he stayed back so my brother walked over to get him while he was bellering at the neighbors bull. That 'quiet' bull came at my brother head down. Later that year, he caved in the door and the back quarter panel of my truck. Even the 'quiet' bulls get aggressive when they are in that confrontational mode. I certainly wouldn't try to move them on foot if they are fighting. Remember that if a bull attacks you and really gets ahold of you, your chances of living through it are 5%. Good Luck.

 

[flaboy]

its best to never jerk with fighting bulls on foot cause they can an will turn on you trucks an tractors are ok if you dont mind them getting tore up you did right keeping the truck tween the bulls my great granddad gave big money for a reg horned hereford bull back in the 20s an gave $2500 for him brought him home put in in the barn stall next t his herd bull jr an they told him not to well jr broke though the pen an broke the new bulls leg fighting in the stall $2500 gone but he always sold his bull calves for $700 off the cows scott

You lost me here bigbull. How could he have sold calves off this bull for $700 if he got his leg broke.

I agree with your comment about being on foot with fighting bulls. I didn't say I was smart but I can handle the whip. For all those who have never been charged by a bull or cow (yes cows are rank also). Remember these are big ol cumbersome beasts. If you stand your ground and dodge them at the last moment they can't react quick enough. I hope you never get caught in this situation but if you do, stay cool and remember dodge ball. It is a little more difficult if they have horns as they can throw that head to the side so you have to make your move just a little sooner with them. Of course if fence is near that is the best option although I have had them go through the fence I just went over. Oh, I will never have a non-polled bull on my place either.

 

[jerry27150]

should have let your bigger bull whip him & he would never come back. seen a lot of them fight, but seen one i had never seen before the other day. had bought a new gert bull this spring & he was in good shape & weighed up good & my year older gert had gotten thin so the new was top. well on grass the older one gained weight fast & the other day he figured he could whip the new one. they were fighting & i went up on the other hill to look for a cow that was due to freshen & when i came back ( don't know how he did it) but the older bull had the new one flat on his side & pounding him with his head yet. new one just laid there like he was dead. i grabbed a piece of oak board & ran out & started to club the one back. the young one jumped up & ran away, but he never bothers the other one now. he stayed a long ways away from other bull for a week but now they seem to get along pretty well. had never seen one get anther down like this

 

[Frankie]

In my experience, Angus bulls are very serious about breeding cows and will fight for the opportunity to breed. We had two Angus bulls about the same age on cows together one year. Every time we went to check on the cows, they were tied up in a fight. I was afraid we'd not have a calf crop, but we did have a good one. Generally, an older bull will whip the younger bull and he'll just hang around and take seconds.

Our former longhorn gomer bull will try to get into the pasture with the young Angus bulls when we bring them home from the test station. I think he wants to get his bluff in while they're young. He can usually whip one, even though they outweigh him quite a bit. But last time, we brought five home and they took turns with him. Poor guy, he looked like he'd been rode hard and put up wet. We'll see if he remembers the lesson when we bring more bulls home this fall...

 

[flaboy]

should have let your bigger bull whip him & he would never come back.

Jerry, this doesn't work with Angus bulls.

 

[jt]

should have let your bigger bull whip him & he would never come back.

Jerry, this doesn't work with Angus bulls.

i have a young angus bull that steadily wants to fight my bigger limo bull... i think frankie was right about em wanting seconds.. and thirds, etc :x

jt

 

[Craig-TX]

That was good advice from those who warned against getting tangled up in a bullfight on foot. It could quickly turn deadly. I wouldn't do it in a vehicle that I cared anything about either. But, I wouldn't try to break it up anyway. One of the advantages to being a commercial operation is that if my neighbor's bull was worth that much I would let him breed every cow I've got on the place - if he could whip my bull.

Part of running cattle is having to mess with putting bulls back on the right place now and then – either yours or your neighbors'. It comes with the territory. On the other hand, if a neighbor had a bull that made a regular habit out of tearing up fences between us I would "help" my neighbor sell him before too long. Too many good bulls out there to put up with one who won't ever stay home.

 

[frenchie]

.

flaboy..If you harm one of my bulls without contacting me (unless your life was in danger), you and I are going to have a problem. I know it is a real pain but remember these are ANIMALS and it's our responsibility to keep them in line.

Just remember with some guys this is chronic problem.There is no excuse if this is a regular occurance. Good fences make good neighbors.

I had a neighbor here whos cattle ran everywhere..cleaned me out of hay 2 yrs running.I would phone him and 2 weeks later ,he would round them up.

Finally called the pound, and they looked after it.

Did,nt really want to do it, but had no choice. I got quite a talking to by the old boys..I reminded them this is not open range...it appears they thought I should have went and fixed his fence.

I asked them to have a look at the fence.Their comment was what fence?It needed 1 1/2 miles of wire and posts.

I have had no more trouble and he has fixed his fence.

 

[flaboy]

.

flaboy..If you harm one of my bulls without contacting me (unless your life was in danger), you and I are going to have a problem. I know it is a real pain but remember these are ANIMALS and it's our responsibility to keep them in line.

Just remember with some guys this is chronic problem.There is no excuse if this is a regular occurance. Good fences make good neighbors.

Agreed. My point if it was misunderstood was, contact me dont' shoot from the hip. Some like your experience just don't care.

Years ago we had a guy who never fenced some of his thousands of acres and just used bordering fences to keep his in. He had some rank cows that kept tearing our fences down. We kept calling him and telling him to do something about it. We finally had the sheriff get involved and it helped. Then one day a REALLY rant one busted in. We tried for weeks to get the guy to come get her. We tried to get her out ourselves and she just tore down more fences. I finally shot her when we had her cornered and she looked at me then looked at my dad, realized I had a rifle and charged him. She didn't make it to him.

 

[greenwillowherefords]

We didn't get to bed till around 1:30 this morning. The fence between the black bull and ours is a six strand fence. Do you think he could have jumped it. Our bull did have some cuts on his face and was messed up some, but not a lot. I think the angus was a little worse off than ours. I let the fellow next door know he could fix the fence that Thomas finally cut to run him back through. He was really glad we helped him out when I finally got a hold of them at 12:00 last night. By the way Thomas has a 94 truck we were in, with over 200 thousand miles on it, it's not like it would have been a great loss. We don't have a bull whip, might think of getting one. Is there anyhting else you could use. One reason we did use the truck was we had no lighting out there at all, but the truck gave us some.
Greenwillows wife

 

[Frankie]

We didn't get to bed till around 1:30 this morning. The fence between the black bull and ours is a six strand fence. Do you think he could have jumped it. Our bull did have some cuts on his face and was messed up some, but not a lot. I think the angus was a little worse off than ours. I let the fellow next door know he could fix the fence that Thomas finally cut to run him back through. He was really glad we helped him out when I finally got a hold of them at 12:00 last night. By the way Thomas has a 94 truck we were in, with over 200 thousand miles on it, it's not like it would have been a great loss. We don't have a bull whip, might think of getting one. Is there anyhting else you could use. One reason we did use the truck was we had no lighting out there at all, but the truck gave us some.
Greenwillows wife

One year the the neighbor's crossbred bull kept showing up in our leased pasture with our registered Angus cows. After some yelling and screaming, we got together and put a hot wire along the fence on his side. We had the wire and battery operated charger; they helped put it up. We only left it hot a short time. It doesn't take many jolts to train an animal to respect that wire, even if they're not hot. If it continues to be a problem, you need to talk to the owner; the bull is his responsibility.

 

[flaboy]

We didn't get to bed till around 1:30 this morning. The fence between the black bull and ours is a six strand fence. Do you think he could have jumped it. Our bull did have some cuts on his face and was messed up some, but not a lot. I think the angus was a little worse off than ours. I let the fellow next door know he could fix the fence that Thomas finally cut to run him back through. He was really glad we helped him out when I finally got a hold of them at 12:00 last night. By the way Thomas has a 94 truck we were in, with over 200 thousand miles on it, it's not like it would have been a great loss. We don't have a bull whip, might think of getting one. Is there anyhting else you could use. One reason we did use the truck was we had no lighting out there at all, but the truck gave us some.
Greenwillows wife

Six strands but how high? They probably stretched somewhere. The truck was the smart thing to do. I don't recommend my method but being raised the way I was and taught the way I was, I am not bashful about getting out of the truck with whip in hand. To answer your question is there anything else you could use? Well here are few things we have used to breakup bull fights - bad dog, whips, 2x4's, metal pipes about 6 feet long, big tree limbs, rope (roped a rank bull with long horns off of the tractor and pulled him away), gun shot very loud sometimes scares one of them, and finally just a bullet. I won't allow somebody else's bull to injure mine and I would expect no less. If he gets my bull down and continues I will aerate him. The worse thing I ever saw was one of our bulls hitting another broadside. I saw the leg snap. I wanted to shoot the one without the broken leg also.

 

[Muratic]

You have me confused flowerboy, First you write this:

..If you harm one of my bulls without contacting me (unless your life was in danger), you and I are going to have a problem.

Then you write this:

just a bullet. I won't allow somebody else's bull to injure mine and I would expect no less. If he gets my bull down and continues I will aerate him.

So which is it? :roll: