cattle broke out

[lancemart]

My 3 Polled Herefords decided to break out today. The bull knocked the gate off it's hinges. Lots of grass and water. Went into the neighbors yard. She is up in arms now. She says she just planted a new lawn a few months back. I told her the fertilizer was good for it but she did not believe me.
Silly question. What makes them want to go elsewher? "The grass is always greener"?
I will have ot go and see the damage done tomorrow.

 

[dun]

The first thing to figure out is why he knocked the gate off the hinges. Just scratching/rubbing on it, the smell of feminine pulchritude in the air, etc.
You know why they went out the gate and went to the neighbors. They're cows and you didn;t want them to.

dun

 

[warpaint]

If you haven't tried turning one of the hinges(for lack of a better word) upside down to lock the gate in place, that may be a solution to them knocking it off.

 

[3MR]

If you haven't tried turning one of the hinges(for lack of a better word) upside down to lock the gate in place, that may be a solution to them knocking it off.

You can chain it to the support pole as well. Even if they nock it off it wont fall over.

 

[Alice]

Can't help you as to why the cows got out, other than what Dun said, they're cows and you didn't want them to.

I would like to offer a tidbit of advice re: neighbor relations.

ok, You said your neighbor was up in arms...that she'd just put in a new lawn a few months ago. I may be off track, but I think that last thing she wanted to hear, as she gazed at her new lawn being trampled by three huge bovines depositing their waste all over it, is that the fertilizer was good for it. :shock:

People can be real testy about their new lawns and the humor I'm sure you were tying to interject most likely would not be well received.

I hope when you go take a look, she's calmed down and can be reasonable.

Just a thought.

Alice

 

[Caustic Burno]

Cows got out fact! Raising cattle in city enviroments is usually not a good idea. You need to fix the neighbors lawn and learn how to hang gates fact! Bull with 2 cows equals very bored bull that is going to get into trouble fact!
Move to the country to raise cattle where people don't have lawns, people that raise cattle in the country would be growing hay as close to the house as they can to use every inch of land.

 

[Grippie]

Cows got out fact! Raising cattle in city enviroments is usually not a good idea. You need to fix the neighbors lawn and learn how to hang gates fact! Bull with 2 cows equals very bored bull that is going to get into trouble fact!
Move to the country to raise cattle where people don't have lawns, people that raise cattle in the country would be growing hay as close to the house as they can to use every inch of land.

Big surprise response from CB!
:roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[3MR]

Cows got out fact! Raising cattle in city enviroments is usually not a good idea. You need to fix the neighbors lawn and learn how to hang gates fact! Bull with 2 cows equals very bored bull that is going to get into trouble fact!
Move to the country to raise cattle where people don't have lawns, people that raise cattle in the country would be growing hay as close to the house as they can to use every inch of land.

Big surprise response from CB!
:roll: :roll: :roll:

As I said before I dont think CB needs/wants to be defended, and I know many peolel dont think much of my opinon, but what wrong with this post?

It was blunt, but not mean, or even laced with sarcasm.

He stated his opinion, then explained why he had it.

Who doesnt think he should fix the neighbors lawn? Thats just the right thing to do.

And he didnt do something that people everywhere do that drive me crazy. He wrote "Raising cattle in city enviroments is USUALLY not a good idea." Rather than making a 100% all the time statement.

Just my opinion.

 

[TXBobcat]

Cows got out fact! Raising cattle in city enviroments is usually not a good idea. You need to fix the neighbors lawn and learn how to hang gates fact! Bull with 2 cows equals very bored bull that is going to get into trouble fact!
Move to the country to raise cattle where people don't have lawns, people that raise cattle in the country would be growing hay as close to the house as they can to use every inch of land.

Big surprise response from CB!
:roll: :roll: :roll:

But it's true. ;-)

Tip: If you're going to hang a gate with both hinges pointing up, weld a washer to the top of one of the hinges so animals, or humans, cannot lift the gate off the hinges.

 

[Grippie]

Only some of it is true. I live a long way from "the city" and my cows could easliy get on a neighbors lawn. If they did- I would fix it. I think most people would.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Only some of it is true. I live a long way from "the city" and my cows could easliy get on a neighbors lawn. If they did- I would fix it. I think most people would.

Do you use a weed whacker to clean the fence rows in the Big pasture. The boy screwed up on gates and cattle management a 1 to 2 ratio is a little light to keep bulls occupied. Secondly Bulls are going to be bulls they dig holes beller and push stuff around needs to learn how to build a fence and gates.

 

[eric]

I may be wrong, but I thought the poster asked "Why did the bull/cows get out?" While it's true that bulls will be bulls,the gate should of been hung properly and the bull was probably bored, the problem still can be solved with better fences and gate installation. Might be time to consider electric wire a ft or so off the main fence and gates.
Selling everything and moving to the country because a cow got loose is kinda like cutting off your finger because you got a splinter in it. Kind of a drastic solution isn't it? I agree, fix the ladies yard and make sure it cant easily happen again.

 

[dun]

fix the ladies yard and make sure it cant easily happen again.

The operative word being easily. If they're determined they'll find a way

dun

 

[J]

The closest "city" :lol: to me has a school, post office and cotton gin. Population of less than 150 and it takes 1/2 an hour to get to town, pretty much the country in my opinion, but many people out in my parts have yards. This is not an area that is rapidly developing either, these people have lived here all their lives for the most part. Not a subdivision around us. Most of them take pride in keeping a decent looking yard. Some do better at it than others but still just because they mow and weed eat doesn't make'em city slickers.

I agree fix the yard where your animals messed it up and make things right with your neighbor, because you don't want to have that to deal with having a bad neighbor.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

If you ever figure out what makes them go elsewhere, let me know. Sometimes it's obvious - better feed, females etc, other times who the heck knows? (read my post about the wandering cow that got stuck in the cattleguard, from yesterday)

Maybe it's an ancient touch of migratory instinct, just an innate urge to ramble.

Arizona is a fence-out state (that mean's it is the property owners responsibility to fence range cattle OUT) - sure wish I could have somebody like Caustic come explain that to the idiot pilgrims from California setting up their ranchettes to the east and west of me.

I WILL rush over to get my strays off of other folks property - if they have the freaking common sense to actually call instead of GOING AND BUYING THEM HAY. But I did refuse to go clean up "droppings" from the guest ranch up the road. WTH? a guest ranch that can't handle a little genuaine bs? THANK GOODNESS they have new owners - still morons, but not CRAZY morons.

And if you plant a lawn or garden in the middle of the DESERT, right next to a range fence, you just might want to add a few strands or some other reinforcement...a fence that has the same range on both sides may hold fine, start irrigating one side and you are going to have a problem.

 

[cmjust0]

Last summer, when it was so dry, I found cow tracks (and other evidence) in my garden, as well as a few knocked over plants.. My first thought wasn't "stupid cows!", it was "Uh oh.. Wonder who's missing a thousand dollar animal?"

Turned out to be a neighbor's, and I ended up donating him an old gate to patch up a watergap. He gave me four ears of sweetcorn in return, which I thought was a pretty good trade. :lol:

I'll never forget the time, when I lived with my folks, that the neighbor's old sow got out and rooted up my mom's flower bed.. Lemme tell ya man, she was HOT over that!! BUT, the old neighbor really didn't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of, so nothing much was said except his apology and her acceptance..

I wanna think he even gave her a dozen fresh eggs or something later on, to try and mend things up a little more.

I guess what I'm saying is kind of the flipside of Caustic's coin... You can no more take your city expectations to the country than you can take your country expectations to the city. Either way, you're gonna get your feelings hurt sooner or later.

 

[cmjust0]

Not that I haven't said a mouthful already :lol: , but I'd also like to add that, even if his cow had destroyed my garden, I still wouldn't have been mad at him -- I'd have been mad at me for not fencing my garden in.

I put the garden out without a fence knowing full well that anything from a deer to a groundhog to a loose cow could take it all down at any time, and if that happens, I know I've got nobody but me to blame it on.

 

[C HOLLAND]

:roll: :roll: :roll:

But it's true. ;-)

Tip: If you're going to hang a gate with both hinges pointing up, weld a washer to the top of one of the hinges so animals, or humans, cannot lift the gate off the hinges.[/quote]

I must have missed something, I didn't see where he said he didn't have the gate hung properly, and even if he did, a bull with his mind made up will take any gate off the hinges. My neighbor had a cow in my back 40 wearing a gate as a necklace. 1200 to 2000 pounds of muscle can do anything they want, whenever they decide to. My bull tries to play bumper cars with me on the tractor when I bring out a new roll of hay, and he is just rubbing against the hay.

JMO

 

[Susie David]

Looks like another lesson learned.....
Bulls get bored, bulls like to push things around, if it moves the bull will push it, lift it and sling it around; tractor tire, feed bunk, round bail feeder, fences, gates they don't care.
No such thing a one cow getting out.
We are responsible for our charges, kids, cattle or dogs...they do the damage we fix it.
Must be a really good bull to feed for a year and he only works two days.
No comment of gate installation...
Lazy afternoon around here, pulled fence all morning, for a neighbor. DMc

 

[Bama]

Just a sidenote on the gate thing. Insted of inverting the top hinge I leave both of them pointed up as to carry the weight of the gate. On the top hinge I screw a piece of cut angle iron to the post over the pin to keep the gate from being lifted off hinges.