Cattle Safety

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Sir Loin

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Cattle Safety

Prepared by Kerri Ebert and Michael Dennis
Kansas State University
The majority of beef cattle accidents occur while the victim is handling the livestock. Many of those accidents involve horses and are the result of a rider being thrown or falling from the horse. (See related article on horse safety.)
Bulls, too, are involved in a considerable number of farm accidents, especially aged bulls that were docile as calves. One veteran southwest Kansas horned Hereford breeder learned the hard way just how dangerous a pet bull can be. While he was out checking cattle one day, he found he needed to read the tattoo of the herd bull. It was a bull he had raised himself and it had even been a family pet as a calf.
He told his hired man that he'd just walk over and get the number. He figured that even though the bull was three years old, it had never been aggressive, so approaching it wouldn't be any trouble. When he got to the bull and reached for its ear, it lowered its head and turned it abruptly upward slicing the stockman's leg and femoral artery with its sharp horn. The ensuing scenario was a series of lucky breaks for this gentleman.
His hired man, who was waiting in the pickup, realized the severity of the injury and was able to help the stockman to the truck and drive him to the nearby farmhouse. The stockman's wife, who was a registered nurse, was home and was able to stop the bleeding so they could transport him to the local hospital, five miles away. At the hospital they were fortunate enough to have a doctor who had experience with this type of injury and was able to repair the damage, thus leading to a complete recovery.
This whole series of events took very little time, but if everything hadn't fallen into place just as it did, this could have been a fatal farm accident. One point it clearly emphasizes is to work in pairs whenever possible. One person, the hired man, made all the difference in this case. Had he not been there, the stockman most likely would have bled to death in the pasture.
Temple Grandin, assistant professor of animal science at Colorado State University, warns, "The bull that's going to kill you is the hand-fed, bucket calf. It will be dangerous when it grows up. If you want a safe bull, let the cow raise it."
With the popularity and practicality of artificial insemination many herds can eliminate the need for a bull. This in itself is a safety factor for cattle producers.
Cows with calves are another safety concern. First calf heifers are especially dangerous, says Keith Zoellner, extension beef specialist at Kansas State University, because you have no way of knowing how she will react to motherhood. Zoellner says a good rule of thumb is that if a cow was overprotective of her calf once, then she'll probably do it again. When protecting a calf, cows can be lightning quick if they decide to charge. You may not be able to get away before she gets you. For the older farmer this could mean potentially severe injuries. It is important for anyone working with cow/calf pairs to be aware of the situation and know the signs of an aggressive cow, but this is vitally important for the older stockman, who simply does not react as quickly as he once could.
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001001-d0 ... 01018.html
 
Sir Loin":30m27gnk said:
Cattle Safety

Prepared by Kerri Ebert and Michael Dennis
Kansas State University
The majority of beef cattle accidents occur while the victim is handling the livestock.

Gee, ya think? :eek: Now, before you come uncorked on me, I'm NOT making fun of this article - there are some very good points in it that we all need to be reminded of now and again. But couldn't they have started it with a slightly more intelligent first sentence? :?:
 
The statement "If you want a safe bull, let the cow raise it" is a crock. Sure, a bottle-fed bull might be more inclined to be aggressive, but that doesn't make a bull raised by his dam safe. There is no such thing as a safe bull.
 
VanC":26l3lyxl said:
The statement "If you want a safe bull, let the cow raise it" is a crock. Sure, a bottle-fed bull might be more inclined to be aggressive, but that doesn't make a bull raised by his dam safe. There is no such thing as a safe bull.

You're absolutely right.
 
MS,

I saw that too and my first response was " WELL no (ship high in transit) Sherlock!"
Call um as you see um! No problem here.

As for "If you want a safe bull, let the cow raise it."
Van is exactly right, "There is no such thing as a safe bull".

Hey what'a ya expect from people who write to earn grant money. :lol:

OK, now you can have another good laugh at my expense.
Re:
Cows with calves are another safety concern. First calf heifers are especially dangerous,
On of the ways I can tell if a cow is about to attack is by watching her nose.
I have found that it is a natural instinct for a cow to snarl, just like a dog before it attacks, just not as pronounced. I watch for wrinkles to form across the nose just above the nostrils.
And that is when I exit stage left, or right!
SL
 
Sir Loin":2t5lkm5x said:
MS,

I saw that too and my first response was " WELL no (ship high in transit) Sherlock!"
Call um as you see um! No problem here.

As for "If you want a safe bull, let the cow raise it."
Van is exactly right, "There is no such thing as a safe bull".

Hey what'a ya expect from people who write to earn grant money. :lol:

Valid point! :lol:

OK, now you can have another good laugh at my expense.
Re:
Cows with calves are another safety concern. First calf heifers are especially dangerous,
On of the ways I can tell if a cow is about to attack is by watching her nose.
I have found that it is a natural instinct for a cow to snarl, just like a dog before it attacks, just not as pronounced. I watch for wrinkles to form across the nose just above the nostrils.
And that is when I exit stage left, or right!
SL

I'm not going to laugh at that one, because I've seen a few of them do that as well. The problem lies in that not all of them do it - some go from 'uncertain about the situation' to 'Hey, I'm not going to take a chance, I'm just going to nail this person to yonder fence' in the blink of an eye. I happen to agree with the first calf heifer statement, they have been subjected to so much so fast that they tend to charge first and ask questions later. A person that the older cows know can usually 'talk' her out of nailing their butt to the nearest fence - that tends to not be true for 1st calvers.
 
I sware i can just see it in their eyes just before it happens, they just get that look and I'm out of the way.
 
:idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea:


Just Figured it Out

Most of our replacements were show heifers. A lot of the older cows weren't.


:idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea:
 
I know that a lot of people don't want to hear this but a good saddle horse is cheaper to keep then a funeral.Z
 
Quote was taken out of context. What she was trying to say is that people let their guard down when the raise a bucket bull and think it's docile. If you leave your baby bull on the cow, you will be more cautious and treat the bull like a bull, not a pet.

Dr. Temple Grandin is more knowledgable about cattle behavior than probably anyone on earth. She has a unique prespective as she is autistic and has been studying cattle and how to handle them since she was very young. I went to CSU and had her for a few classes. I also saw her interacting with cattlemen in Colorado and even the oldest ranchers were very respectful of what she had to say.
 
Little Cow":7aw39oq0 said:
Quote was taken out of context. What she was trying to say is that people let their guard down when the raise a bucket bull and think it's docile. If you leave your baby bull on the cow, you will be more cautious and treat the bull like a bull, not a pet.

Dr. Temple Grandin is more knowledgable about cattle behavior than probably anyone on earth. She has a unique prespective as she is autistic and has been studying cattle and how to handle them since she was very young. I went to CSU and had her for a few classes. I also saw her interacting with cattlemen in Colorado and even the oldest ranchers were very respectful of what she had to say.

Exactly what I was about to say. I think the point this article was trying to make was/is there are NO safe animals. The ones you call "pets" are more likely to hurt you because YOU think and treat them as pets. The animals are acting true to nature and it's the folks who get hurt that are doing something really dumb.

I see so many notes here where folks with two, three or a half dozen animals try to treat them as house pets, trim their "toe nails", wipe their butts, etc. You're asking for trouble.

Yawl have a good one and be safe.
 

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