Close Call

[greenwillowhereford II]

Don't call me lucky, call me blessed! Went to feed after dark last night, noticed heifer missing from lineup. After some calling, heard a weak moo. Found her on her back and side in makeshift hayfeeder with one hind foot caught in it. Assume she was butted at the wrong moment and toppled in. Got the foot loose, she stuck it right back in, got it loose again, lifted rack away from her. After a couple minutes of pushing and coaxing, she got up. Limped and moved slowly, but headed for the hay. Was OK this morning. Won't use that rack anymore.

 

[hillrancher]

When I worked out I did all my feeding after dark we used rings to but hay in an would put out enough for two or three days. One night I picked up the ring with bail bed to move it to a new place there was a dead yearling hung in it. Next year had a grown cow get in one and die the same way. I roll the hay out now only use feeders where I can watch close or by the house. We are home now and if it is bad weather they get feed twice a day.

 

[bigbull338]

wow you was lucky finding her.like you i bet they got to shoving on her an knocked her down.an into the haybunk.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Don't call me lucky, call me blessed! Went to feed after dark last night, noticed heifer missing from lineup. After some calling, heard a weak moo. Found her on her back and side in makeshift hayfeeder with one hind foot caught in it. Assume she was butted at the wrong moment and toppled in. Got the foot loose, she stuck it right back in, got it loose again, lifted rack away from her. After a couple minutes of pushing and coaxing, she got up. Limped and moved slowly, but headed for the hay. Was OK this morning. Won't use that rack anymore.

i will call you blessed for sure.. this is typical of the deadly situations cattle can get into.. without being checked regularly.. like i was saying on another thread

 

[randiliana]

Yes, they can be dangerous things. We have had calves/yearlings hung up in them at the hips. They go in one spot, and when they come out they don't always use the same spot. A hacksaw works, and we have never lost one to it. But, we are out in all the pens every day.

The worst we ever had was a big old Horned Hereford bull. The bull feeder has a couple big holes so the Horned Hereford's we use can get in and eat. Somehow he stuck his head through one of the small holes. Which was quite an accomplishment, considering how big his horns were. It was empty, and he dragged it around with him for a bit, and then must have gone on the fight. When we found him he was upside down with the feeder still hung up on him. Got very lucky with him, another hour and he would have likely been dead. Took the hacksaw to get him out, but when we got it off his head, he got up and stumbled away. He co-operated while we cut the bar out. We still use feeders, can't afford to roll bales out for less than 15-20 head.

 

[greenwillowhereford II]

If not for the fact that I have been checking them every day, it would have been too bad for her. Still, in 24 hours a lot of damage can be done. Since my square bales are about gone, I got a round bale today and rolled it out.

A friend who is running probably a couple hundred head had a sickening situation awhile back. He has one of those feeders that holds several round bales. He was out feeding before daylight, and had put out cubes for the cattle to eat while he refilled the hay rack. He thought they were all on the cubes, and dropped a round bale in. What he didn't know was that one of his very best baldie cows with a small calf was eating on the other side. Apparently he dropped that bale right on her, breaking her neck. He found her that evening, and may have even shed tears.

 

[Wewild]

Good post GWH.

i lost one in a very similar fashion one time. She was the what i thought was the best heifer i ever had then and now. It was a freak accident where they broke into a hay shed that was empty. She got bowled over into a feed trough made of railroad timbers. i went back and got Dad and we tore out the trough and pulled her out. She didn't make it.

My grandmother had just die the day before. We had my mother's family there at the time getting ready for the funeral. i recall that i felt bad about saying i needed to go check on the cows.

It wasn't the best of times.

I'm happy for you.

 

[1982vett]

Several years back I got home from work and found one laying on her side at a cattleguard. When I got close enough it looked like she had a foot hung in the pipe. My first thought was how I was going to get this tigerstrip out without her breaking a leg. When she saw me she really didn't make an effort to get up and I realized if I went around and came from her blind side I could get a better look. Quietly went around and got right up to her I could see her foot really wasn't caught but if time she tried to get up it would go between the pipe keeping her from being able to do so. I eased in moved her leg just a little and she was able to get up on her own. Kind of looked at me with that thank you look on her face and walked off.

 

[greenwillowhereford II]

Good post GWH.

i lost one in a very similar fashion one time. She was the what i thought was the best heifer i ever had then and now. It was a freak accident where they broke into a hay shed that was empty. She got bowled over into a feed trough made of railroad timbers. i went back and got Dad and we tore out the trough and pulled her out. She didn't make it.

My grandmother had just die the day before. We had my mother's family there at the time getting ready for the funeral. i recall that i felt bad about saying i needed to go check on the cows.

It wasn't the best of times.

I'm happy for you.

Thank you. So am I. I always cringe when I hear stories like this. It can happen no matter how careful you are.