I was working my cows through the corral the other night and had a problem. The short version is I a have a wild cow and am trying to figure out what to do with her. If you think you can help and want to read the story, here it is. I know a question without the story line can be hard to answer.
I purchased cattle 3 years ago. I put them out on my land and when I checked on them the next day there was an extra black one with them. None of mine were black so I was positive it had been left by the previous owner. The cow had been out there for a minimum of 3 months by herself and she was very young (8-10 months old). She was very flighty and would run off everytime I went out there. I didn't have the handling facilities to catch her, so I left her.
I got a bull the following year and all of the cows were bred and calved last spring. She was still very flighty and when I came to the pasture she would run off with her calf.
I'm not running a large ranch and I wanted my cows to be calm so I regularly (2-3 times a month) go out with a bucket of alfalfa cubes and feed them. Some of my cows and my bull will eat out om my hand (I know that's not recomended). The stray had calmed down sidnificantly and would even approach within 8 feet and eat the alfalfa when tossed on the ground in front of her. She had her second calf last month and appeared to be much more calm. She wouldn't run off or try to hide it from me.
To the present. I had an outbreak of pink eye and needed to treat the cows and yearling calves. I had been working on a corral for the last 2 years and finally finished it. I got the cattle into the corral with the feed bucket no problem. When I closed the gate she got a crazy look in her eye and started going nuts. She was halfway over a 6 foot panel but I had enough help that she didn't get out. Simply having someone stand by the gate kept her away from it. We finally got her into the squeeze chute and she fought the entire time. She was balling, pulling back with all her might, jumping, and started foaming at the mouth. The other cows were looking at her tying to figure out what was going on. Her pinkeye was pretty advanced so I thought best to treat her and not try to take her to the sale barn. She ended up bucking out of the chute and pulling it over. All of the other cattle, both before and after her, went through the chute with little or no problems. Her yearling heifer was one of the best handling so I'm wondering if it is inherited or not.
Two days after handling the cattle (yesterday) I went to check on them for fear she had died from the stress or injuries. (She had bashed her head against the chute hard enough to open a pretty good gash on her head) I could not find her. Her calf was with the rest of the cattle and appeared to be fine. I drove around the 40 acre pasture on my atv for a half hour trying to find her. (It rolls and has quite a few trees) I went back out an hour later and located her in the far corner hiding amongst some pecan sprouts. The other cattle were at the complete other end of the pasture.
To my options.
-I need some ground beef so I'm thinking about butchering her this fall when her current calf can be weined. I'm concerned over the "dark cutting" or stress she would go through hauling her to the butcher so was thinking about putting her down in the field. (Will the butcher take a dead cow?)
-I would take her to the sale barn, but would anyone buy a cow this crazy? That's assuming I could corral her again.
Please, any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the length, I'd rather give you to much information than not enough.
I purchased cattle 3 years ago. I put them out on my land and when I checked on them the next day there was an extra black one with them. None of mine were black so I was positive it had been left by the previous owner. The cow had been out there for a minimum of 3 months by herself and she was very young (8-10 months old). She was very flighty and would run off everytime I went out there. I didn't have the handling facilities to catch her, so I left her.
I got a bull the following year and all of the cows were bred and calved last spring. She was still very flighty and when I came to the pasture she would run off with her calf.
I'm not running a large ranch and I wanted my cows to be calm so I regularly (2-3 times a month) go out with a bucket of alfalfa cubes and feed them. Some of my cows and my bull will eat out om my hand (I know that's not recomended). The stray had calmed down sidnificantly and would even approach within 8 feet and eat the alfalfa when tossed on the ground in front of her. She had her second calf last month and appeared to be much more calm. She wouldn't run off or try to hide it from me.
To the present. I had an outbreak of pink eye and needed to treat the cows and yearling calves. I had been working on a corral for the last 2 years and finally finished it. I got the cattle into the corral with the feed bucket no problem. When I closed the gate she got a crazy look in her eye and started going nuts. She was halfway over a 6 foot panel but I had enough help that she didn't get out. Simply having someone stand by the gate kept her away from it. We finally got her into the squeeze chute and she fought the entire time. She was balling, pulling back with all her might, jumping, and started foaming at the mouth. The other cows were looking at her tying to figure out what was going on. Her pinkeye was pretty advanced so I thought best to treat her and not try to take her to the sale barn. She ended up bucking out of the chute and pulling it over. All of the other cattle, both before and after her, went through the chute with little or no problems. Her yearling heifer was one of the best handling so I'm wondering if it is inherited or not.
Two days after handling the cattle (yesterday) I went to check on them for fear she had died from the stress or injuries. (She had bashed her head against the chute hard enough to open a pretty good gash on her head) I could not find her. Her calf was with the rest of the cattle and appeared to be fine. I drove around the 40 acre pasture on my atv for a half hour trying to find her. (It rolls and has quite a few trees) I went back out an hour later and located her in the far corner hiding amongst some pecan sprouts. The other cattle were at the complete other end of the pasture.
To my options.
-I need some ground beef so I'm thinking about butchering her this fall when her current calf can be weined. I'm concerned over the "dark cutting" or stress she would go through hauling her to the butcher so was thinking about putting her down in the field. (Will the butcher take a dead cow?)
-I would take her to the sale barn, but would anyone buy a cow this crazy? That's assuming I could corral her again.
Please, any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the length, I'd rather give you to much information than not enough.