Dangerous Situation

[I luv herfrds]

I got complaincent. That is dangerous.

Went down to milk my cow this morning. Followed the same routine I always do.
Grabbed the milking bucket and the warm water to wash the bag. walked into the corral pen where her calf is kept. I turned to shut the gate and this calf decided she was ready for a bull.
About knocked me flat on my face. I was stuck up against the gate I just closed trying to not drop the water and milker.
Finally got her off me.

My neck and shoulders are sore and I left a large piece of wood by the gate.
Changing my routine too.
Daughter was told to stay away for now. If that heifer tried the same thing on my daughter she would have gotten seriously hurt and we would be eating young heifer.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Accidents can happen so fast around animals. Glad it wasn't worse for you.

 

[hillsdown]

The calf got you ,,how old is she ?

 

[regolith]

A warm breath on your neck... soft touch on shoulder - turn and slap. They can explain after.
I haven't had this happen in years but I know one herd I worked with I was always alert for movements behind - and a few heifers did get slapped.

She may have been bulling but don't presume so. They'll jump any time they feel like it, regardless of cycle.

Now speaking of dangerous and bulls...
A few days after my two Jersey bulls arrived (and for all their reputation, I've never had a problem handling Jersey bulls) I noticed one stalking me. It didn't happen again, then about a week ago (three weeks later, absolutely no notable behaviour in the intervening time) I went to shut the cows and bulls into their paddock and this same guy decided he wanted to play. With me. I called his bluff as you do, stood my ground and yelled at him but he wasn't stopping quick enough for my liking, 'fraid to say I ran away and when he still tried to come and get me I got on the ATV and let him think about playing with that. He decided against taking on the ATV. I shut the group away.
He's behaved like a perfectly good bull ever since. He's on lease, and I'll be letting the owners know that he likes playing with people.
That time I noticed him following me round the paddock was the only warning that he was inclined to be more dangerous than average - there might have been no warning.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I carry a fiberglass sorting stick ..if a bull gets snorty or paws the ground I get after him .. I swing it like I'm hitting a home run and hit him or her in the nose ... Usually they stay as far away ad they can after that.. I was putting out hay one night and the cows were all trying to get the first bite ... One was bulling and the bull tried to mount her if I wasn't paying attention both of them would have ran me over...not her fault but Still dangerous..

 

[I luv herfrds]

HD she is 10 days shy of 9 months.

She would get to jumping around me waiting for her morning feed and has had a metal bucket bounced off her nose. Only had to do that once and she respected my space.

 

[hillsdown]

I had it happen all the time when I would go into the heifer paddocks at the dairy. The first time it totally freaked me out having a hoof on each shoulder . :shock: Never got hurt thankfully and was pretty quick to get out of the way.

Glad you are OK .

Good idea to keep your daughter out of there until the heifer is bred .

 

[I luv herfrds]

Whats a good age to breed a dairy heifer? we normally breed our Herefords after age 14 months

 

[hillsdown]

Same , you want them to calve at around 2 years old. We did try calving a few at 20 months old one year as their BCA's would be higher but their frames did not develop as well as the older bred heifers did and we didn't get the results we had hoped for .

When she is in heat any time after 14 months old , you can AI her.

Here is an interesting link about BCA's and dairy breeds if you are ineterested.
http://www.agromedia.ca/ADM_Articles/co ... hi_bca.pdf

 

[hillsdown]

18 years ago my husband got mounted by a huge @ss Holstein cow in heat. He was heat detecting and she snuck up from behind and hit him hard enough to pin and roll him. If you have seen pics of him he is a big guy, much more muscular than fat back then though. ;-) His whole left side and back was a dark purple for a few weeks ,he was very lucky that he wasn't more seriously injured .

 

[dun]

Somes dairys if they really push the heifers for growth will breed them at 12 months. You gotta remember too that a lot of dairys burn their cows out real young

 

[hillsdown]

Somes dairys if they really push the heifers for growth will breed them at 12 months. You gotta remember too that a lot of dairys burn their cows out real young

Here it is very costly to burn them out too soon, as BST is illegal for use in Dairy cattle. Higher BCA's as a heifer just weren't worth it in the end and we found that they really had a hard time breeding back after that first lactation. I will take average production from a cow for a long time then a ridiculous high amount for one year and have to start from scratch all over again. Longevity in dairy should be emphasized alot more genetically than what is being utilized now . Kind of disappointing when you see the direction they are going in.

 

[dun]

Somes dairys if they really push the heifers for growth will breed them at 12 months. You gotta remember too that a lot of dairys burn their cows out real young

Here it is very costly to burn them out too soon, as BST is illegal for use in Dairy cattle. Higher BCA's as a heifer just weren't worth it in the end and we found that they really had a hard time breeding back after that first lactation. I will take average production from a cow for a long time then a ridiculous high amount for one year and have to start from scratch all over again. Longevity in dairy should be emphasized alot more genetically than what is being utilized now . Kind of disappointing when you see the direction they are going in.

They've been going in that direction for years. My old mentor was milking cows that were 10-12 years old and people beat a path to his door to by his heifers. He learned a long time ago that a cow that milks for many lactaions makes more money then one that burns out in 3 or less.

 

[cow pollinater]

Gotta love Jerseys :mrgreen: When they're not licking something or banging their head against the wall they're trying to ride something. FULLL of quirks.
ILH, we usually put them in the AI pen at around a year old and figure most will be there for an average of a month before they get bred so one year to fourteen months is fine. We will put bigger heifers in at a younger age and have never had any problem doing that.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Thanks HD. Yeah I've seen pics of your hubby. He is a big guy like you said.

My shoulders are still sore today.

Plan to AI her so we have milk while her dam is dried up.

 

[regolith]

"most will be there for an average of a month" - does that mean some are not cycling when they arrive cp? I'm not familiar with that practise, so far my heifers are run with bulls in a separate group or I put them in the dairy herd till the mating season is over if I want to AI them.

With seasonal calving, we start mating the heifers nine months (or a little earlier for farms who want to give them a head start on the cows and hence a little longer as first calvers to get back in calf) before planned start of calving. So if that date hasn't changed the oldest heifers are just fifteen months old, the youngest may be a month of two younger - this year I've got at least an eight week spread in heifer birth dates. The younger ones don't seem to have any problem, most are in calf in the first cycle.

 

[bigbull338]

ok ladies thanks for making my back hurt this morning.i had a show heifer in heat over 30yrs ago.an i was going to AI her when i knew she was in heat.so i went out late nite to check an see if the was in heat.an by the time i got to a fence i felt her mount me her chin on my head.an her front feet over shoulders.i had a 800lb or bigger heifer on my back.i finally slapped her an backed her off my back.then the ding dong got with the hereford heifer bull that nite.an i was pretty madd.

 

[IluvABbeef]

Well I didn't have a horny heifer get on my back but I had a pet steer try to mount me. I wasn't really aware of what he was up to, as I was just in the corral to check up on something when I could feel his chin resting lightly on my shoulder. All of a sudden the pressure of his chin on my shoulder felt heavier and I could feel this big beast suddenly rear up on his hind legs right behind me. It was when he used his chin as a fulcrum to push himself up that nearly brought me to my knees, but not enough to make me bolt out from under him before he could even get to rest his 800 lb frame on my shoulders. I didn't have a sorting stick or pail or anything on hand (never did or do when I'm in the steer pen, as my presence and actions towards them are enough to make them respect my space), and was too far away to hit him for it, so the only thing I could do was walk out of the corral. At the time I didn't know that I had to or should've reprimanded him for that (heck there were a fair number of things I should have and shouldn't have done with him, since he saw himself as Top Steer, not me), and regret that. But I guess we all live and learn.

I'm just thankful I was not up against a fence or gate and was quick enough to get the heck out of the way and avoid getting hurt. I've been wary about having cattle behind me to begin with, not to mention I know how to clear my head and use my primal instincts to keep my "eyes in the back of my head" wide open to keep an eye out for trouble, no matter what I'm doing (or not) in the corrals. Been lucky thus far (knock on wood).

 

[vclavin]

A neighbor and I take care of the 3 jersey heifer calves. One evening after feeding them, neighbor lady bent over to pick up something off the ground and before I knew what was happening , one of the heifer went for her hunched over back. Luckily I was close enough to get the heifer back and the heifer is only about 5 months old. Not sure if she was just playing or coming into heat. I never expected them to come into heat this young?
Valerie

 

[Isomade]

A neighbor and I take care of the 3 jersey heifer calves. One evening after feeding them, neighbor lady bent over to pick up something off the ground and before I knew what was happening , one of the heifer went for her hunched over back. Luckily I was close enough to get the heifer back and the heifer is only about 5 months old. Not sure if she was just playing or coming into heat. I never expected them to come into heat this young?
Valerie

Yes they can come in as early as 4 months, though not a common occurrence.