Cow reaction to dogs and threats is an interesting angle. Last year our cows suddenly started bawling and lined up. Every cow had their kid. I knew something was up so I grabbed our LGD who was maybe 6 months old, she was waiting at the house for her breakfast. We walk down and I see a coyote stalking in the alley and cows in a stand off. Our little red cow was pawing the ground and shaking her head pacing the line. We joke she was willing to take one for the team. Our LGD growls. Coyote looks our direction. LGD gives a warning bark. Coyote takes step towards herd. LGD off like a shot, chased coyote up over the first rise. Because she was young I followed. She returned to the rise before I got there, she swept the hill barking and right past me back to her herd. I thought "goodness maybe not a good plan to go in the pen right now" thinking the cows surely will have no canine near. Nope they saw their girl and if it was Far Side they would be cheering cows, some kissed noses with her as she sat right amongst them. Soon everyone all relaxed, returned to eating, calves dispersed. She took her spot on her hill and that day skipped breakfast at the house. To this day even the grumpiest Angus mamas after calving will relax when she sits, softens her ears and remove eye contact. Neat to see…how they can differentiate, their "own" from "does not belong".
But wait I thought most on here want to go up and pet their pet cows baby and feed them a treat while doing so.
Never understood why some select against maternal instinct that actually protects the calves life . I don't want my cows to behave like a dairy cow and pop out a calf and walk away.
All the high epds weaning weights and anything else you can put on paper doesn't help the bank account if the calf is dead because the mother and herd didn't protect it.
It's amazing how quick a cow with good maternal instinct with a nice set of clown stabers can but a end to a dog or coyote issue
Find you a brahma cow or two.
One would think, with them being so small and us having them in such a remote place, that our Corriente herd would be prone to attacks. But twice...one with coyotes and once with strays, we have seen them act like bison or Cape bufflalo. Cows in a semicircle, 100 sets of horns facing out, calves bunched up behind them, and the bull(s) advancing on them. And when the coyotes and dogs turned tail, the herd went after them. That is why we move them during quail and rabbit season.
A cow or two with a young calve would have been in danger, especially with no bull with them.
I am sure people have witnessed wild/stray dogs attacking calves, but if they didn't, and just read the signs and
assumed the dogs killed them, that most of the time the calf had died or was dying from other causes, ad the dogs took advantage of a free meal.