Hormone Imbalance?

[BTRANCH]

Do cows get crazier when they are pregnant or about to deliver? We have a retired couple that live behind our property (the ones we bought the 7 acres from) that like to walk down their long driveway in the evenings for exercise.

We saw them and stopped to chat. There are two very pregnant cows in our front "maternity" pasture. One of the cows started charging the fence at the mans wife. The man was just in the process of telling my husband how she had charged her over the weekend and she did it again. My husband hollered at her and grabbed a sorting stick and whacked the crap out of her face and nose. She looked like she was going to charge again but thought better of it. I swear if he had had a gun, she would have been dead.

He wants to carry her to the sale barn now, I want to wait 2 weeks until she calves. She has been unpredictable in the past, but nothing this aggressive.

Hormonal or just crazy? :help:

 

[randiliana]

It quite possibly is hormonal. But, keep in mind that next time her hormones may take her at YOU. Cows like this rarely get better with age. It could also be that the cow doesn't like the neighbour's wife. It happens, and we had a bull that just detested me. Some animals just take a dislike to certain people.

So, it is up to you whether you keep her or not, but do watch your back around her. No cow is completely predictable or trustworthy, but ones that have a history are the most likely to cause problems. If you say she was unpredictable before, she will probably get worse as she gets older. She may be fine for 10 months out of the year, but it only takes one moment for her to put someone in the hospital, or worse......

 

[BTRANCH]

Thanks, Randi.

She is definitely gone. I want to wait til she calves because I can get more for a pair than a heavy bred cow. I know this might sound selfish, but she is registered and I might not be able to replace her unless I wait.

I don't get near her because I know I cannot move quick enough to get out of her way or get something between us.

 

[dun]

We had a cow that got the same way with my wife shortly before she claved. AFterwards she settled down just fine. The next year when she was still a couple of months away from calving she started the sme BS again. That year she didn;t get better, if anything she got worse. We kept her till she weaned her calf and put wheels under her. Didn;t even bother breeding her since I wanted to make sure she ended up in the kill buyers trailer and not go home with someone as a breeder. Her daughter that we kept is a real pain in the butt. Too freindly, follows me around like a dog. Never did aything with her, it's just her nature. Always seemed funny as crazy as her other was and as calm as she is

 

[bandit80]

Maybe both. Have had cows that do as you describe. Get heavy bred and get real agressive toward people. They were also a pretty testy for a couple weeks after their calf was born. I usually give a cow a second chance if they are agressive one year, but never a third. We have had some cows act agressive one year, and then fine from there on out. I tend to think, however, agressive one year, agressive every year. Always write down in the calving book if any of the cows are mean spirited at birth. They go on my cull list if it happens two years in a row.

It also got much more important to me a few years ago when my son was born.

 

[msscamp]

Do cows get crazier when they are pregnant or about to deliver?

Yes, some do.

We have a retired couple that live behind our property (the ones we bought the 7 acres from) that like to walk down their long driveway in the evenings for exercise.

He wants to carry her to the sale barn now, I want to wait 2 weeks until she calves. She has been unpredictable in the past, but nothing this aggressive.

Hormonal or just crazy? :help:

That is a call you and your husband are going to have to make. Personally - I would not keep a cow who exhibits this type of behaviour prior to calving, but that is just me.

 

[bward]

It amazes me to see how many of you folks are willing to let someone else experience the danger of owning your nasty man-eating cows. Ship them for slaughter for crying out loud. If a cull cow is not good enough for me, its not good enough for anyone else either. Take some responsibility for your fellow man, as there are a lot of beginners out there just starting out and how would you feel if it was your cow that put one of those trusting folks into the ICU? Think people!

 

[bigbull338]

i sold a mean crazy cow like that a good while back.she was fine in the pasture.but she was wild an she stayed away from every1.but get her in the corral an would take you out.took us about 30 mins to get her shut up in the trailer with the cute gate after we loaded her.i told him to put her in the kill pen that she wopuldnt breed.an he knew she was mean.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Bward any one who buys cows at the sale barn should not be to trusting.

 

[Keren]

It amazes me to see how many of you folks are willing to let someone else experience the danger of owning your nasty man-eating cows. Ship them for slaughter for crying out loud. If a cull cow is not good enough for me, its not good enough for anyone else either. Take some responsibility for your fellow man, as there are a lot of beginners out there just starting out and how would you feel if it was your cow that put one of those trusting folks into the ICU? Think people!

bward, not all culls are culled because of temperament, I have built my little goat herd with a lot of culls, culled for age or minor faults (bad feet, fiddly udders). It has let me get into the industry with good genetics but at a quarter of the cost. As the herd grows I will be able to weed out those minor faults and also get the average age back down a bit.

Just trying to make the point that cull cows arent all bad, and can be a good way to get started.

 

[BTRANCH]

It amazes me to see how many of you folks are willing to let someone else experience the danger of owning your nasty man-eating cows. Ship them for slaughter for crying out loud. If a cull cow is not good enough for me, its not good enough for anyone else either. Take some responsibility for your fellow man, as there are a lot of beginners out there just starting out and how would you feel if it was your cow that put one of those trusting folks into the ICU? Think people!

Although not specifically stated, we did not plan on dumping this cow on some poor unsuspecting soul at the sale barn. I would appreciate a little faith people. We are trying to build up our reputation and that is not the way to do it.

 

[msscamp]

It amazes me to see how many of you folks are willing to let someone else experience the danger of owning your nasty man-eating cows. Ship them for slaughter for crying out loud. If a cull cow is not good enough for me, its not good enough for anyone else either. Take some responsibility for your fellow man, as there are a lot of beginners out there just starting out and how would you feel if it was your cow that put one of those trusting folks into the ICU? Think people!

I'm not sure what prompted this post, but selling at a salebarn does NOT automatically mean that an aggressive cow will become another person's problem. At our local salebarn we have, and always have had, the option of designating an aggressive cow for slaughter only, and I'm thinking that option is available in most other locations as well. Just because someone does not flat out state that the cow will be sold for slaughter only does not mean that option will not be exercised. It has a tendency to be an unspoken fact in a lot of situations, mostly due to unwritten codes of ethics. You might want to consider asking a few more questions prior to jumping to conclusions such as this one. ;-) There are very few people that I know of, or have heard about who would deliberately, willingly, or knowingly sell (or allow to be sold) a dangerous animal to another person.

 

[dun]

I'm not sure what prompted this post, but selling at a salebarn does NOT automatically mean that an aggressive cow will become another person's problem. At our local salebarn we have, and always have had, the option of designating an aggressive cow for slaughter only, and I'm thinking that option is available in most other locations as well. Just because someone does not flat out state that the cow will be sold for slaughter only does not mean that option will not be exercised. It has a tendency to be an unspoken fact in a lot of situations, mostly due to unwritten codes of ethics. You might want to consider asking a few more questions prior to jumping to conclusions such as this one. ;-) There are very few people that I know of, or have heard about who would deliberately, willingly, or knowingly sell (or allow to be sold) a dangerous animal to another person.

The sad part is that people will buy a good looking cow out of the kill pen, breed her and end up getting burned then squawk about the pekkering they got at the salebarn.

 

[msscamp]

I'm not sure what prompted this post, but selling at a salebarn does NOT automatically mean that an aggressive cow will become another person's problem. At our local salebarn we have, and always have had, the option of designating an aggressive cow for slaughter only, and I'm thinking that option is available in most other locations as well. Just because someone does not flat out state that the cow will be sold for slaughter only does not mean that option will not be exercised. It has a tendency to be an unspoken fact in a lot of situations, mostly due to unwritten codes of ethics. You might want to consider asking a few more questions prior to jumping to conclusions such as this one. ;-) There are very few people that I know of, or have heard about who would deliberately, willingly, or knowingly sell (or allow to be sold) a dangerous animal to another person.

The sad part is that people will buy a good looking cow out of the kill pen, breed her and end up getting burned then squawk about the pekkering they got at the salebarn.

Yep, you're right on the money! Unfortunately, they don't have the brains to realize that they did it to themselves.

 

[dun]

Unfortunately, they don't have the brains to realize that they did it to themselves.

I think they know, but it's easier on their ego to calim someone stuck it to them then to admit to others that the made a mistake

 

[msscamp]

Unfortunately, they don't have the brains to realize that they did it to themselves.

I think they know, but it's easier on their ego to calim someone stuck it to them then to admit to others that the made a mistake

Good point!

 

[BTRANCH]

We have that option at our sale barn Mscamp and that is exactly what we planned on doing (designating for slaughter). I feel vidicated by your and Dun's remarks.

Thank you!

 

[bward]

What prompted me to post was....

I want to wait til she calves because I can get more for a pair than a heavy bred cow.

People don't usually sell a pair for slaughter and its even rarer to take a young nursing calf off a cow in order to slaughter the cow.............. but whatever works in your area.

 

[msscamp]

What prompted me to post was....

I want to wait til she calves because I can get more for a pair than a heavy bred cow.

People don't usually sell a pair for slaughter and its even rarer to take a young nursing calf off a cow in order to slaughter the cow.............. but whatever works in your area.

Ok, I understand now, and thanks for the clarification. In this particular situation we either dealt with the cow until she had raised her calf to a realistic weaning age, or we pulled the calf and bottled him/her if the mother's attitude warranted it. Either way, the cow was always designated for slaughter only.