Horrible way to lose a cow

[NonTypicalCPA]

I know a guy who drove over his St Bernard with his backhoe.. needed a bunch of work done to him but he survived it.
My bull was bad at my friends place.. you couldn't run him over with a bale, he'd just be there fighting the heck out of it.

I have never hit a live deer or fawn in my hay fields, on two occasions I've hit fawns that were already dead.. One of them was near a fence, no idea why it was dead.. second one was really young too, a few rounds later I found momma eaten up.. I'm guessing she had twins and one wasn't positioned correctly and it killed her.. had I hayed a day or two earlier I'd probably have had a bottle baby.
We have a lot of grouse here, don't hit the adults often but you can't get around hitting some of the chicks.. same with meadowlarks

Last year when I was still going in with the tractor my bull would do the same thing - fight the bale. He was just having fun of course, but it was a pain. I'm loving feeding over the fence this year!!

 

[TCRanch]

My son set a bale right on a month old calf that had gotten in the round bale feeder and curled up to sleep. It was dark, he'd just gotten home from work and wanted to get it done because they were calling on snow the next day, and he works 12's when snowplowing. The cow spent 2 days mooing and looking and we figured it had been gotten by coyotes or something. What a horrible surprise when he went to move the bale feeder and the cows were poking through the left over hay and he saw the legs. You try your best, but accidents happen.

ran over a new born a couple years ago,, with a batwing... mama had hid it in tall grass and was off grazing with the others... Seen it out the corner of my eye, was running at a pretty good clip..it was to late when I got stopped...

Yeah, he ran over a calf with the bushhog a couple years ago. Same thing, momma hid it in a pile of tall grass/weeds, was off grazing with the other cows. It never moved a muscle, killed it instantly and had never even gotten up to run.
We have gotten a few fawns over the years in the hayfields that way. Got a turkey setting on a nest one time, she never flew off the nest and never saw her until there were feathers flying. Took the intact eggs home and put in the incubator and hatched a couple. Since then we try to watch careful and have been known to leave a patch of hay if he has seen a turkey come out of it or saw a fawn run into it. Not that we don't have boocoodles of both turkeys and deer, but just because it seems kinder. When they become adults then they are fair game.

Jan, just remembered the same thing happened to one of my friends and she posted about it on Facebook (including a pic of the chicks). Following is a quote from one of the responses she received: "You need to notify the wildlife folks as I understand it is against the law to have/raise wild turkey without a permit.....regardless of circumstance. Don't want to see you get in trouble for doing a good thing. My brother in law ran afoul the law doing the same thing you are doing."

Not sure if that's actually true or illegal - but heaven forbid, you try & save some wildlife :roll:

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah it is true. You need permits in some states to raise "wild turkeys" . It was several years ago and I am not telling anyone when I do that anyway. Since I had Bronze turkeys at the time, no one would know the difference unless they were up close and personal. In the fall, some left and some were put in the freezer. There is a big flock that runs in the cattle pasture next door and up into the hayfields where this happened. No, I am not going to go on FB and do something stupid like tell the world what I am doing. That is the most insane way for people to brag about what good samaritans (sp?) they are. WAY TOO MUCH INFO out there on FB. I have an account that my niece set up for me when the kids were in college as they sure don't know how to even send e-mails, let alone a REAL LETTER. But if I go on it once a month now it is alot. I just don't like the "openess" of it.

 

[skyhightree1]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around a horrific accident. Few days ago my husband & I were putting out bales. I was making sure our newest calf didn't run near the tractor (he's a maniac) when I heard a horrible bellow. Turned around and realized my husband had run over a cow - she was literally under the tractor. He had stopped & I yelled at him to back up. Couldn't believe she was actually alive. Missing strips of hide all over her body but I'll be darned if she didn't get up. She was limping & in shock but nothing appeared to be broken although I suspected internal damage and she was due late March. I was able to walk her about 500 yards down to the barnyard and called the vet who agreed we would most likely have to put her down but to watch her a few days, anticipate an abortion & see how she does. My husband was devastated - he was going up an incline so didn't have the bale raised very high, the sun was directly in his eyes and he just didn't see her.

So the next couple days I gave her Banamine and aspirin, she wasn't eating much but drinking a lot and every time I checked she had moved and wasn't grinding her teeth, didn't show any obvious signs of pain, didn't abort. We were at a funeral all afternoon yesterday so I wasn't able to check her until late and when I went down, she was bloating. Time to end it.

Tough lesson to learn.

I am sorry that happened to you... I feel for yall its something you never want to do but those cattle will stand in front and try to grab bites and such and sometimes things do happen. I almost bushhogged a calf this past year.

 

[TCRanch]

Thanks, Sky. The bulls are the worst about trying to grab from the bales on the speer - with the tractor in motion.

Just got back from fixing the fence around the barnyard (and did a horrible job but will do for now). While we were putting down the cow, half the herd was watching from the other side of the fence, including the bulls. Naturally, because they're idiots, they started fighting and I was amazed when one of them was suddenly airborne, taking out 4 strands of wire, bending a t-post & landing in the barnyard pasture. Fortunately he didn't get impaled by the post, we didn't have a 2-fer, & only suffered cuts from the wire but that was the icing on the cake. :bang:

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Thanks, Sky. The bulls are the worst about trying to grab from the bales on the speer - with the tractor in motion.

Just got back from fixing the fence around the barnyard (and did a horrible job but will do for now). While we were putting down the cow, half the herd was watching from the other side of the fence, including the bulls. Naturally, because they're idiots, they started fighting and I was amazed when one of them was suddenly airborne, taking out 4 strands of wire, bending a t-post & landing in the barnyard pasture. Fortunately he didn't get impaled by the post, we didn't have a 2-fer, & only suffered cuts from the wire but that was the icing on the cake. :bang:

Oh good grief! :?

 

[boondocks]

Newbie haying question: I've read about the dangers of snakes (poisonous ones) in hay bales. If you get an animal baled up (birds, rodents, small fawn or such) and don't realize it, can it hurt the cows? Would assume it could spoil a bale but what if it's just a bird, mouse etc? Toxic? Would they just eat around any bad parts?

Always the possibility of botulism.

Ken

Yikes! Hadn't thought about that. How would you know you'd baled one, if it was just, say, a small rodent? Could easily get in even a small square bale I would think...We have about a million field mice and voles etc per acre.

 

[wbvs58]

Newbie haying question: I've read about the dangers of snakes (poisonous ones) in hay bales. If you get an animal baled up (birds, rodents, small fawn or such) and don't realize it, can it hurt the cows? Would assume it could spoil a bale but what if it's just a bird, mouse etc? Toxic? Would they just eat around any bad parts?

Always the possibility of botulism.

Ken

Yikes! Hadn't thought about that. How would you know you'd baled one, if it was just, say, a small rodent? Could easily get in even a small square bale I would think...We have about a million field mice and voles etc per acre.

I lost a cow to botulism a couple of years ago, just found her dead. I suspect it was from a load of chicken litter I got, I initially put a fence around it but after I had put it out in another paddock I left the remnants unfenced and they grazed around the dreggs. There are often carcases in the litter, may be just remnants from several weeks previously and unrecognisable.

Ken

 

[TCRanch]

Newbie haying question: I've read about the dangers of snakes (poisonous ones) in hay bales. If you get an animal baled up (birds, rodents, small fawn or such) and don't realize it, can it hurt the cows? Would assume it could spoil a bale but what if it's just a bird, mouse etc? Toxic? Would they just eat around any bad parts?

Always the possibility of botulism.

Ken

Yikes! Hadn't thought about that. How would you know you'd baled one, if it was just, say, a small rodent? Could easily get in even a small square bale I would think...We have about a million field mice and voles etc per acre.

You generally don't know. I've discovered flat, dried up snakes and armadillo shells when I pull off the netting . Oops!

 

[M-5]

I ran over my dog several years ago . I spent a pile of money fixing him and He still doesn't hold a grudge although he still remembers when i crank the tractor . Things happen so quick sometimes.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I ran over my dog several years ago . I spent a pile of money fixing him and He still doesn't hold a grudge although he still remembers when i crank the tractor . Things happen so quick sometimes.

Dogs are smarter than cows and most people.

 

[Supa Dexta]

I can assure you one of these is also a bad way to inure a cow

http://www.pvdobson.com/wp-content/uplo ... ER-001.jpg

 

[TCRanch]

I can assure you one of these is also a bad way to inure a cow

http://www.pvdobson.com/wp-content/uplo ... ER-001.jpg

Uh oh. Speaking from experience?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

From what I have been told, more cows die from FROGS baled up - botulism.

Years ago, it was spring and knee deep mud everywhere. It was all I could do to get the tractor in & out to feed bales. One day I was backing away from the feeder and I saw an EAR sticking out of the mud. Man, it was the best heifer calf we had. Whether I had knocked it into the mud previously, or cows had bumped it. IDK, but was a hard one to swallow!
Sh$t happens.

 

[TCRanch]

From what I have been told, more cows die from FROGS baled up - botulism.

Years ago, it was spring and knee deep mud everywhere. It was all I could do to get the tractor in & out to feed bales. One day I was backing away from the feeder and I saw an EAR sticking out of the mud. Man, it was the best heifer calf we had. Whether I had knocked it into the mud previously, or cows had bumped it. IDK, but was a hard one to swallow!
Sh$t happens.

Thank you for sharing, Jeanne. Hate to say this but at least she wasn't one of my faves (that would require therapy; can't erase that image) but still a good cow, raised a nice calf, only 4 years old.

 

[boondocks]

[
Thank you for sharing, Jeanne. Hate to say this but at least she wasn't one of my faves (that would require therapy; can't erase that image) but still a good cow, raised a nice calf, only 4 years old.

You raise a good point about the image that gets burned in your mind. A car in front of me hit a cat years ago and I can still remember it; it went into a spasm so hard that it (and/or the impact) launched it into a surreal contortion a story or two high, just above my windshield. Horrifying. Can't imagine what survivors of war and other highly-visual traumas have to deal with.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Yeah, had a guy putting out fresh straw - cows get to jumping and playing in it and one runs side on into the slicer, didnt catch the spears, but the blade is razor sharp. There was no sewing her up, had to shoot it.

 

[TCRanch]

Yeah, had a guy putting out fresh straw - cows get to jumping and playing in it and one runs side on into the slicer, didnt catch the spears, but the blade is razor sharp. There was no sewing her up, had to shoot it.

Oh my gosh. That must have been horrible! We've scraped them with the spears before or they've run into them but nothing more than losing a little hide.