Interesting reaction to dead heifer

[inyati13]

I pulled Miley to the back of the farm with the tractor. I investigated every avenue I could to find "dead animal pick up". There is none in these parts. I had no choice but to dispose of the heifer myself.

What was strange: The reaction of the cows. Note the bull. He was bellowing mournfully. It was not his usual challenge. Is was mournful, drawn out cry and very sad. They lost one of their own and they were not happy about it.

 

[branguscowgirl]

That is very sad! I have seen my cattle react that way also. So sorry for your loss Ron........

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

You couldn't get a backhoe and bury her?

We're fortunate in Gallatin County in that they have a dead livestock removal service. We lost a perfectly healthy cow 2 winters ago when she suddenly dropped dead overnight one night (MIL believes she choked on nylon hay twine) and the bull tried to fight the guys who came in the pasture to remove the carcass. They say he went wild bellowing, pawing, and charging them and that particular bull was very docile under normal conditions.

I believe they know what death is all about.

 

[Bigfoot]

When I'm catching mine, I often day dream of shooting the wildest one, and dragging her in the working pen.

We have dead livestock removal, but they are slow slow slow about coming. The buzzards would have it half eaten before they came.

 

[fitz]

You couldn't get a backhoe and bury her?

We're fortunate in Gallatin County in that they have a dead livestock removal service. We lost a perfectly healthy cow 2 winters ago when she suddenly dropped dead overnight one night (MIL believes she choked on nylon hay twine) and the bull tried to fight the guys who came in the pasture to remove the carcass. They say he went wild bellowing, pawing, and charging them and that particular bull was very docile under normal conditions.

I believe they know what death is all about.

They'll do that. My experience has been bulls reacting the worse. I had a very docile bull charging the tractor as I was removing a dead cow from the barnyard once.
Goodness forbid, I hate to see it happen to anyone. If I lose a newborn calf I'll put it on a fourwheeler and far up on the mountain. A cow, I take it to the county landfill and pay by the weight. I don't like to give the coyotes any taste of cow meat.

fitz

 

[Aaron]

It's "the law" to bury or render them here. Can count the number we have actually buried. We put a couple of bales on the ground, cover it with a bunch of deadfall and dump the animal in the middle. Fire it up and usually left with very few bones. If it gets hot enough, might be left with a few shards of bone.

 

[wbvs58]

Ron, it's off the subject a bit but I'll tell the story anyway.
Years ago where I was working we had a local lion park that would come and pick up all the deaduns. I had to go out to see a horse that was down and fitting, it had tetanus. I told the owners that it needed to be euthanased pretty fast and that I could do it with barbiturate but they could not send it to the lion park, they agreed and I did the job. It took a lot of Lethabarb to do the job and nothing seemed to be happenining until I realised that massive muscle contraction around the neck was not letting the drug flow through so we rolled it over and the drug flowed through with a rush and it was soon resting peacefully. Unfortunately it was near a road. The owners organised a backhoe to come and bury it but he could not get there until late in the day.
Later that day the owners came around to see me and asked if the horse could have got up and walked away as it was gone. They were only renting the paddock and thought that maybe the owner dragged it away up the back somewhere away from the road.
A few days later a nearby vet that did work for the lion park rang to ask if I had euthanased any horses lately as they had a couple of lions that were asleep and they could not wake them up. Apparently someone driving past had rung the lion park and they had quickly removed the body and it was subsequently fed to the lions without checking on the cause of death. Unfortunately two lions died from the horse and a few others woke up after a very long sleep. It did have a lot of Lethabarb in it.
Ken

 

[Lucky_P]

Ron,
I'm not about to report you, and I'll readily admit that I've drug my share of 'em off to the far end of the farm, but it's not an approved method of disposal - and could even get you a fine. You sure don't won't to get cross-ways of the clean water folks...
Here are the current KY deadstock disposal guidelines:
https://www.kyfb.com/media/files/fed/le ... 0Alert.pdf

Loss of availability of rendering - largely over scientifically-unfounded hysteria over BSE('mad cow disease') has really impacted livestock producers in many areas. Had a significant impact on our operations at the diagnostic laboratories, as well - while we have an incinerator, its vastly less expensive to stockpile carcasses & barrels of offal in the coolers for 2-3 weeks, then load everything in a construction-type dumpster and have it hauled to a permitted landfill.

 

[inyati13]

Ron,
I'm not about to report you, and I'll readily admit that I've drug my share of 'em off to the far end of the farm, but it's not an approved method of disposal - and could even get you a fine. You sure don't won't to get cross-ways of the clean water folks...
Here are the current KY deadstock disposal guidelines:
https://www.kyfb.com/media/files/fed/le ... 0Alert.pdf

Loss of availability of rendering - largely over scientifically-unfounded hysteria over BSE('mad cow disease') has really impacted livestock producers in many areas. Had a significant impact on our operations at the diagnostic laboratories, as well - while we have an incinerator, its vastly less expensive to stockpile carcasses & barrels of offal in the coolers for 2-3 weeks, then load everything in a construction-type dumpster and have it hauled to a permitted landfill.

Thank you. To the best of my knowledge the carcass was disposed of in accordance with local, state and federal requirements.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Hey Ron, why not do it like Aaron does? Now that you have received some rain, your ground should be good for a few days. Take a few bales and place them around or even on top and set them on fire. I know, responding to bale fires as a firefighter, those suckers get HOT HOT HOT! Glenn and I were just talking about it tonight, that it would be a good option to get rid of a dead animal if needed.
Just pondering...

 

[Workinonit Farm]

In my area, deadstock used to be hauled away by Valley Proteins, but since BSE, they no longer haul cows. Not "allowed" to bury them on your property either. Our local landfill won't take them. "Legally" they can be composted. We have buried them.

The bull we had here, at the time I had to put down my last horse, reacted very badly to the whole affair. I finally got my old buddy buried and I used the loader to shove a huge rock/small boulder on the 'grave' as a marker. That bull and that horse were pals. The evening of the burial, that bull moaned and hollored and shoved that rock off the grave and pawed at the fresh dirt. It was very sad.

I am convinced that animals are well aware of what death is.

 

[Ozhorse]

I am sure they know what death is, and they grieve.
I think when a dead animal is dragged they think it might be alive and being attacked as it is not moving in a normal way, so the other animals try to defend it.

The Gub'mnt, in it's infinite wisdom, wont allow us to have fires without permit most of the year here. Also wont allow the burning of big piles of timber incase it has cockroaches in it that might be "native" (or lizards or other insects). Also not supposed to bury near streams. Fortunately we can leave them rotting here, though I am sure one day they will try to make laws about that. If we also could not render, (we cant take to tip). Well, who knows, the gubbas just think the problem disappears.

The number of riduiculous laws, makes a mockery of the reasonable ones.

Really it becomes what one can get away with and if the neighbours will dob you in.

 

[tom4018]

When I'm catching mine, I often day dream of shooting the wildest one, and dragging her in the working pen.

We have dead livestock removal, but they are slow slow slow about coming. The buzzards would have it half eaten before they came.

Who is doing livestock removal in your area? Last one we lost I had to bury.

 

[tom4018]

Ron,
I'm not about to report you, and I'll readily admit that I've drug my share of 'em off to the far end of the farm, but it's not an approved method of disposal - and could even get you a fine. You sure don't won't to get cross-ways of the clean water folks...
Here are the current KY deadstock disposal guidelines:
https://www.kyfb.com/media/files/fed/le ... 0Alert.pdf

Loss of availability of rendering - largely over scientifically-unfounded hysteria over BSE('mad cow disease') has really impacted livestock producers in many areas. Had a significant impact on our operations at the diagnostic laboratories, as well - while we have an incinerator, its vastly less expensive to stockpile carcasses & barrels of offal in the coolers for 2-3 weeks, then load everything in a construction-type dumpster and have it hauled to a permitted landfill.

Lucky, I wish some one would come out with a list of landfills that accept dead livestock. Buried the last cow we lost but sometimes that would be a hassle depending on the time of year, plus it can be hard to get a backhoe in a short amount of time.

 

[inyati13]

Ron,
I'm not about to report you, and I'll readily admit that I've drug my share of 'em off to the far end of the farm, but it's not an approved method of disposal - and could even get you a fine. You sure don't won't to get cross-ways of the clean water folks...
Here are the current KY deadstock disposal guidelines:
https://www.kyfb.com/media/files/fed/le ... 0Alert.pdf

Loss of availability of rendering - largely over scientifically-unfounded hysteria over BSE('mad cow disease') has really impacted livestock producers in many areas. Had a significant impact on our operations at the diagnostic laboratories, as well - while we have an incinerator, its vastly less expensive to stockpile carcasses & barrels of offal in the coolers for 2-3 weeks, then load everything in a construction-type dumpster and have it hauled to a permitted landfill.

Lucky, I wish some one would come out with a list of landfills that accept dead livestock. Buried the last cow we lost but sometimes that would be a hassle depending on the time of year, plus it can be hard to get a backhoe in a short amount of time.

Tom, you are correct. Robertson County (farm location) is one of the poorest counties in KY. I live in Mason which has a "Dead Animal Pick Up Service". I don't want to get my neighbors in trouble but they lose more stock than I do and I know what they do. I called our UK Extension Agent and was basically told, "Good Luck". I would not attempt to bury a cow this size. It has to be four feet below the surface. Incineration is the best procedure out where I am located. I know of two backhoes in the county and they are owned by contractors who have them employed in construction. The heifer died Saturday. It should have been disposed of within 48 hours. Not going to say but by the time I found out I had little choice, she was bloated and bringing in the neighbors dogs.

 

[bmoore87]

You can cover them in a manure pile and it will decompose all but the largest bones.

 

[tom4018]

Ron what happened to the heifer anyway? Might have missed a another post on it.

 

[inyati13]

Ron what happened to the heifer anyway? Might have missed a another post on it.

I hate to think on it again. Here is the thread:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=93377

 

[inyati13]

You can cover them in a manure pile and it will decompose all but the largest bones.

I did not see that as an option in the regulations Lucky posted.

 

[Bigfoot]

When I'm catching mine, I often day dream of shooting the wildest one, and dragging her in the working pen.

We have dead livestock removal, but they are slow slow slow about coming. The buzzards would have it half eaten before they came.

Who is doing livestock removal in your area? Last one we lost I had to bury.

The county contracts it to someone. Very small fee associated with calling them. The animal ends up at the landfill. It's not to bad in the winter. He's so slow, you just about can't fool with him in the summer.