Is it a Shorthorn thing?

[Nesikep]

I was wondering if it's a Shorthorn thing to dig holes in the fields... Seems as all the shorthorn cows spend half the day digging 3 foot deep craters in my fields.. And the Gelbvieh cows never do.. you can see it on their faces.

I wish I had a shock collar or rubber slugs for the 12ga... it makes me fuming mad.. it's quite a hazard to have these holes.

 

[Muddy]

No, it's not a shorthorn thing. I can bet your gelbvieh are doing same thing while you ain't there. Did you have your loose minerals out?

 

[Rafter S]

I've had bulls dig holes in the ground when they're pawing at each other across a fence, but never cows. Maybe it's a Canadian thing?

 

[Nesikep]

Nope, it's only the shorthorns that do it.. not a single Gelbvieh cow has a dirty face. It's the shorthorns that always have to fight too.. The GV cows fight if there's a new one in the herd, but once it's settled it seems pretty final

Yes, I do have loose mineral out

 

[Aaron]

Used to have some cows that did that, in manure packs and soft ground, but not for many years. Maybe you need to throw out a soccer ball into the field to divert their attention? Bored cows cause problems - either they break something or try to commit suicide.

 

[Nesikep]

I have some street sweeper brushes I want to set up into a rubbing post to get all the angles... but I have to think of a way to make it portable yet it'll stay in one place while it gets used and beaten on.

 

[turning grass into beef]

Maybe your shorthorn cows are more intelligent than your gelbvieh cows. If they are not engaged they become bored. I suggest spending more time with them in intellectually stimulating conversation. ;-) ;-) :lol2:

 

[TB521]

I use to have a Balancer bull that dug a hole in one field and every time he was in there he would rub his head and neck in it and throw dirt up on his back and the cow's would do the same thing

 

[dun]

I've had bulls dig holes in the ground when they're pawing at each other across a fence, but never cows. Maybe it's a Canadian thing?

Nope, not just a Canadian thing either. We've had a couple of cows that did/do it. You can tell which ones because their heads are covered with mud. They did the hole then waller their heads around in it. I figured they were just putting on their makeup. I see commercials/ads for natural minerl makeups. Thought maybe the cows were just ahead of time.

 

[Nesikep]

Them cows have gotta stop watching those TV ads for Cover Girl (er, heifer?)

Yeah, they're bored.. they don't have calves to take care of yet.. and even when they do they gotta keep fighting.

 

[Son of Butch]

I would have guessed that they maybe had lice on their face causing them to rub like that.
But boredom could be the reason.

 

[Backbone Ranch]

We have several holes created from the grazier's cattle when we leased the grazing back in 2010. We have several cows, including a Guernsey, that likes to rub their head against the hole. It seems like most of the herd, cows, bulls, and calves enjoy rubbing their faces against the bank of the creek that cuts through our property. We have not had any issues with our herd creating new holes; they just use the old ones and rub up against the river bank. I think that they do it for entertainment, to itch themselves, and our bulls often like to bellow while they rub up against the river bank. I am not sure why our bulls bellow when they do it though.

 

[Nesikep]

It makes them feel strong..
Cows should be content enough chewing their cud.. perhaps the GV cows are busy with that while the SH's are bored. I can take a picture of the bunch.. every shorthorn has a dirty face.. every GV is clean.

 

[Sansimco.Santa gs]

Hi.
My Gelbvieh cow does this alot, not to the point of holes being in the ground, but enough that I have to regress that patch. I put it down to 'baby brain ' because she has only done it since she got in calf.

Sansimco Santa Gertrudis

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Do the flies bother the shorthorns,worse then the gelbveih?

 

[Nesikep]

I haven't noticed.. they do it when there's no flies around.. seems to be a boredom/aggression thing here
I penned up a bunch of the older offenders in the corral, they dug down darned close to 2 feet in ground you can't drive a post

 

[Sansimco.Santa gs]

Do the flies bother the shorthorns,worse then the gelbveih?

I've not had a major problem with flies. But when I take my Gelbvieh to shows I ALWAYS have fly spray handy.

Sansimco Santa Gertrudis

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Thought about this reading a artical the other day about cattle sunburn, the dirt is a natural sunblock for them.....

 

[Nesikep]

That makes sense.. Most of my cows are dark skinned anyhow and don't get burnt though

 

[tamarack]

Mine usually do it because of flys or skeeters.