Kids playing with the calf?

[MikeJoel]

Know in bull calfs you shouldn't pet around the head and such.

Was wondering what the thought were on heifer calves?

Also the calf likes to play with them by if they run away from it she will run after them then they turn and chase it. Is this ok or is it more likely to make a cow that will be more aggressive?

Remember this is a dairy calf and on a small family farm so the cow and this calf are the only two here.

Thank you
Mike

 

[milkmaid]

Wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Susie David]

Wouldn't worry...until...the calf gets bigger and still wants to play with the kids, like playing with another calf. Head butting and running into their playmates. Kids need to know that this is an animal, not a playmate.
Never trust a cow...teach the kids early how to handle them, halter break the calf and show the kids how to lead and manage the animal....don't forget, it grows expotentially faster than the kids do. Fun to watch them play with a pet cow...not so fun to see a kid get trampled.
Sorry to sound like the profit of doom...good luck.
And that's my two bits worth.
DMc

 

[redfornow]

Wouldn't worry...until...the calf gets bigger and still wants to play with the kids, like playing with another calf. Head butting and running into their playmates. Kids need to know that this is an animal, not a playmate.
Never trust a cow...teach the kids early how to handle them, halter break the calf and show the kids how to lead and manage the animal....don't forget, it grows expotentially faster than the kids do. Fun to watch them play with a pet cow...not so fun to see a kid get trampled.
Sorry to sound like the profit of doom...good luck.
And that's my two bits worth.
DMc

You dont sound like "the profit of doom"
You sould like a Grandpa, I chuckle about the stuff my parents let me get away with, that they would NEVER let their grandbabies do.

MD

 

[Lammie]

I agree. I have had to get onto my son several times for running with the calves and letting them run after him. Of course, they will follow you like you are Moses if you are headed toward the barn, but I snack them on the snoot if the nuzzle me from behind. I have been knocked down once, resulting in a week's bedrest. (I was not supposed to be out there to begin with, long story) I know that it wouldn't take much to get knocked down and stepped on. When they are little, it is fun, but it isn't a good habit to get into. They do grow up and I think that we have more capacity to be responsible for our behavior than they do for theirs.

 

[AngusLimoX]

Know in bull calfs you shouldn't pet around the head and such.

Thank you
Mike

I guess as long as it was very closely supervised and no way momma cow was involved ( you never ever know when a momma is gonna decide something is a threat to her calf ).

I just can't see much good in it, and the potential to teach both the kids and the cattle some bad habits.

Not being a spoiled sport, just hate to see something happen to your kids, and it will happen fast if it does.

Instead I'd wait for your kids to be old enough to get involved in 4-H or activities where experienced folks can teach them how to act around cattle.

 

[Bullbuyer]

I'd stop it before it gets somebody hurt. Just think - in a few months this calf is going to be 300-400 # and the child will be roughly the same size and the same playmate (in the calf's eyes).
I had a Herf bull shove me through a wooden fence when I was about 12. He was a bottle baby we had bought from a friend - haven't liked hand raised ones since.

 

[Tod Dague]

I let my oldest, who is 4, go into the heifer pen. She has been tough how to act around the cattle since she was walking. She knows what she is allowed to do and most importantly what the heifers are not allowed to do. She has inherited her mothers remarkable ability to handle cattle. We also cull excitable cattle. She is not allowed to mess with the calves that are not weaned yet or the grown cattle.

 

[MikeJoel]

Thanks all.
I usually try to be in the pen when the kids are around (by the way, their not my kids, their my sister's. Im just an uncle :lol: ).
The cow is sometimes aggressive (trying to butt) the little ones. Ive told them not to go in that pen without one of their older brother or sisters, or me. Pretty much the cow is (or at least as far as I can control) off limits for the kids unless an adult is there that knows how to handle her. Ive told all the older kids how to tell when the cow is getting upset and what to do if she starts to act up.

She doesnt really try to mess with me since she knows it will get her a knock. Really she is a pretty good cow, just like all large animals not very good with little kids. Maybe as the calf gets bigger and we start taking her off her mom she'll get a little better with them.

Thanks all,
Mike

 

[dun]

Accident waiting to happen!

 

[Jovid]

Accident waiting to happen!

Only a matter of time.

Cows and calves are not like cats and kittens

 

[aplusmnt]

Thanks all.
I usually try to be in the pen when the kids are around (by the way, their not my kids, their my sister's. Im just an uncle :lol: ).
The cow is sometimes aggressive (trying to butt) the little ones. Ive told them not to go in that pen without one of their older brother or sisters, or me. Pretty much the cow is (or at least as far as I can control) off limits for the kids unless an adult is there that knows how to handle her. Ive told all the older kids how to tell when the cow is getting upset and what to do if she starts to act up.

She doesnt really try to mess with me since she knows it will get her a knock. Really she is a pretty good cow, just like all large animals not very good with little kids. Maybe as the calf gets bigger and we start taking her off her mom she'll get a little better with them.

Thanks all,
Mike

The kids are getting in the pen with the cow and calf? To quote a Great Man, Accident waiting to happen!

Don't see anything wrong with kids being around the calves through a good fence. Good experiance for kids to see and be around animals. But I would not let them in a pen with a cow and new baby to many things to go wrong. Some of our cows are show heifers that the kids showed but still we give the animal the respect that we should when they calve.

 

[randiliana]

Accident waiting to happen!

AGREED, IMO, the kids, especially younger (10-12 and under) or inexperienced kids should not be playing with or handling cows OR calves unsupervised. They just don't know what to watch for even if you have told them a million times. They also have a tendancy to "forget" what the rules are when there is no adult around.

 

[KMacGinley]

Wait till the calves are 600+ those kids will get a rude awakening and so will you.

 

[Calman]

Only thing I can say is "Please don't let the kids play with the cow or calf, by being in the pen with them"!
I am for one that don't want to be reading here about one of your kids getting hurt or maby worse.
You never know what a cow may be thinking. And the cows weight verses your kids weight you know which will be on the winning side.
A small dog will bite, a cat will scratch, but a big cow well I think you can guess what could happen.
It only takes a second for something dreadfull to happen.

Cal

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Small children and cattle/horses (etc.) don't mix!

Think of a 4 legged critter as:

4 Wheel Drive
Turbocharged
On Steroids
On adrenalin rush
Faster than a speeding bullet
Highly protective

Thus, even a 75-100# "baby" calf can inflict very serious damage to a person if he/she gets on the wrong end of a head or hoof...

Running, poking, hollering, yelling, screaming, unsupervised kids are "predators" waiting to be "attacked" by a bovine...

 

[Anonymous]

I always just let my younguns find out the hard way...i'd give em a warning...then when they got headbutted into the fence...they realized to obey my warnings

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

I can only repeat what has been said,even a 1 day old calf can hurt a child.

 

[msscamp]

Accident waiting to happen!

Couldn't agree more! IMHO you are placing too much responsibility on the older brothers and sisters - how do you think they are going to feel if something happens that they cannot control and their younger sibling(s) gets hurt?

 

[Beefy]

trial and error worked for me. having said that, i dont know how i'm still alive.