Overly Extroverted Bull

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Moooooo

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This is a little weird.

A tenant has cattle on my farm, and I also live there. One of the cattle is an Angus bull.

A while back, while I was standing at a fence that separated me from the cattle, the bull wandered over slowly and presented his forehead. This was a new experience to me. I used to hang around on my grandfather's farm as a kid, and his cattle never had much interest in socializing, except when someone showed up with corn. Some were mean, and while his bulls never bothered anyone, one had killed another bull, and nobody thought of them as animals you would want to get near.

Anyway, I was amazed that this bull was so forward, so I rubbed his forehead to see if that was what he wanted, and he was fine with it. I wondered if the tenant had made friends with him or something.

Ordinarily, I would never make any effort to touch the cattle.

Today, I was walking around in the pasture. I was taking pictures, and I think I got too near the bull. He approached me. I had no idea what was going on. He got really close. So close I put a hand on his forehead again. I was thinking I might have to fire a shot to run him off. He snorted, which didn't sound like a good thing, and I hollered at him and told him to get back.

I do not want to be friends with the cattle because I'm not totally stupid, but I wonder if anyone here has any idea what this animal is telling me and what I should do. What will discourage him from approaching? Maybe an air horn?

I don't want to be mashed, and I definitely don't want him to get the idea that I'm interested in romance.

They also love to swarm the tractor when I go out to move things. Not sure what that's about. Maybe they used to see bales arrive that way.
 
#1 don't rub his head ; scratch him behind his ears or go to his side and scratch or rub his back or better yet his sides and belly . If you don't want any contact just slowly walk away . Evidently he's been petted before . Rubbing his head may make him toss his head up or to the side and he might become aggressive.
 
I develop a few bulls and I make a point of not becoming friendly with any of them and petting them. I try to avoid any head on confrontation with them, if I am driving them it is from the side or rear. They know me and are quite but I avoid that head on confrontation. When a push comes to a shove guess who is going to win.

Ken
 
For starters, ask the tenant about the bull... what he is used to. Might be he was used to getting rubbed before and you look like someone who would rub him too.
Yep, never from the front... it is a dominance thing... and their "pushing things/people around" point.
Have had several I have been able to rub some from the side, behind the ears, one was a real sweetheart and you could talk him into getting on the trailer just by saying "Bubba, let's go for a ride"... and he knew he was going to visit some girls...
Still, they are bulls....you want respect for your space. And you need to respect their space.... I think you got too close to what he considered his space and the snort was a warning to you.... it is up to you to be more aware of where he is... he is in HIS pasture.... where he belongs... with his girls... give him a wide berth so he does not want to be friendly with you and does not see you as a threat to "his herd"...
 
I don't know why he came over to the fence the first time. Seemed very friendly on that occasion.

I guess I can pick up an air horn.

It sounds like fun to tame cattle and treat them like pets, but if they're too used to you, they will crowd around you and prevent you from doing anything.
 
Cattle are curious animals. When they spot you in their pasture/space, the cattle will investigate. I have multiple pastures and I would guess you do as well. Walk around and take pictures in one of the empty pastures. Close a gate or something to keep cattle out when you are using the tractor. Remember to open it when you are done. That bull is no joke and has no interest in romance with you. Like your grandfather's cattle, you need to stay away from them. I'd consider your previous run-ins a warning. Shooting, hollering, hitting, horns, etc will turn the bull mean and aggressive. It will not stop an attack on you.
 
You will likely have to establish your boundaries with him. If you are not comfortable doing that then it might be best to discuss it with the lessee.

We are checking/ feeding some cows for people right cows while they are away on vacation. The cows are flat out spoiled because they feed a lot of feed from a sack and won't establish boundaries. First thing I did was grab a sack and a stick and start swatting them on the nose. They have already backed off. It doesn't take much to create change other than consistency.
 
Moooooo said:
It sounds like fun to tame cattle and treat them like pets, but if they're too used to you, they will crowd around you and prevent you from doing anything.
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Those cattle are not tame and are not pets. Just because those cattle are not bat-s*** crazy like some other cattle, doesn't make them pets.
 
When I was a kid I used to raise a few bummer lambs on the bottle. I learned that they would butt my hand if I held it up toward their head and I'd do it for fun. One day a family visited after church, and my parents took them up to the stable to show them around. The little girl, maybe five, was standing in a beautiful white dress close to the fence and looking out over the pasture... and I saw one of the lambs coming up behind her. I could tell from his body language that he was going to butt her. I shouted and the adults heard me, but they were too far away to understand what I was saying. The little girl ended up in the manure. She was fine but she took a good hit by surprise and the parents were not happy.

I quit tempting the lambs to butt my hand after that and they never did it on their own. You don't want to teach any large animal to be playful.
 
My first advice would be to not pet the bull on his head ever, probably no where's else either. If I were going to be in the field I'd carry a stick and tap him if he gets too close. I would try to limit my interactions with the bull as much as possible.
You could ask the owner of bull about his temperament, but I'd still be very cautious around him
They are big and faster than you'd think things can escalate real fast whether they are playing or serious with a lot the same result.
 
An air horn might startle him at first, but it might make him mad and then you would be worse off.
I tend to feel along the lines of several others, @moses388 included. ... go into pastures where they are not grazing and/or stay far away from them while you are in the pastures.
If the person is leasing from you, they are the controlling entity, and you need to respect the space of the animals they have in the leased pasture unless there are stipulations. Every place we lease the owners will tell us if they want to do something with a tractor or piece of equipment... including any bush hogging.... and we tell all of them if there is a bull in there and that they need to not be in there around the cattle so there are no unintentional encounters with the bull or a cow in heat. If you leased out a house to someone, you would not just go in and out of the house when you wanted.....this is basically the same idea. The cattle are in the pasture, it is "their home" for the duration.... they are going to come investigate what you are doing.
 
farmerjan said:
An air horn might startle him at first, but it might make him mad and then you would be worse off.
I tend to feel along the lines of several others, @moses388 included. ... go into pastures where they are not grazing and/or stay far away from them while you are in the pastures.
If the person is leasing from you, they are the controlling entity, and you need to respect the space of the animals they have in the leased pasture unless there are stipulations. Every place we lease the owners will tell us if they want to do something with a tractor or piece of equipment... including any bush hogging.... and we tell all of them if there is a bull in there and that they need to not be in there around the cattle so there are no unintentional encounters with the bull or a cow in heat. If you leased out a house to someone, you would not just go in and out of the house when you wanted.....this is basically the same idea. The cattle are in the pasture, it is "their home" for the duration.... they are going to come investigate what you are doing.
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That is not the norm when you lease out you land for grazing. Leases will specifically say lessee may not prevent land owners, their agents, or other operations on the property. A land owner would have to specifically write in those rights which would be out of the norm. It's more common for them to specifically state the grazing lease does not include them.

Both legally, and from a common sense stand point, if you have an aggressive animal the land owner wants gone, get it gone. If you are lucky, they will as you to remove it. Worse case is they shoot it dead on the spot. If you balk any bit you can bet tour lease won't be renewed.

When I was gauging I went in to a property amd saw a Char bull standing in the owners yard. I had to drive near the house to get to the wells. I knew them pretty good so I dove up there and took a pic and sent it to them. They were out of town so I ran the bull out and tied the gate back up. That bull had been tearing stuff up all over according the property owner. He called the lessee and asked them to remove the bull and not bring it back. They did, but a month later, brought it back. He tore up the exact same yard gate. First part of next year he got the boot. He tried to tell the owner it was a different bull but he looked at the pic I texted and said it was the same bull. I confirmed.
 
farmerjan said:
An air horn might startle him at first, but it might make him mad and then you would be worse off.
I tend to feel along the lines of several others, @moses388 included. ... go into pastures where they are not grazing and/or stay far away from them while you are in the pastures.
If the person is leasing from you, they are the controlling entity, and you need to respect the space of the animals they have in the leased pasture unless there are stipulations. Every place we lease the owners will tell us if they want to do something with a tractor or piece of equipment... including any bush hogging.... and we tell all of them if there is a bull in there and that they need to not be in there around the cattle so there are no unintentional encounters with the bull or a cow in heat. If you leased out a house to someone, you would not just go in and out of the house when you wanted.....this is basically the same idea. The cattle are in the pasture, it is "their home" for the duration.... they are going to come investigate what you are doing.
Click to expand...
I even text the oil well pumpers when I move the bulls, just so they're aware. Super docile, but there's always a little testosterone overload when they're moved to a different pasture.

@Moooooo, my bulls, cows, and most of the calves are docile and hand-feeders and most of them love a good scratch. But I would not allow anyone else to even be around them unless I was there to closely monitor their behavior. And I give a lot of ranch tours - with strict supervision. The (specifically) bull in question may be a really docile, chill, guy. But I would NEVER interact with a bull - or any cattle - that I'm not familiar with. And his snorting, after you touched his head and in "his" pasture, suggests he's not happy with your presence. I would suggest, if you need to be in the area you're currently leasing, to always be in or near a vehicle (UTV, tractor, truck, whatever), always have your cell phone and have an escape route. Seriously. What happens when these cows that don't know you start calving? If you are not intimately involved with this herd, an angry mama can be worse than a bull.
 
My husband leased the Texas ranch after the forest fire of 2011 burned up 55 square miles. He had to sell his Beefmaster herd because the pastures and hay burnt up and there was nothing to feed them. The next rain and the grass grew back. As I recall, the lease stipulated they had to pay for half materials and do work on half of the fence repairs. They did but sent out some guys who did not do a great job. Whatever. They had 4 different angus bulls. I used them to breed my Jersey for 3 years. Anyway, the fence was the only stipulation. We could go and do wherever and whatever we wanted. Of course we were not newbies that did not know how to handle cattle. In general, cattle do not like people they do not know. There fight or flight distance is shortened.
 
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Our leases all say that the landowner has the right to access their property... and we have no say so over it.... UNLESS it affects the grazing conditions... like the one that just has to bush hog to make it look nice and then cuts it too short all the time...
But, all the leases we have, they will tell us if they are going to do something as a courtesy, and so that we are aware of any upset to the cattle... and we do NOT put mean bulls, or aggressive bulls, or bulls that won't stay put, out on lease places.... and we have moved one out on occasion, that decides he won't stay with "his cows"... Have one guy that runs heifers in the pasture next to part of one place, so we make sure our bull (and his cows), is NOT in the pasture with the adjoining fence... we rotate our animals to another section and then when he moves his heifers, we can move our cows and bull back into that section. But, we do not lease any that the owner just goes in and does what he wants without at least some forewarning. And we make sure that any and all owners are aware that a bull is in with the cows so they can be cautious.....and to not just go wandering through the cows without being well aware of where they are and where the bull is. One place they have a fair amount of "city company" at different times and they are made well aware of the fact that you just don't go wandering around taking pictures or looking at the trees and not pay attention to where the animals are. JUST COMMON SENSE to be aware of your surroundings and the animals in that pasture...
All of our leases are signed by both parties and most every year they are revised and gone over with the owners. If someone is not being cautious in and around the animals then it is not the fault of the animals.

The bull @Moooooo referred to had come to the fence and allowed his head to be rubbed... then taking pictures in the pasture and "think I got too near the bull"... again, that is not the fault of the bull..... the bull snorted and it is being treated like an aggressive move...
If the cattle "swarm the tractor while moving things" then they need to be penned out of the area that the tractor work is being done. Yes, many cattle associate a tractor or a truck with getting fed... we LIKE our animals to come when they hear a vehicle, so we don't have to go looking for them....and yeah, they are a pain when they put their noses against the glass and try to take things off the back of the truck sometimes too....
 
TCRanch said:
I even text the oil well pumpers when I move the bulls, just so they're aware. Super docile, but there's always a little testosterone overload when they're moved to a different pasture.

@Moooooo, my bulls, cows, and most of the calves are docile and hand-feeders and most of them love a good scratch. But I would not allow anyone else to even be around them unless I was there to closely monitor their behavior. And I give a lot of ranch tours - with strict supervision. The (specifically) bull in question may be a really docile, chill, guy. But I would NEVER interact with a bull - or any cattle - that I'm not familiar with. And his snorting, after you touched his head and in "his" pasture, suggests he's not happy with your presence. I would suggest, if you need to be in the area you're currently leasing, to always be in or near a vehicle (UTV, tractor, truck, whatever), always have your cell phone and have an escape route. Seriously. What happens when these cows that don't know you start calving? If you are not intimately involved with this herd, an angry mama can be worse than a bull.
Click to expand...
X100
 
You only have the rights explicitly given to you in writing, in the lease. Even then, if penalties for breach of the lease terms are not explicitly written in, it's very hard to even sue back for damages, assuming you had the money to sue, and the losses even justified that.

I go back to, you can ask land owners to do things, you can try to explain things, you can make leases to show what was agreed on for reference, but it is near impossible to force a land owner not to do some thing on their property that they want to do.

... and no lease, a vague lease, or not saying you can't do some thing is to the lessors' benefit, not the lessees'.

The land owner will always win in the end. You can either choose to work with them or leave.
 

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