Shooting cows with birdshot

[BC]

I can think of NO reason (even the thick brush of South Texas) to have to shoot a cow. According to the last Beef Quality Assurance audit, steel shot in the meat was a problem in slaughter cows and bulls. It can tear up a grinder or if it gets past that a tooth in a consumer.

I have owned some problem cows in my life. Most were some of the best calf raisers I had (funny how that happens). You learn to be smarter than the cow to handle them. When you use her up or can no longer have the inclination to put up with her antics or attitude, the cow needs to change zipcodes and have a Big Mac attack. Just shooting and feeding the buzzards does not do much for the profit/loss statement.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

You folks haven't meet the right cow yet. She is out there. Have a neighbor use to run cattle across the creek from us his cows would come and tear our fence down. we would run them out of aur hay feilds half hour later they were back. At that time wasn't any phones where i live no cell phones neighbor lived about 50 miles away,agin he got the word to take care of the problem, i did n't have any hay left,12ga. shotgun #6 shot solved the problem.

 

[TexasBred]

Never known of anyone to shoot a cow or bull but do know some guys that use dogs to work them especially if they have to bring some brahman influence out of thick brush etc. See a lot of old cows with shredded ears. (They're not using border collies and healers but curr dogs and such that will work an old cow over).

 

[Ryder]

You folks haven't meet the right cow yet. She is out there. Have a neighbor use to run cattle across the creek from us his cows would come and tear our fence down. we would run them out of aur hay feilds half hour later they were back. At that time wasn't any phones where i live no cell phones neighbor lived about 50 miles away,agin he got the word to take care of the problem, i did n't have any hay left,12ga. shotgun #6 shot solved the problem.

I hear you. Sometimes neighbor is not far away, but can'r keep his cattle in.

Remember my mother getting a little upset about them coming in her yard and eating her flowers. Repeatedly.

Of course I would never use such drastic measures as some are suggesting. :roll:

 

[Brute 23]

Dog can tear a cow up more than shooting them. A dog has no problem jumping up and grabbing the nose or an ear. Some dogs can be pretty rough.

Ignorance is bliss I guess. Must be nice to never have to look outside your box. I would love to get yall out here on 5 or 6K acres with yalls little feed buckets, no hot shots, and see how many cattle yall get worked. :lol2:

 

[Brute 23]

I tell ya, some of the crap posted on here is almost laughable. Some of you tell beginners you never keep a cow you can't go around, then you tell them to carry a baseball bat, hot shot, etc., now a shotgun, 45, 30-06 and who knows what else for that problem cow. What happened to taking them to the auction and selling them for slaughter only and getting some hard earned bucks instead of feeding the vultures, which you hate so bad. I've never found a need to carry a bat, club, or whatever to work around cattle, but do use a whip, which is not used to beat them with, but to pop it in the air next to them, and I've never had one that did'nt move. But then the cows I keep are docile or I don't retain them as heifers. and, yeah, I scratch, pet, and talk to 'em as I walk amongst them. The only time I've ever shot one I used a syringe. But then I've always thought I was smarter than a cow, but lately I've been rethinking that as I work pretty hard feeding, bedding, seeing they have fresh water, etc., so maybe they are smarter than I give them credit for. After all they do give me a lot of crap,..which I have to haul off. Oh well, to each his own.

The ones they shoot with rat shot and stuff are not always problem cattle. They just like to stay hidden in the thick brush.

There are different things you got to do for different operations. There are no dead set rules to working cattle, you do what has to be done. Any one who makes rules that they thins always works is nieve.

Although there are alot of things to prevent it ever getting that far, it does get that far. Then what? Its too late to go back and say, dang, I should have sold that cow a long time ago. All you can do, is what has to be done... live and learn.

Brute there you go with all that reality talk again.
You know very well that is not included in he hobby farmers handbook.
:lol:

I know, I have a bad habbit of doing it. Now I probably got all the hobby farmers worked up and they will have nightmares tonight.

I heard they are going to start requiring socialization classes now to be a rancher. You will go and learn how to talk to your cattle, pick out good names, and just all around make them feel like your family. :roll:

 

[irked]

this is another issue that really irks me.

this isn't an issue of cruelty. objecting to this type of behavior doesn't make us bunny huggers or peta members. as cattlemen, we would all be up in arms if a processor adulterated our product with materials that the end user would find harmful or objectionable. rightly so, i might add. why do some of you try to rationalize behavior that allows you to do the same thing?

you can rest assured that when a child bites into a steel shot in his burger, that will influence mom to browse the retailer's chicken section almost exclusively in the future. in a rush to get home from work, she will stop in at chick filet instead of picking up burgers at micky d's. is that acceptable to you? it's not to me. the future is here now. it's time for us to separate ourselves from the poor management practices of the past.

 

[Brute 23]

For starters most of the time the BB doesn't even pierce the skin.

IF you shoot a cow today it wil not take long and the BB just rusts away and there is no trace. Like a fish hook in a fish.

If the child bites into steal shot in a hamburger we have other problems in the process.

There is a TON more lead in most people's water than in a cow some one shoots with bird shot.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Have agree with irked on some of it. Bit into a BB while eating roast goose. Still don't like it.
BUT I have seen some of those areas of Texas Brute is talking about and the number of acres to be covered to get the cattle in are extreme. Now you use what you need to get those cattle in.

 

[irked]

for starters, if the shot pierces the skin even 1 time, that's 1 time too many. also, if brutus likes the idea of something rusting away in his food, he can eat it. most consumers would prefer not to find a steel shot or a rusty spot in their food. it is often said that some people shouldn't have children. applying the same standard, some people shouldn't have cattle.

 

[CattleHand]

Dog can tear a cow up more than shooting them. A dog has no problem jumping up and grabbing the nose or an ear. Some dogs can be pretty rough.

Ignorance is bliss I guess. Must be nice to never have to look outside your box. I would love to get yall out here on 5 or 6K acres with yalls little feed buckets, no hot shots, and see how many cattle yall get worked. :lol2:

I agree to that completly. I think everyone can agree its not cruel to shoot them with a rat shot or use a hot shot but its not always the prefered way though sometimes necessary.

 

[irked]

i luv herfrds, we all have our harsh environments. there are other management practices available to us that allow us to deal with those environmental challenges responsibly. the key word here being: responsibly. it's time for us to separate ourselves from the poor management practices of the past.

 

[CattleHand]

i luv herfrds, we all have our harsh environments. there are other management practices available to us that allow us to deal with those environmental challenges responsibly. the key word here being: responsibly. it's time for us to separate ourselves from the poor management practices of the past.

whats wrong with giving one a sting with a rat shot? I've never done it but it sounds fine if the situation needed it.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

i luv herfrds, we all have our harsh environments. there are other management practices available to us that allow us to deal with those environmental challenges responsibly. the key word here being: responsibly. it's time for us to separate ourselves from the poor management practices of the past.

• >>>whats wrong with giving one a sting with a rat shot?<<<

I've never done it but it sounds fine if the situation needed it.

i got a gut feeling you fixin to find out :lol:

 

[Brute 23]

The consumer has been eating meat like that since they were born, so did their parents, parents, parents, ect. WHy stop now? The media has talked them into fear and away from common sense... that is why. People are smart as individuals and dumb when they group up...

YOu are exactly right CattleHand.

Here is an example, they have no choice. This is what Iluvherfords was talking about.
One ranch down here is 150,000 ac. The have single pastures that are 25,000 ac. with maybe a road through it. It takes a choppers and lots of cowboys to get the cattle out to work. That incudes using rat shot and dogs and they still don't get every thing. We are talking double deckers lined up down the road to load up their calf crop.

They would not be near as effective with out it.

i luv herfrds, we all have our harsh environments. there are other management practices available to us that allow us to deal with those environmental challenges responsibly. the key word here being: responsibly. it's time for us to separate ourselves from the poor management practices of the past.

Just wondering irked... how would you manage 150,000 acres with these new magagement practices avaailable to us? :|

 

[CattleHand]

i luv herfrds, we all have our harsh environments. there are other management practices available to us that allow us to deal with those environmental challenges responsibly. the key word here being: responsibly. it's time for us to separate ourselves from the poor management practices of the past.

• >>>whats wrong with giving one a sting with a rat shot?<<<

I've never done it but it sounds fine if the situation needed it.

i got a gut feeling you fixin to find out :lol:

I'd never have to : ) not that much brush where Iv ebeen . But i wouldnt run to get Peta if i saw some one doing it

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

If you got a small herd of cattle it is alot simpler to have cattle with out issues. I have some friends who have a fairly large operation they might have a few cows without ear and horns but not many. If you get in their pasture you will have cows come to you and they are not wanting you to pet them. You can talk nice to them all day they are coming to get you. What you gonna do with them.

 

[gerardplauche]

anyone ever had to drop a cow/bull that got out the fence?

 

[Brute 23]

Its amazing the watch the guys who are good at it. They knock them down, run a rope throught the trailer and up they go. Some of the guys have winches mounted on the front of the trailer and when they knock'em down they put a strap on the horns or kneck and up they go in the trailer.

I am usually the driver... :lol:

 

[Ryder]

Have agree with irked on some of it. Bit into a BB while eating roast goose. Still don't like it.
BUT I have seen some of those areas of Texas Brute is talking about and the number of acres to be covered to get the cattle in are extreme. Now you use what you need to get those cattle in.

Looks like they could halter break those birds and lead them in to slaugter.
I have eaten squirrel more than once with shot in them. Not the best way to eat, but not that bad either.

I would try to figure out how to herd squirrels in without shooting them. But I have been busy trying to figure out how to exterminate all the snakes in the world. That is my main goal.