snowstorms and lightning

[plumber_greg]

Got 3" of snow Thursday night and a lot of lightning. Realizied I hadn't seen the bulls. Went looking for them, all dead. Called vet, can see where they dropped in their tracks in about a 20' circle in the open pasture. dammmmmm one of them was the really good Matrix bull I just got from Va. Tech. Bill called, they may pay some on the lose of use gaurantee. My insurance will pay up to 3k per animal, so I'll be ok, just hate to start over with the bull battery. Still have one, he was separate because I was selling him. Will try to post the pic I'm taking for insurance co. tommorrow. Dammmm gs

 

[redcowsrule33]

Wow, that sucks. I cringe every time we get hot lightning, scared to look in the morning. As long as the trouble stays in the pasture, I guess.

 

[Angus Cowman]

sorry to here that Greg

 

[VanC]

That's a shame, Greg. I imagine it'll be a pain scrambling to replace them before your breeding season. Hope that works out for you.

I've told this story before, but since I'm getting older and like to repeat myself, I'll tell it again. Way back when I was seventeen my aunt and uncle had 16 of their Holsteins killed by lightning. Since they only milked 44 that was a pretty good chunk of income gone in an instant. I was the one that found them and it was a pretty bizarre sight. They were insured, but only for about 1/4 of what it cost to replace them.

 

[KNERSIE]

My heart bleeds for you Gregg, that will sure put the cat amongst the pidgeons if it happens to me. And I jut loved that bull of yours too.

 

[plumber_greg]

Thanks guys. Here is a pic of dead bulls. At least I got a few weeks to look. May do some AIing to help if I get yearlings.

Here are some live cows with nothing to breed them, they just got done eating. I feed them about 2 lbs. commodity pellets

A couple of Matrix 4 year olds I bought this fall

Just another shot of some more

 

[alisonb]

That's just awful Greg, that is a huge loss.....

 

[3waycross]

Greg
That picture of your bulls is the saddest thing I have seen here in 3 years. I sure am sorry for your loss.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

yep thats a sickening picture, that bull was a good one.. sorry to hear it

 

[Kingfisher]

Dang........sorry about your bulls. So how does that happen? I mean did each one of them get struck or were they standing near one another and one big strike popped em all?

 

[alisonb]

Kingfisher, I'm no expert but will venture to guess that this was one strike that either hit one bull or the ground and due to ground current (snow/water) flowed through each animal killing them. 'Apparently' the current flows through either the front or back hooves, through the body (heart) and exits from the hooves again. I don't see any trees in the close proximity of the bulls but if there are, trees are excellent conductors of lightning to the ground. I suppose the large amount of water mass of the animals will play a big part too.
It will be interesting to hear other peoples take on this as well..........

 

[Kingfisher]

http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=428

 

[Angus Cowman]

Kingfisher, I'm no expert but will venture to guess that this was one strike that either hit one bull or the ground and due to ground current (snow/water) flowed through each animal killing them. 'Apparently' the current flows through either the front or back hooves, through the body (heart) and exits from the hooves again. I don't see any trees in the close proximity of the bulls but if there are, trees are excellent conductors of lightning to the ground. I suppose the large amount of water mass of the animals will play a big part too.
It will be interesting to hear other peoples take on this as well..........

pretty good guestimation

 

[3waycross]

Kingfisher, I'm no expert but will venture to guess that this was one strike that either hit one bull or the ground and due to ground current (snow/water) flowed through each animal killing them. 'Apparently' the current flows through either the front or back hooves, through the body (heart) and exits from the hooves again. I don't see any trees in the close proximity of the bulls but if there are, trees are excellent conductors of lightning to the ground. I suppose the large amount of water mass of the animals will play a big part too.
It will be interesting to hear other peoples take on this as well..........

pretty good guestimation

Most of hers are!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TexasBred]

Found this amazing

A stroke of lightning discharges up to several hundred million volts of electricity and produces a current up to several hundred thousand amperes. (Volts and amperes are measures of electricity.) In an average lightning stroke there are 30,000 amperes. By way of comparison, 240 volts and a current of 1 ampere flow through a 100-watt light bulb.

 

[plumber_greg]

TB, that's why volts never hurt anything unless it burned it with the spark. They just crackle and pop, while amperes do the hurt.
As a side note called the ins co this morn and the adjuster called me back. My son is a personal injury adjuster for GMAC, and he told me to ask for an expense account to find a bull. I knew if someone totals your car the ins will pay you for looking for another. After talking to the adjuster, I asked for expenses to look for a bull as I told her I couldn't go to WalMart and get another. She agreed and ask me what I do for a living.
I told her I was a plumbing contractor and my rate was 1k per day without equipment. She asked if one day's pay per bull would cover it. I told her I guess, while thinking YES. She allowed it. So I'm not gonna come out too bad on this financially. Still hate to lose my bulls. gs

 

[VanC]

Dang........sorry about your bulls. So how does that happen? I mean did each one of them get struck or were they standing near one another and one big strike popped em all?

In my uncle's case they were under a tree at the top of a hill. You could see where the lightning hit the tree.

 

[Kingfisher]

http://www.strikestarus.com/ For what it is worth. There are others available for free. I've seen em before when the " board" was pretty lit up! I don't know what you would do if you were in an area prone to this sort of weather.....

 

[bigbull338]

lighting can be deadly when it comes to cattle.thats a rough loss but the bulls can be replaced.we had lighting kill 4 milk cows under a tree years ago.