Yearling Bull on the Run

[fellersbarnoneranch]

has anyone ever had to deal with some one this impossible?

:lol: Oh, yeah! Around here it's all over dogs. Maybe that grump of a neighbor of yours oughta chip in for a hot wire???

 

[jw]

Another possibile way - if you have a two section trailer you could put a cow in heat in the front section and the bull will find her. And if you are around, just close the back door of the trailer.

I pretty much just skimmed the other replys - so if this has been offered - I apologize.

 

[LM Farm]

All of your stories are wonderful. My better half and I will be out this weekend trying to track the bull down. It is still raining, the roads are still overrun by the creeks and river but this weekend the temp is supposed to drop from the current 60 to freezing levels. This should firm up the mud enought to get through. I have no current sightings but attribute that to hunting season being over and the road to the last location being unaccessible. I will definitely keep you all up to date on this.

 

[Medic24]

Well Roger, sounds like you have had your hands full. We all have neighbors that arent really neighbors, as i am the only farm in an area that is fast becoming a resort and second home community, I can relate.
My take on that is........we were here first, by at least a hundred years and thats that. They want to own property in the country, but still retain that city attitude.

A few years ago, my cattle kept getting out onto a neighbor, and hit his front yard with heavy damage, I would fix the fence over and over at the very same place and each time it was torn apart when I came back. Finally I put some remote electric to it, and sure enough, a crew from the electric company came to complain about it. All this time they had been taking down this fence for weeks to clear right of way for their lines, and never said anything or even attempted to repair the fence. I held my breath and bit my tongue for as long as I could. Should have asked for the cost of the flowers and shrubs I replaced for my neighbor several times over!

 

[TheBullLady]

This is a sore subject for me as well, but for the opposite reason! We've had countless cows /bulls get in on us from the neighbors, and it's amazing to me how we always get the same response.."call me when you get her penned".. or "I'm really busy right now, can I call you back". Of course it's then months before I ever hear back. Every stray we had I've had to pen and HAUL back to the owner. If I hadn't, they would still be there. And they are always crazier than heck, and manage to stir up my cows.

I understand that occassionally cows get out.. but you have to realize that it gets frustrating for the other person if they feel that you're not doing enough to keep them in. I'm sure you're doing everything in your power, but he's not there all the time, and doesn't know how much time you're spending. So when he gets to the property and sees the cow or cows still there, he's probably assuming you haven't done anything.

As hard as it is, you really need to try and cooperate with your neighbors as much as you can. It is so much easier to get along that way, and you won't have to constantly worry about something happening.

We accidentally left the front gate open a couple of years ago, and the whole herd went across the street, through a corn field and into a coastal field with round bales stored there. The did the standard leaving ruts, etc, and my bull had fun rolling a couple of round bales, but we got them off right away. (With a feed bucket.. they'll follow me anywhere) We immediately called the property owner (who doesn't live there) and told him what happened, and told him to come out and look at the damage and let us know what we could do.. either pay him or fix it. He called back a few days later and said not to worry about it. Now this guy is a *$#&#^, and it was hard to make that call, but by going to him, hat in hand, and offering whatever we could, it really defused a possible volitale situation.

 

[Rustler9]

As soon as I found out that the heifers had gotten out I went and fixed the fence that the deer had torn down by jumping over and through it. I made a mistake and left this one out. It all started when a nice neighbor called me and told me that I had one or two heifers that had been getting out. I think they had benn out maybe twice but would come back in. The property that they got out on is total woods. It is so heavily wooded that you can barely get around in it. So, I thought that I had remedied the problem. The a**hole called the lady that I leased the land from and told her that half of my herd was running on him. This is not true and if it was I would admit it and I would still rush to take care of the problem. I don't want other people's animals running on me either but I do understand that sometimes cattle do get out.

Anyway, we got the heifer yesterday by shooting her with a tranquilizer. So this story is over I hope.

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

Had my own 'cows on the run' experience the last couple of days. I traded 3 Galloway cows for three Black Angus cows which got delivered Monday night. Checked Tuesday night and they were gone so I slogged out through the knee deep snow for about a mile and finally found them out in the adjacent pasture. By this time it was 11:00 pm and my legs were giving out so I figured they probably find their way back when they got hungry. Checked Wednesday night after another six inches of snow and a bit of wind which made the snow waist deep in spots. I couldn't find them or any trace of them as the snow had blown over the trail overnight. So I looked until I couldn't walk any more and gave up and phoned a neighbor with a snowmobile. Over night I got thinking about it and figured maybe they would be in the bush closest to the hay feeder maybe just on the wrong side of the fence. So at 7:15 AM around first light, I launched myself out in the snow again. No sign of them. The neighbor showed up about 8:15 with his snowmobile. By that time time my legs were starting to give out and he finally picked up the trail in a sheltered spot on the next paddock after they had jumped the fence. So I walked another half mile tracking them to the corner of the property where we saw a bit of black hair on the top strand of the barbed wire. This concerned me a bit as about half a mile in that direction is a big piece of government land that is really thick bush and inaccessible by snowmobile. Finally found the cows about a mile and a half down the road allowance and over north on the next mile road right tight to the government land so I walked about 3/4 mile back trying to keep them out of the bush. Finally got them home a little after 10:00 this morning. The people at work are telling me all this exercise is starting to show on me. That's no good. I need that extra fat to keep the cold out up here. :lol: The last time I got a cow in winter I tracked her for eight miles on foot. From now on I'm buying my cows in the summer. If they are going to get out and run away at least i won't have to track them through the snow.

 

[Bez]

Back to the top for this one - any progress on the escapee?

Bez

 

[Angus Cattle Shower]

again. No sign of them. The neighbor showed up about 8:15 with his snowmobile. By that time time my legs were starting to give out and he finally picked up the trail in a sheltered spot on the next paddock after they had jumped the fence. So I walked another half mile tracking them to the corner of the property where we saw a bit of black hair on the top strand of the barbed wire. This concerned me a bit as about half a mile in that direction is a big piece of government land that is really thick bush and inaccessible by snowmobile. Finally found the cows about a mile and a half down the road allowance and over north on the next mile road right tight to the government land so I walked about 3/4 mile back trying to keep them out of the bush. Finally got them home a little after 10:00 this morning. The people at work are telling me all this exercise is starting to show on me. That's no good. I need that extra fat to keep the cold out up here. Laughing The last time I got a cow in winter I tracked her for eight miles on foot. From now on I'm buying my cows in the summer. If they are going to get out and run away at least i won't have to track them through the snow.

See? Snowmobiles are great for even work!

 

[detn8r]

I am the other half of LM Farms. The answer is No we haven't caught the runaway. My wife was able to get within about 20 yards of it this weekend and He does look good. The good thing is he is staying in a wooded area away from any improved roads and other farms with cattle. I am currently deployed (in the US) with the military and will not get to give it a good try for another week or so. We have taken the advice of using range blocks to keep him in the area and for a Highland, there is plenty of their favorite forage in his adopted area so my next attempt will be with tranquilizers follwed closely by my trusty .303 British that never lets anything walk away from it. Luckily, I grew up proccessing our own livestock the only problem will be time to do it. Thank all of you for your comments, wisdom and encouragement. We will keep you posted.

 

[TLCfromARK]

Had my own 'cows on the run' experience the last couple of days. I traded 3 Galloway cows for three Black Angus cows which got delivered Monday night. Checked Tuesday night and they were gone

Cattle R.R. one question. Did you put the new cows in a corral / pen / barn or were they in a pasture? Anytime we buy new stock or even move stock from one place to another we always try to pin them for a few days and give them a few cubes. We feel that gives them a chance to get used to the new sights/smells of where they're at and time to figure out that this isn't such a bad place, just different.

;-)

 

[detn8r]

Well, This weekend I am going hunting! I have ordered the gun and darts since there is no one in the area willing to help, that actually has the equipment. This has really put my wife into a funk because the bull is really a good looking animal and she knows that he will either wind up on the table or with someone else that will probably put him on their table. If I am able to recapture him I will give it a go on keeping him but if he cannot be tamed he is gone. I am afraid that he has been native for too long and will not be managable. I am very open to suggestions about taming him and keeping him. He will be put into a very small and tall enclosure for quite a while and handled often. I have been around Highland cattle and know that this bull was not imprinted at an early age. This, if nothing else, has driven the point home with my wife of the importance of handling the calves as early as possible. Again, any suggestions will be taken seriously and thank you for restoring my wifes faith in the farming community. She knows now that there is at least one place to turn for advice where the people know what they are talking about.

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

Give him some company but be sure the "buddy" can fend for itself (won't get beat or beat out of food) If you have a REALLY gentle cow--she might calm him for you. Funny you should mention imprinting cattle. We imprint our colts, but not all the calves (sometimes I wonder if I want a bull in my pocket) As somewhat of an experiment--I imprinted the heifer we had last week thanks to the kind and gentle nature of her willing new mother--now I will leave her alone and see what comes of it.

 

[detn8r]

I understand the concern about having a bull in your pocket! The farm we purchased the yearling from actually had some of their orginal stock that they had bought from other farms that had imprinted and gentle. One was the 1500 lb father to the yearling. I was standing close to the feeding trough and was not paying attention when daddy showed up. I was really surprised when I looked over my right shoulder and was stairing at a combined length of 5' of horns and a big shaggy head of black curls. He let me rub him while he was eating and moved me along the trough when he needed to get at more grain. Another of the cows was so tame that my Daughter almost put her to sleep by scratching her head. We plan on getting only well mannered cattle from here on, the yearling was a chance purchase(good opportunity :shock: :lol: ) and will be the only young stock that we pick up for a while. Thank You.

 

[dun]

He will be put into a very small and tall enclosure for quite a while and handled often.

I would insure that it is also very strong/sturdy but is easy for you to escape from.

dun

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

Cattle R.R. one question. Did you put the new cows in a corral / pen / barn or were they in a pasture? Anytime we buy new stock or even move stock from one place to another we always try to pin them for a few days and give them a few cubes. We feel that gives them a chance to get used to the new sights/smells of where they're at and time to figure out that this isn't such a bad place, just different.

When the fence around the yard is closed, it is fairly solid and a cow would have to have alot of self confidence to try and challenge it. It is both reasonably high and hot. My mistake was that I had forgotten to close off the yard fence when the cows came in in the fall. My cows don't wander away because all the food and water is up in the yard. Also, the snow is pretty deep and they usually try to stay where the snow has been trampled or cleared.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

detn8r, good luck on your mission. Let us know how it goes.

 

[detn8r]

Well, after long says and nights and every weekend being totally occupied with the capture of the runaway bull, we finally caught him last Sunday night!!!!! I want to thank everyone one their advice and for those that may have a runaway, SHOOT IT!!!! Looking back though, I am satified that we did not. He is absolutely good looking for a yearling Highland bull. If, and I mean,IF we can somehow calm and handle him to where he is no longer a liability of escaping then we may change his name back to Ogre from the current name MEAT. He is currently living in a round horse coral and not really loving life. My wife is able to walk up to him and somewhat handle him now and I am really hoping that he will settle down when he gets in with other cattle. I do reccomend the purchase of a tranquilzer gun and consultation of GOOD Large Animal Vet. to get the proper drug cocktail and dosage.
Again, Thank all of you for your thoughts!!

 

[1848]

Look at the bright side. He only jumped the one fence, then he was satisfied! He never left the confines of that fence...right? Maybe with some good nutrition and handling (spoiling) you can make a pet out of him yet?... Try a round bale to give him something to play with. Fix the fence on that side where he can't challenge it, and as soon as he is old enough, have his semen collected so you can use him in your cows, and sell the bull for profit!

 

[shorty]

It's good to hear that you got him back , Good Luck