ot: Cows

JRSutton · Dec 8, 2015

A friend of mine just bought two new calves on Sunday. To make a long story short - they got through the fence and took off into the woods five minutes after he put them in the pen.

We've been searching for them ever since.

Based on reported sightings, they've separated. We've been tracking one pretty consistently.

We keep getting reports of sightings - try to get there quickly, but we keep missing. We had him cornered in a pasture at one point, but he slipped past us and back into the woods (there were three of us, and he's REAL skittish - we only within 50 feet of him)

We just had another close call tonight - missed him again. But we keep getting reports as he moves.

I'm just surprised at how far he goes at night.

Three hours after our last attempt - he made it to the center of town, over a mile away through thick woods. I'm not surprised about his speed, but just that he'd actually go that far in the dark.

I figured he'd stop and sleep.

Frustrating!

JRSutton · Dec 8, 2015

Doesn't help that it's deer season, and there are a LOT of hunters in these woods. None of use really want to risk getting shot chasing him through the woods.

Andy Martin · Dec 8, 2015

Are they still in town? Hope they don't go to a hamburger joint.

Overnight in a corral they usually think they're home. Too bad your friend didn't have a better fence. Those are just little guys. Are they breeding steers?

LAA · Dec 8, 2015

He should go to other cows, those calves most likely were not weaned and when they find Mama cows in a pasture they will hang around. If there are no cows close by they will go to water.

37chief · Dec 8, 2015

Those animals can travel a long ways when they want to. When my daughters were in 4H, one of their friends steer got out, and was gone for a month, before it was caught. Stan

JimS · Dec 8, 2015

The one looks like a Highland.

brutus49DC · Dec 8, 2015

How in the world could you possibly have a breeding steer? Do you know how a bull becomes a steer?

Pair-a-dice farm · Dec 8, 2015

(quoted from post at 23:26:51 12/08/15) Are they still in town? Hope they don't go to a hamburger joint.

Overnight in a corral they usually think they're home. Too bad your friend didn't have a better fence. Those are just little guys. Are they breeding steers?

I've been around cattle all my life...what the heck are breeding steers?

JD Seller · Dec 8, 2015

I feel for your friend. He has a mess on his hands. The calves don't know where "home" is after only a few hours there. So every where is strange to them. Also I would bet that they where trailer weaned. So they are under a lot of stress right now. That makes handling them even harder.

Two things will help if you can find them. 1) A pair of good cattle dogs can control them better than any number of humans. 2) A good cutting horse and an experienced rider can also handle them.

People on foot or ATVs will not work very well.

The best hope is that they get in with some local cattle. If you find them and the cattle owner agrees, let them stay there for a few days and try to work them into a pen. If you get them loaded make sure your friend does not put them out on pasture right away. Any fence less than newer woven wire will not hold a spooked smaller calf. They can run through or under most common fences. He would be better to pen them up for few weeks and get them used to him and the area.

Andy Martin · Dec 8, 2015

(quoted from post at 20:50:09 12/08/15)

(quoted from post at 23:26:51 12/08/15) Are they still in town? Hope they don't go to a hamburger joint.

Overnight in a corral they usually think they're home. Too bad your friend didn't have a better fence. Those are just little guys. Are they breeding steers?

Click to expand...

I've been around cattle all my life...what the heck are breeding steers?

I thought perhaps the owner had bought steers with the thought of breeding them if he didn't have a lot of experience with cattle, he didn't have a suitable pen to keep them in. Maybe I was being too harsh. I have steered a lot of young bulls the right way.

coshoo · Dec 8, 2015

Breeding steers? Reminds me of a family story- dad had a dairy, and his city sister was visiting. After milking and breakfast, dad announced that he was going to look at a milking shorthorn bull. Sis got a concerned look on her face and said, "Ray, how can that be?"

Bruce from Can. · Dec 9, 2015

Cattle only need about 4 hours sleep in 24 hours. And they don't tend to take all 4 hours in one nap. So they can really travel a long ways in a short time if they have a mind to. In normal life situations they spend a lot of their waking hours chewing their cud.

Tx Jim · Dec 9, 2015

(quoted from post at 22:26:51 12/08/15)

Are they breeding steers?

I've been around &/or owned cattle all my life but I've never seen a breeding steer. Please explain what a breeding steer is?

Tx Jim · Dec 9, 2015

JRSutton
Ditto on getting the stray cattle in with a herd of local cattle then pen all of them together or you might get someone with a tranquilizer gun to tranquilize them.

JRSutton · Dec 9, 2015

They're both highland crosses - I think highland/short horn and highland/hereford.

His other cows were on a different pasture - far away. He had hoped to mix them, but had to put these to at his house for the night. He let one out - it was find, doing what they do - poking around.

He brought the other one out (haltered), and as he was coming out of the trailer - the first one found a wire on the fence that had sagged enough to make him think he could get over it. He jump kicked - threw a fit but got over it/zapped by it.

When the cow in hand saw that, he spazzed out and followed.

They're weaned, they're both about 7 months old, and a good 600 pounds each. So when he took off, my friend eventually lost his grip and the rest is history.

So they definitely don't think of his place as home.

Today's another day - maybe we'll have better luck in the light. In the dark - forget it. The guy we're tracking right now is the same color as all the leaves on the ground. He's hard enough to see in the day time.

Traditional Farmer · Dec 9, 2015

Hope he didn't pay much for them,pretty ugly pair.When bringing in new calves you have to have a pen with a very strong and tall fence to keep them in until they settle down.

Lazy WP · Dec 9, 2015

I have a fast horse, 2 GOOD cow dogs and a LONG rope!!! I do travel too.....

LAA · Dec 9, 2015

I hope your friend did not pay by the pound for those hair balls taking some ones word that they weighed 600 pounds because they won't weigh 350.

rd 2N in mo · Dec 9, 2015

kind of like a wing man, he helps the bull by keeping the less desired cows busy while the bull goes in for the deed on the main attraction.

rrlund · Dec 9, 2015

About 40 years ago a neighbor's brother talked him in to letting somebody drop off 70 weaned western Charolais calves in his barn. The next morning they opened the gate and let them out on a two strand electric fence. They were all gone in about 60 seconds. They got fewer than 50 back. They were in the woods and swamps around here for weeks before they finally managed to shoot the last one.

Then a month or so ago,a guy right around the corner from there called on a rainy Saturday afternoon and asked if I had a longhorn cow and calf and if they were missing. He said one just ran behind his house. It wasn't mine and I couldn't for the life of me think who it might belong to. I don't think it was 20 minutes when the guy right across the road from him drove in and told me if I had an extra cow and calf show up,they were his. I asked him if it was a longhorn? He said yes,it was,he had just gotten it the day before and it was gone,calf and all. I told him Mike's boy had just called and said he saw it.
I guess they were loose in the swamps for a few weeks before they finally got them back in.

DairyFarmerInMA · Dec 9, 2015

I was involved briefly with a similar situation like that. Long story short, the last two beefers ended up around our place after having been out all summer. We were concerned about them going through our fences and getting in with our cows. I helped the guy get the last two. He managed to dart them and we got them on his trailer.
Just a thought and I know it'll sound "out there" to people from more rural areas. If you can get that close (50') get someone involved get'em darted restrained and loaded on a trailer to keep them from causing a car accident etc.
The ones up here got out in the road and caused issues one or more got hit on the RR tracks just a mess.

JRSutton · Dec 9, 2015

I'm not sure how old that picture is, if it's recent it's very deceiving (he got the cows from a friend, so a good chance it's an old picture).

I chased that shorthorn myself, he's much bigger than he looks there.

My guess was 700 when I first saw him in person. But he told me 600.

JRSutton · Dec 9, 2015

we're trying to work with the local animal control officer to do just that.

Again, being deer season really complicates this. None of us really want to be searching the woods right now. Around here, we're limited on wooded land - which means a high density of hunters, all very anxious to get the small handful of deer in there.

We want to save the cows obviously, but there's a limit.

For every ten conscientious hunters, there's one yahoo that'll shoot at a twig snap.

If we can't get him safely by Sunday, that'll be the big push with a lot of volunteers.

DairyFarmerInMA · Dec 9, 2015

Right on! SAFELY is the key!
BLAZE ORANGE is important this time of year.
I can understand your frustration, Good luck!

Andy Martin · Dec 9, 2015

(quoted from post at 04:16:01 12/09/15)

(quoted from post at 22:26:51 12/08/15)

Are they breeding steers?

Click to expand...

I've been around &/or owned cattle all my life but I've never seen a breeding steer. Please explain what a breeding steer is?

It's like radiator bearings, something those that don't know won't think anything is wrong. I was making a joke about him not having the experience to have the right facilities to keep a calf in. Later post indicates they were trying to keep them in with electric fencing. I would never do that to any animal that was new to the farm.

ot: Cows

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads