The cows are out !

For anyone who ever had cattle, this is the one you always fear.

So I came home from work at 0530 in the morning and ran the bobcat out to dump silage into the feeder pen like I always do. This time though, there were 5 sets of eyes looking back at me on the wrong side of the electric fence.

Any time I had ever had this happen to me or other people, I never had them wait for me to take the fence down, walk right back in and the rest of the herd just stood there and watched!
I guess this is the best thing I could have ever asked for. They even waited for me to find where the wire was grounded!

I am sure someone can tell a story to add to this one.....

They probably found out that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence! Nothing brings the cows home faster than meal time either.

Never had any type of animal get out without at least a little excitement in getting them back in. We currently have a boar who is very experienced in getting out, about once every week and a half. He never gets really excited, is always very tame, but is never in a big rush to go back in. If he were a sow, he'd already be in the freeze.

Christopher

Our county fair ended last weekend, two weeks earlier neighbors kid 4-H cows were out. Called his father left a voice mail and rounded up the cows and ran them back into the barn. The kids were home but didn't answer the phone when we called the house. The father gets the voice mail and call home to ask what was going on with the cows, the kids go to the barn and tell the father everything is O.K. couldn't figure out how the cows got back in. The next week we put the cows back in a couple more times, didn't bother calling anyone the rest of the tmes, didn't want to confuse the kids anymore than we did.

My cattle only go for a stroll on Holidays...mainly memorial day and 4th of July.
Story 1-Memorial Day
I worked all day on Dad's farm and headed home that evening. Got a call at 8:30 from Dad. Cops stopped in,the cattle are out and in a yard at the neighboring development. We went out to the pasture. Cattle had 6" tall grass to eat but they decided to push through a fence to eat some sort of wild vine. All 14 steers went up the creek and into someones back yard. By the time we found them it was gettting dark and half the neighborhood was there. They were all in a retention basin in a back yard. THe problem was that they didnt want to go down the steep grade of the retention basin. They went up it in the light, but wouldnt go down in the dark. Finally got them down it, ran them down the creek and through a gate.
Story #2
4th of July weekend. Eating breakfast at the resteraunt. Mom calls me at 6:30 AM. When family calls at that hour either the cattle are out, someone is sick/dieing or disaster struck. The calves are out. I went to the pasture and couldnt find any out, and I thought all of them were accounted for. I finally figured out what happened. A tree that had fallen over a month ago was over the fence, but not on it. Over night the tree had settled down onto the fence. Pushing it down enough for 3 calves to hop over. They went down over the hill and were eating the neighbors yard.
Story #3
Friday night, Mom calls. She is out to Dinner and the police call her cell phone. How they got her number no one knows. Cattle are out. I fly to the farm. 12 steers broke the box wire fence, cross the road and are in a yard. 2 cops are standing there like they have no idea what to do. They look relieved to see me. I have them close the street and I run the steers down the street and through the gate. I have a 1400 pound steer that likes to scratch his horn stubs on everything. He scratched on the old brittle box wire. Tore holes right in it. Then they just walked though.
Needless to say, I just spend $3.5K on new fence, and I am in the process of putting up 4k feet of fence myself. Cattle out is too much stress and the worst part of owning cattle...

Had cattle for almost 50 years; for part of that time they were in 8 separate places......scattered over the Southern half of the county. Many times the phone would ring at 2:30 A.M. and it would be the sheriff's dispatcher asking, "You got any cattle on (whatever) road/highway?" Usually they weren't mine, but couldn't take a chance; have to get up and go check. Once had a half Angus/half Holstein bull which I had bought to put a little 'stretch' and milk in the replacement heifers. He was a bit of a rogue and SWMBO stills tells about watching (from the safety of the truck) me trying to get him back in the pasture; I'd chase him a while and he'd chase me a while.

Never had animals of my own, but grandparents and my Dad were at my cousins funeral, my Mom and sister and I stayed at Grandpas farm to keep tabs on his cows and horses. Did not have a problem with his stock, but the neighbors goat comes wondering over. Neighbors were not home, but Grandpas horse trailer is out side-how hard can it be? Took at least an hour to get that one goat into that trailer-I still don't like goats! Greg

A neighbor raises whitetailed deer. They got out once and got mixed up with some wild ones. Several guys rounded all of them up and pushed them toward the gate; wild ones bolted and ran off, his calmly walked back into their pen.

pig got out yesterday maybe hes at 200 lbs, they sure get some muscle on them for sitting in the mud and eating all day. he had a great ole time enjoying his freedom.

My worst spell of cows getting out turned out to be caused by a neighbors dog who got a thrill out of chasing them.
The best help chasing them back in is a good Border Collie who knows which side of the fence they belong on. Now that's entertainment!

I am sure disappointed in your cows. Don't they know they are suppose to wait until time for church or high school graduation or the grand daughter's ballarina recitial to get out?

Kansas cows always did!

Not out(this time) just on wrong side of loading pen fence. Have a wild large bull calf I've been trying to catch for some time for a one way ride. Got him in the pen and after some manuevering around, which included me tripping and falling while running outside the pen, the fact that I'm age 70 had nothing to do with it, he wound up jumping over and mashing down a homemade gate in the pen. I rebuilt part of the loading chute. 1 1/2 by 6 white oak boards fastened to eastern red cedar posts with lag bolts. Today finished making and installing a replacement gate which is over 6 feet high and covered solid with metal so they can't see through it and maybe not think of trying it out.
Now all I have to do is get him in the pen again which may be the first problem. Have been feeding them in the pen and have the above mentioned gate which is in a bend in the chute open so they will get used to going in and out that way. The subject of designing and building loading pens deserves a thread of it's own sometime.

KEH

Yeah, there was a little more to it. My 4-wheeler is really fast and paid for itself running to get grain to trick them. They were within 25 feet of hundreds of acres of corn though......

They did better than that. I had been SSOOOOO looking forward to getting to bed-sick for a week before this and could hardly see I was so tired. They must have thought to make me appreciate when they behave!

The ones on the roads are the big risk for liability and getting someone hurt/killed. We live on a pretty major road and have only had cows on the road once in the 100 years our farm has been there.

It is aggravating at times but from when I was in the Navy I know better than to ever give it up. I miss it too much even the -20 degrees in the winter or chipping silage off the silo walls.

I am just thankful that no one got hurt and none of them got too far or hurt either. I would rather lose them all than have one car accident because of them!

A few years ago we were having a bad streak. One night they got out and were in our oats (over our waists) and the cops came to our door- at around 11:00 at night.

I was still living at home so they came and got me, so it was my parents, myself, and the 2 cops (one county, one city) to get them in. There was a heavy dew, and by the time we were done my boots were soaked completely, my pants were stuck to me they were so wet, and I had my phone in my pocket and that went dead because that got a little wet too. I don't think any made it to the road that time, but they were dam close.

Knock on wood, they haven't made it out yet this year. They'll probably wait until the end of October when I'll be moving into a house we're buying.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Shame on you Greg, you need to give them another chance. Goats can be very friendly and when it comes time to catch them, just grab a feed bucket and they will follow.
Several years ago I bought a doe and her two kids.

Whenever I had the chance, I would put a lead rope on them and bring them to the front yard for some attention. My son snapped this picture of the young doeling giving me a little kiss!

That little girl has given me several kids of her own to sell since then.
Her brother (wearing the red collar in the first picture) I decided to keep as a breeder buck and I'm glad I did. I've sent him out for stud service several times now so he pays his way. I also have another doe that he lives with here that he keeps pregnant most of the time. Pictures below are of what he looks like today.

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The advantage I've found with goats versus cattle, they usually drop 2 at a time and they can kid twice per year. Not to mention they make great lawnmowers.

my sow got out the other week she is about 600# and with a can of feed she went back with no problem all I had to do was shake the can and she came running.

The Worst part of Raising cattle is getting them back where they belong when they get out , Got a few Stories here ,, best one comes to mind at Louisville Stock Yards , Happen in on watching 6 O clock Louisville news at local gas station... B-I-Ls truck is on there. His driver unloaded steers . Yard man must a went on Strike and left side gate Open ,,Anyway Steers All rushed down Alley , kicked a gate , which then opened right into street that unloads Goose necks ,Steers Spooked and Reversed ,, Right Out onto Frankfort Avenue,,. about 25 or so Just as B-I-L was pulling in with his Load on 2nd truck ,,, He and serveral Cops Cornered About 10 steers in a pocket of 3 homes were there was a carport and a double sliding glass door .., excited CITY Cops wouldn't listen to B-I-L, they SPOOKED the steers who ran thru one glass door ,, jumped on and over the poor ladies couch , ran around the room scared to death from all her screaming , the cops screaming , Then Ran Thru the other sliding Glass Door , , AND OF COURSE back out on FrankFort ave. (Some Ended up nearly at the University of Louisville Campus) about that time B-I-l figured out the Steers were from His Haul ,,. He told Me He was Ready to find a Man Hole Cover and Climb Down in it .... Lucky For him ,, the Yards Were Found negligent and responsible for proper restitution ,,and he and his helper were cleared of any Wrong doing ,,, But he had to get an Attorney to Help protect himself ...

When my brother had cattle, he would have trouble with motorcycle riders cutting fences. Also trouble with baloon people landing in his pasture. and leaving the gates open when leaving. Even horse riders carried wire cutters. He has had several of his animals hit by cars. One time some of his cattle got out and entered a palm tree nesury, and ate about 20,000 worth of young palm trees. So the owner said. I think by the next year the plants came back. He had insurance, I guess they paid. He sold all his cattle about 7 years ago. Now the area if filled with hundred of houses. Stan

My cousin had a 70's muscle car. We stripped all the chrome off of it for a repaint, door handles and all. We sent it off to the body shop for the paint. There was a huge fire there, they couldn't get in it because of the missing handles, so they put a floor jack under it and muscled it outside. They got it repainted. We brought it home and put it all back together that evening. My cousin took it down the road on a high-speed run, came over a rise, and hit a bull that had escaped the pen. We towed the car back to the body shop. Boy were they surprised to see it back there already!

Years ago My Uncle had just gotten back from his first tour in Viet Nam. While driving down a back road he happened on some cows in the road so he pulled over and was attempting to get them out of the road and back in the gate some one had left open. Next car to come along swerves to miss cows and hits him. Almost killed him.
Ron

The folks went away for the weekend in about 1960, left me (12 years old) and the hired man "in charge" of the dairy. About 1 in the morning, answer a knock on the door, a State Trooper about 6 1/2 feet tall- our heifers got out, and were on Interstate 5 (freeway between Portland and Seattle). Troopers had them corraled, after a fashion, along side the freeway.

We couldn't get the '46 IH truck going, so we ended up hauling them home, 2 at a time, in the back of the hired man's '46 Hudson business coupe. About 4 trips, I think. I stood in the back with them, and space was confined enough that they behaved themselves pretty well. Except they sorta forgot their potty training. No problem, just hosed it out the next morning.

Turned out hunters had cut the fence so they could have "off street" parking. We had "No Trespassing" signs on every other post by the next night.

I had a couple of heifers get out this morning due to a grounded out fence. Didn't take much to get them back in, though.

Out of the 16 UH 17 now I have one young heifer who gets out in the yard every morning. I call her my lawn mower does a great job never leaves the back yard and the barn and goes back in about noon. I would fix the fence but then I would have to mow the lawn.
Walt

My gess would be as the situation gos on it wont be long you will be back to 16,,,,,lol

Many many years ago I farmed in west Texas and
lived on the farm in this old house. My wife
woke me up in the middle of the night and told me
"the house is shaking' When I finally got awake
I could feel the house shake pretty hard. I grabbed the old pistol and sneaked outside. About
10 or 12 head of the neighbors cows had gotten out
and came down to our house. The old house had real
rough stucco on the outside and about half of them
were leaning against the house scratching themselves. I laughed and went back in and called
the neighbor and he came and got his cows.