Greenbeast
Member
- Location
- East Sussex
Cows are driving me mental and I've only got 3 of the buggers 
Dealing with depression - suicidal thoughts - Join the conversation (including helpline details)
- Thread starter Andyrob
- Start date
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Cows are driving me mental and I've only got 3 of the buggers
In order of magnitude of things that drive me mental: (highest first)
cows
sheep
pigs
chickens
oilseed rape
sugar beet
barley
wheat
which is why there isn't as much stock about as there used to be.
I think the bigger and more expensive (and more sentient) the animal, the more stress it causes us.
A poorly cow can turn into a big loss, has that heart wrenching way of looking sad and upset and if it dies is a big chunk of money.
Whereas if the wheat is suffering a bit from lack of rain or a disease, the pain isn't so "in your face" and the financial loss isn't generally so large or absolute.
Crops don't demand immediate attention at any hour, don't escape, fight back, knock you over, kick out or have the raft of welfare requirements and associated busy bodies.
Livestock has done more at me than any amount of arable, mostly, when I think about it, because they are sentient emotional beings.
I don't know what the answer is.
But you wouldn't be a good stockman if you didn't care and worry about them.
Christoph1945
Member
- Location
- Widnes West Cheshire
Good morning Doc,
an interesting post, that set me thinking and wondering if you have always been a farmer and where would you place people within that list? As an outsider looking in, I suppose that a good stockman has to be somewhat clinical and a little distant from the animals temporarily in his care; a bit like doctors and nurses.
Chris
an interesting post, that set me thinking and wondering if you have always been a farmer and where would you place people within that list? As an outsider looking in, I suppose that a good stockman has to be somewhat clinical and a little distant from the animals temporarily in his care; a bit like doctors and nurses.
Chris
Christoph1945
Member
- Location
- Widnes West Cheshire
I have just read your post concerning the errant bullock and his companions that were involved in the mass breakout and can fully sympathise with your concerns for the recovery of said bullock. I already knew about laminitis in equine stock and how some of the hardier ponies from the Shetlands and suchlike can fall foul of laminitis when eating too much rich grass but didn't realise that cattle also can suffer laminitis.
With the vet having been involved, how much has it cost you for treatments?
With the vet having been involved, how much has it cost you for treatments?
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Painkillers £40, antibiotics £20. The vet has been good as hasn't charged for advising so far. Normally its £40 callout and £100 per hour.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Good morning Doc,
an interesting post, that set me thinking and wondering if you have always been a farmer and where would you place people within that list? As an outsider looking in, I suppose that a good stockman has to be somewhat clinical and a little distant from the animals temporarily in his care; a bit like doctors and nurses.
Chris
I was brought up on a farm, worked away and came back.
Interesting comparison with doctors and nurses.
Personally I think that when you become clinical and distant its time to stop livestock farming or working in medical care. I can understand that people become "clinical and distant" as a self protection mechanism but I reckon it sometimes leads to some of the welfare disasters that are occasionally discovered on farms where things have gone downhill very quickly, or in fact in hospitals and old folks homes.
Having said that there is an economic and practical limit to what you can do, and getting emotional over it isn't going to help either. The main thing is to minimise suffering and if all other reasonable means fail then euthanasia must be done. That is the big difference between stock and people, as well as the fact that animals dont often understand that having a needle plunged into their neck is intended to help them!
At the end of the day, as with many things in life, I ask myself if I have done all that I reasonably can do, and once I can say "yes" then I am content with the situation.
By and large my stock lead a more comfortable life than they would left to the mercy of the purely natural world. I and my livestock depend on one another. You look after them, they look after you.
Christoph1945
Member
- Location
- Widnes West Cheshire
Many thanks for the replies Doc. The more I learn about farms, farming, and farmers, the more you good folk win my admiration for the work that you do and your resilience in the face of a multitude of problems that can beset your industry.
I hope that the bullock continues improve and the eventual price that you get will offset your vet's costs. Bit of a silly question but do give names to your stock?
I hope that the bullock continues improve and the eventual price that you get will offset your vet's costs. Bit of a silly question but do give names to your stock?
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Generally no, but sometimes you get a real character who stands out for one reason or another and they might be named accordingly. They all have personalities. Some are bold, some are shy, some are amenable, some are stubborn, some are sly, some are rough some are careful. If one is ill and lying down the others stand guard round it in a show of solidarity. If he isn't eating they'll clean up his ration though as ultimately they are creatures of immediate self interest with a secondary concern for the herd as a whole. Can't let them get too pushy with you though or they will get the better of you. They dominate if they think they can get away with it, as people do I suppose.
Christoph1945
Member
- Location
- Widnes West Cheshire
An enlightening reply, thanks Doc. I was once watching a western and a Greenhorn asked the old hand what his horse was named. The reply came...…..'You don't give a name to something you may have to eat!'
I suppose that you generally refer to beasts by the number on their ear tags.
I once read a true story about a bull, in America, that was born all deformed and apparently the best thing to have done was to have it put down but for some strange reason the struggling farm family just couldn't get around to doing the deed. As the young bull began to age, presenting an extra mouth to feed on an already struggling farm, something strange started to happen and he was indicating, with absolute accuracy, those cows that were hot to trot for servicing and every cow that he indicated being ready was sent for service and produced offspring. No more hit and miss servicing and the deformed bull was paying more than his way. He was kind, gentle, let the kids play and hang Christmas decorations on him, and spot on with his predictions for servicing. I can't remember if they gave him a name but I do recall how the wife wrote of his passing and it put a fair lump in my throat! He just lay down in the sun, on his favourite bit of grass, and gently passed away.
It would appear that the professionals and experts don't always get it right. We once had a friend who was born with cerebral palsy and all the medics advised placing him in a care home, because he would never be more than a human cabbage. The young man eventually gained a theological degree at St Johns college Nottingham! He also became a preacher of note. I hated it when he would thrash us all at scrabble.
Would that all could discover their hidden potential and not stumble into despair!
Chris
I suppose that you generally refer to beasts by the number on their ear tags.
I once read a true story about a bull, in America, that was born all deformed and apparently the best thing to have done was to have it put down but for some strange reason the struggling farm family just couldn't get around to doing the deed. As the young bull began to age, presenting an extra mouth to feed on an already struggling farm, something strange started to happen and he was indicating, with absolute accuracy, those cows that were hot to trot for servicing and every cow that he indicated being ready was sent for service and produced offspring. No more hit and miss servicing and the deformed bull was paying more than his way. He was kind, gentle, let the kids play and hang Christmas decorations on him, and spot on with his predictions for servicing. I can't remember if they gave him a name but I do recall how the wife wrote of his passing and it put a fair lump in my throat! He just lay down in the sun, on his favourite bit of grass, and gently passed away.
It would appear that the professionals and experts don't always get it right. We once had a friend who was born with cerebral palsy and all the medics advised placing him in a care home, because he would never be more than a human cabbage. The young man eventually gained a theological degree at St Johns college Nottingham! He also became a preacher of note. I hated it when he would thrash us all at scrabble.
Would that all could discover their hidden potential and not stumble into despair!
Chris
Whitewalker
Member
We had a bull suffer laminitis last year . New to us . He went out late on lush grass andcame back in for a month on hay . Done the trick . Every day is a school day
Christoph1945
Member
- Location
- Widnes West Cheshire
I used to believe that a day when I didn't learn one new thing was a bad day but I am beginning to see that it isn't always the case when it comes to farming. I'm betting that you good folk could do without some of the lessons that farming throws at you.
With all the disease and pestilence that can strike at both crop & stock, vets bills, unforgiving bankers, supermarkets that insist on perfectly shaped veg (not to mention them screwing down your prices) and our oft unforgiving British weather; which of us ignorant townies would ever choose to become a farmer?
Add to the above list, possible hurts and scars of childhood (or youth) and could that become a possible formula for depression and despair? One of the most valuable lessons I ever learned was that even the deepest depression/despair is survivable, or better still avoidable.
Chris
With all the disease and pestilence that can strike at both crop & stock, vets bills, unforgiving bankers, supermarkets that insist on perfectly shaped veg (not to mention them screwing down your prices) and our oft unforgiving British weather; which of us ignorant townies would ever choose to become a farmer?
Add to the above list, possible hurts and scars of childhood (or youth) and could that become a possible formula for depression and despair? One of the most valuable lessons I ever learned was that even the deepest depression/despair is survivable, or better still avoidable.
Chris
Whitewalker
Member
After 30 odd years I’m just needing a break from the same constant. Hopefully something in the pipeline to mix it up a bit
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Two of the most useful bits of info I have read on here all week.
Thanks.
Whitewalker
Member
Is your animal picking up? We fed old hay low sugar and really not that much of it . Just to keep it ticking along. It wasn’t a given on guaranteed recovery but it did work
- Location
- Lincolnshire
It's slightly better thanks. Walks more easily but still sits down a lot. Vet has recommended a bit more painkiller and old hay, as you suggested.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
We are approaching a time when serious thinking needs to be done. The machinery is old and more and more serious and expensive breakdowns occur which take more and more time to fix. Most of the buildings are going the same way, though half aren't so bad.
The land drainage system is 50 years old and some it requires extensive rework and / or renewal.
There is hardly enough money in the job to cover day to running costs never mind the sort of investment needed to sort out the problems listed above.
Myself and my brother are getting older and there has never been so few of us on the farm. 200 acres is becoming top heavy with overhead costs for the sales we generate.
And to be honest my enthusiasm and energy has never been lower. With no more in the bank than we had at this time last year I wonder what is the point of ordering next year's fertiliser. Money goes out, money comes in, we do get a small living but actually accumulate nothing,
I'd probably be better off letting the arable and doing something else.
Better get outside and do something. No shortage of jobs. List as long as my arm. Most will incur costs that see little or very slow payback, but if I don't do them then the business slips a bit further down into chaos.
The land drainage system is 50 years old and some it requires extensive rework and / or renewal.
There is hardly enough money in the job to cover day to running costs never mind the sort of investment needed to sort out the problems listed above.
Myself and my brother are getting older and there has never been so few of us on the farm. 200 acres is becoming top heavy with overhead costs for the sales we generate.
And to be honest my enthusiasm and energy has never been lower. With no more in the bank than we had at this time last year I wonder what is the point of ordering next year's fertiliser. Money goes out, money comes in, we do get a small living but actually accumulate nothing,
I'd probably be better off letting the arable and doing something else.
Better get outside and do something. No shortage of jobs. List as long as my arm. Most will incur costs that see little or very slow payback, but if I don't do them then the business slips a bit further down into chaos.
- Location
- East Sussex
You are most certainly not the only one in that boat sadly.
Edit: sorry, that wasn’t very helpful really. Something has to change for farming, it’s bleddy hard in some sectors.
Whitewalker
Member
I sat down and wrote what was important to me and what I had picked up recently past few years ,
1: change isn’t bad
2: new ideas are good
3: it’s good to try
4: don’t feel guilty about change
5: volumes aren’t everything
6: time goes fast
7: appreciate what you have
8: simplify things
9: change routines
Some of these things I have done to our farm and things are simpler and easier and different however no matter how much you reshape something it ultimately is still the same thing
1: change isn’t bad
2: new ideas are good
3: it’s good to try
4: don’t feel guilty about change
5: volumes aren’t everything
6: time goes fast
7: appreciate what you have
8: simplify things
9: change routines
Some of these things I have done to our farm and things are simpler and easier and different however no matter how much you reshape something it ultimately is still the same thing
Whitewalker
Member
I have milked cows for 30 years and I love what I do but I feel I just need a change. Same 7 day routine is tiresome. I’ve had holidays and spent time with family over the time maybe not enough but nothing to regret. It has just built in me past few years. I need to bite the bullet at some point when I have an offer on the table which I appreciate greatly. It’s still a big step to face .
primmiemoo
Member
- Location
- Devon
Wise words remembered from a great-gran, "Try to find time to look up from your work, lovey."