Interesting day

The Ruminant · Aug 2, 2020

Had a bull stuck in a ditch yesterday, on some land I rent, 30 miles from home. After an unsuccessful hour or more of spadework, I called on a neighbouring farmer. He was flat out harvesting but willingly gave up his time and brought his teleporter with him. Two more hours of straps and pulling didn’t achieve a lot so, mindful he needed to leave, I called the fire brigade.

Two engines, a dozen firemen and a Unimog with lifting gear arrived, trundled the mile or so across country - the bull was in the middle of a long, thin, 60 acre river meadow - and set to work. Cue more pulling, manoeuvring, wrestling etc. The vet arrived and administered a sedative to the bull, just in case, and finally, at about 6.15pm, we lifted him out.

A big thank you to the fire brigade for their swift response and willingness to get stuck in!

milkloss · Aug 2, 2020

We had the same with a cow a few years ago....... they are sterling lads and know their stuff.

I had an issue with the sedative idea and suggested I'd go get the gun instead, after a bit of a stand off the cow was out and waddling across the field.

ridger · Aug 2, 2020

Your very lucky, I had one similar and it drowned itself.

90hp farming · Aug 2, 2020

The Firemen`s uniforms all look remarkably clean at the end of the job!

Hope Mrs. @The Ruminant was there to witness the brigade at work.........

p.s. he looks a fair bull

devonbeef · Aug 2, 2020

another time. would have digger been able to scrap of the steepness of bank away slowly, just a thought. re instated it afterwards. probably would ,nt have worked . just a idea.

devonbeef · Aug 2, 2020

glad you got him out safely , and alls well

dinderleat · Aug 2, 2020

Would a pin hoist been a lot easier? Had one similar but a dry ditch under a hedge put hoist of lifted him out.

The Ruminant · Aug 2, 2020

devonbeef said:
another time. would have digger been able to scrap of the steepness of bank away slowly, just a thought. re instated it afterwards. probably would ,nt have worked . just a idea.

That would have been the best option at one point in time. I think if we’d found the bull earlier It may well have done the trick. However he was knackered when I got to him, and his back legs were set in really sticky clay at the bottom of the stream.

My theory is he got in the water higher up the stream, maybe for a drink or to cool off, for d the am too steep so walked downstream looking for a shallower bank. Unfortunately he reached the culvert under a bridge and couldn’t go any further. The banks at that point were really steep (were, as I, then the fire brigade, dug them out by hand to give him a chance to clamber up, as the fourth photograph sort of shows - we’d dragged him part way up the bank at this point). I think he then got set in the gloopy mud and that was that!

Also, 30 miles from home and with everyone harvesting, plus it was Saturday afternoon and the FA cup was on, meant I couldn’t track down any digger drivers or machines, especially when stuck in a field, covered in mud and with an intermittent phone signal!

egbert · Aug 2, 2020

Well done.
Looks like you had straps under him?

You can pull bovines out by the neck - I wouldn't believe it, but have done so under instruction with perfectly good results.
MAKE SURE your strap is fastened to something, lest they jump up and run off with it, and remember to slacken occasionally for air during pull.

The Ruminant · Aug 2, 2020

egbert said:
Well done.
Looks like you had straps under him?

You can pull bovines out by the neck - I wouldn't believe it, but have done so under instruction with perfectly good results.
MAKE SURE your strap is fastened to something, lest they jump up and run off with it, and remember to slacken occasionally for air during pull.

We debated this with the fire brigade, but didn’t dare risk it. Interesting to know for next time....!

We did get straps under him, eventually, fixed to a quick release lifting bar so he could be released once on terra firma. Fortunately he’s a really quiet bull so just wandered away, rather stiffly.

neilo · Aug 2, 2020

egbert said:
Well done.
Looks like you had straps under him?

You can pull bovines out by the neck - I wouldn't believe it, but have done so under instruction with perfectly good results.
MAKE SURE your strap is fastened to something, lest they jump up and run off with it, and remember to slacken occasionally for air during pull.

I’ve done the same to pull sheep out of the river at home many times when on my own. I always had a length or rope under the seat of the truck and got to be quite a dab hand at lassooing. Banks were too steep to climb in or out, and not allowed to ‘resculpt’ them these days. Just got to remember not to pull too fast!

Glad you got him out unscathed @The Ruminant . Once they get bedded in the clay & gunk in the bottom it’s like glue.

JP1 · Aug 2, 2020

egbert said:
Well done.
Looks like you had straps under him?

You can pull bovines out by the neck - I wouldn't believe it, but have done so under instruction with perfectly good results.
MAKE SURE your strap is fastened to something, lest they jump up and run off with it, and remember to slacken occasionally for air during pull.

You can. Depends on how "rural" the fire crew are tbh. I can see from their point they hate doing anything outside of their standard operating procedures (and mostly for good reason in other fireground operations).

To be fair as you can see with @The Ruminant , most fire services have the kit and some training usually undertaken directly or from the Hampshire Fire Service techniques who have become the lead UK authority on this. If you can get a Unimog close enough it can help but mostly they can't get close enough or enough safe extended reach

Gulli · Aug 2, 2020

The Ruminant said:
We debated this with the fire brigade, but didn’t dare risk it. Interesting to know for next time....!

We did get straps under him, eventually, fixed to a quick release lifting bar so he could be released once on terra firma. Fortunately he’s a really quiet bull so just wandered away, rather stiffly.

If you're going to pull by the neck, usually the easiest bit to get at and immensely strong, then use a chain with a hook as once it's hooked on it won't pull tight and strangle them, pulled loads of stuck cows that way

You can do it with a rope but you need a knot that won't pull tight.

Once had a cow stuck halfway down a 30ft long culvert pipe so you're lucky he couldn't fit down that one

Bill dog · Aug 2, 2020

You can also get a stuck horse out by a chain round the neck . You first have to send flapping fatty blue jodhpurs type horsy owner away for a coffee, and get busy . Done it a couple of times helping at horse trials over the years !
Glad the end result was a success !

Princess Pooper · Aug 2, 2020

90hp farming said:
Hope Mrs. @The Ruminant was there to witness the brigade at work.........

The Ruminant · Aug 2, 2020

90hp farming said:
Hope Mrs. @The Ruminant was there to witness the brigade at work.........

p.s. he looks a fair bull

Mrs @The Ruminant was at home with her sister and our kids, eating the massive barbecue I had planned......

neilo said:
Glad you got him out unscathed @The Ruminant . Once they get bedded in the clay & gunk in the bottom it’s like glue.

Yes, as I discovered when, there on my own, I slipped head-first into the water directly behind the bull’s rump. My arm sank up to my shoulder and my head was just out of the water. For a brief moment I worried my arm was stuck and that this was it

Fortunately, I somehow thrashed round and spun myself round so my other arm could grab the reeds on the bank.

JP1 said:
You can. Depends on how "rural" the fire crew are tbh. I can see from their point they hate doing anything outside of their standard operating procedures (and mostly for good reason in other fireground operations).

To be fair as you can see with @The Ruminant , most fire services have the kit and some training usually undertaken directly or from the Hampshire Fire Service techniques who have become the lead UK authority on this. If you can get a Unimog close enough it can help but mostly they can't get close enough or enough safe extended reach

Luckily we haven’t had rain for a while so the ground was firm. It’s impassable for 10 months of the year as it’s proper river meadow with a large natural lake and properly wet surrounding land.

Also lucky it was a warm day in the middle of summer so the water wasn’t too cold for the poor old boy. No idea how long he’d been there - someone spotted him, posted on Facebook, someone else saw the post, contacted a local farmer, who in turn contacted the guy who used to rent the land (and from whom I’d bought the suckler cows) and he got in touch with me. A fortuitous chain of events all round - exceptfor the first part...!

egbert · Aug 2, 2020

Bill dog said:
You can also get a stuck horse out by a chain round the neck . You first have to send flapping fatty blue jodhpurs type horsy owner away for a coffee, and get busy . Done it a couple of times helping at horse trials over the years !
Glad the end result was a success !

JP1 said:
You can. Depends on how "rural" the fire crew are tbh. I can see from their point they hate doing anything outside of their standard operating procedures (and mostly for good reason in other fireground operations).

To be fair as you can see with @The Ruminant , most fire services have the kit and some training usually undertaken directly or from the Hampshire Fire Service techniques who have become the lead UK authority on this. If you can get a Unimog close enough it can help but mostly they can't get close enough or enough safe extended reach

I've every respect for the fire service - although now, due to cutbacks and the growth in vehicle size, if my house/buildings catch fire they would most assuredly burn to the floor before DF&R get a tender here.

however, I've found large animal rescues I've attended have gone much smoother and quicker without them.
Stockman and I were called to a bolted, bogged bloodhorse a few years ago half a mile out. We got the sawmill telehandler within striking distance, but the fire crew had also been called, and shooed us away.
We let them get on, and stood back to watch. Surprise surprise, after 40 minutes they'd got straps under the things rump, but couldn't budge it by hand.
(not the least chance in hell...it was 700kgs if it was an ounce, and down to below the plimsol line)
Big CAT was suddenly their best friend then.......

We didn't know the 'neck' trick then -although as said above, it appears safe on neddies too.
If we did, and we'd got there first, the whole business would've done in about 4 minutes flat.

Werzle · Aug 2, 2020

I had cow stuck once in a muddy ditch, she had tried to turn around and had snapped both back legs.

egbert · Aug 2, 2020

Werzle said:
I had cow stuck once in a muddy ditch, she had tried to turn around and had snapped both back legs.

Regrettable. But makes extraction a simpler affair....

JP1 · Aug 2, 2020

egbert said:
I've every respect for the fire service - although now, due to cutbacks and the growth in vehicle size, if my house/buildings catch fire they would most assuredly burn to the floor before DF&R get a tender here.

however, I've found large animal rescues I've attended have gone much smoother and quicker without them.
Stockman and I were called to a bolted, bogged bloodhorse a few years ago half a mile out. We got the sawmill telehandler within striking distance, but the fire crew had also been called, and shooed us away.
We let them get on, and stood back to watch. Surprise surprise, after 40 minutes they'd got straps under the things rump, but couldn't budge it by hand.
(not the least chance in hell...it was 700kgs if it was an ounce, and down to below the plimsol line)
Big CAT was suddenly their best friend then.......

We didn't know the 'neck' trick then -although as said above, it appears safe on neddies too.
If we did, and we'd got there first, the whole business would've done in about 4 minutes flat.

I'd agree with that

Last rescue of a friend's cow in the river, it was a nosy neighbour who called the fire service

It was still your's truly and a vet wading in and another farmer on a Merlo that got her out with everyone else risked assessed nice and safely and watching

Interesting day

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