Maniac Cows

choochter

Member
Location
aberdeenshire
you never called cows in for milking or feeding? cows can learn plenty of words and different peoples voices in different situations
Yes, I know! I meant when walking through the pen or bedding them or shedding some off, I don't use words then.

I have a couple of cows that might know their name. And they all know 'wait', 'at!', 'come on then', 'get' and, maybe, 'good girl'. Two taps on my leg or on a gate post mean 'come with me/nice things will happen'

(slight caveat here, I only have 25 cows and they are well handled. Presumably it's a lot different with a large herd)
 

milkloss

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
We have a self feed clamp and you absolutely have to loudly announce your approach. It's amazing how some still have no idea you're there until it's too late and they panic like hell. Feel cornered I suppose.
 
We have a self feed clamp and you absolutely have to loudly announce your approach. It's amazing how some still have no idea you're there until it's too late and they panic like hell. Feel cornered I suppose.

I used to have a one eyed cow, and although her temperature was just about perfect, if you didn't speak to her there was a chance she'd knock you out if you were on her blind side.
 
Location
East Mids
I talk to my cows - although not constantly - from the day they are born and I rear all the heifers, with a lot of hand-work as opposed to tractor work, so they are used to it. Suspect they would think something was wrong if I wasn't chuntering my nonsense away at them. When I'm walking across the yard at night I start talking before I get to the sheds. Seen the whole lot stampede on another farm I worked, when they were taken by surprise.
 

fermerboy

Member
Location
Banffshire
Anything else that could have changed on the farm to make them this way this year @fermerboy?
There's not a new dog or anything on the farm that likes to have a run up & down the passageway or anything like that when you are working near them or have access to them when you are elsewhere?
Nothing has changed other than a few new ones, thats the thing I can't figure it. I had a message from another member on here and he is using the same minerals as me it turns out and reckons his cattle are more jumpy too.

A neighbour of mine who has very quiet cows says a stick is as usless as a whisp of hay, take a graip in with fresh calved cows & hope you never need to use it.

I had a graip in my hands yesterday when that one had a go, afraid to say that she was faster then me, never even got a chance before she had the first belt in. And the day before graip or not I had to run for the feed rail and get out. A couple of mine(definitely going now) have no respect for graips sticks or anything, all that is in their head is kill him!!!!!
 

Surgery

Member
Location
Oxford
Lack of Thiamine/B6 & Iron can all be linked to aggressive behaviour, Iron deficiency interferes with dopamine production, while B vits and Thiamine deficiency cause irritability.

Blood profiles may be in order.
Just had the same problem , it seems it was down to the iron , she don't like ironing and certain times of the month she would go mad , yes there is one female on this place that a certain times of the month I would not turn my back on ;):D
 

onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
I'm thinking more down the lines of something has spooked them, maybe minerals are a contributing factor. Going back a few years we had some quiet bullocks outside in a field as quiet as lambs, one morning got a call to say they escaped when we got to the field they'd broken out in 3 places and scattered to the 4 corners of the parish turned out there was a red deer stag that had got in with them, they were on edge for weeks after that. Then last year heard our cows making one hell of a racket in the yard going mental at something , that turned out to be a fledgling pigeon in the yard that couldn't fly and was just hopping around the yard.Just wondering if @fermerboy cows are being spooked at night by a fox or something unusual like a badger. Also you will have a boss cow or matriarch in the yard the other will look to her to protect them if she senses danger then she will set them all off. Went to a really interesting cattle handling demonstration last year and the lady running it gave us some interesting pointers to how cattle will revert to instinct when they sense danger i.e. When a herd is surrounded the matriarch will put herself in the middle basically so the attacker will pick off a weaker one who will be one the outside but if she senses the whole herd is in danger she will break from the middle and attack the attacker, its all to do with the flight v flight thing, the boss cow is the one the others will learn from.
 

Andrew1983

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Black Isle
You have my sympathy there's nothing worse. I had this problem when I started to take over my father in laws herd 6 years ago. I had never seen such mad bitches of cows when they calved before. I have managed to cull the worst and I have had to learn to manage the remainders although they are getting fewer.

Extreme case I had a cow who would lick and rolled her calf while bawling into a corner at the water trough which was wet, I couldn't get near the calf to help. I had to pin her to wall with bales on forklift. Got the calf sorted but it still took joint ill and died. Another was determined to kill another cows calf never mind me. Here Salers were bad but the saler cross angus were top notch crazy. Hell of a good breeding cows but just horrible to work with. FIL had to be air ambulanced to hospital after getting done by a mad cow.

I spend a lot more time with cows than he did, he dropped bales into rings then bedded from forklift when cows were out eating. Iv changed buildings about and now walk through them at least 3x a day at calving. I get out of landy and walk through them in field too and carry a bag of grain about to put a drop here and there. I talk to them in a calm voice, I'm sure it helps.

More helpful solution in short term is a cow catcher. Drive in, get either the wild cow caught or get the calf you want to tag, at least you can do it in safety.

Could you set up an electric wire/tape round a gable and side of the shed, maybe a meter or so from the wall, it would give you a save corridor to walk round the back of them and somewhere you can dive into should worst happen. I haven't done this personally and it would obviously rely on cows respecting the fence. I agree a stick etc will only stop a medium nutter, the proper jobs just shut their eyes and keep coming.


My father and brother know sim bloodlines quite well (breeders for 40 years) Iv seen them avoid buying an otherwise good stock Bull in Stirling because somewhere in the distant family line there's a bull that was known for temperament issues. Be interesting to know what bull they are by if they are homebred?
 

v8willy

Member
Mixed Farmer
Got attacked by a cow this time last year, as much our fault as hers but thats another story. This year have fitted headlock feeding barriers in the calving pens making up half the feed barrier, best thing we ever done. Was tagging 10 this morning, put the locks over, graiped up a bit of silage to catch the cows then worked away at the calves at our leisure & in total safety, well pleased with them.
 

Wendy10

Member
Location
Carmarthenshire
We've got blue x cows here. Never had a nasty one yet. More likely to knock you over in the rush for a scratch.
We have been waiting for a really nice blue x second calver to drop. She was huge. A real softy. Needed a little help today, beautiful bull calf. lim father, just a pity Wil couldn't get the ropes off his feet for a few hours, Mammy became the cow from hell, bellowing and pawing up the bedding. The ropes fell off his feet in time. He seems to be having trouble finding the teats though. I'm afraid he will have to manage. Not worth getting hurt, no matter how nice he is. What on earth makes them change like this?
 

onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
We have been waiting for a really nice blue x second calver to drop. She was huge. A real softy. Needed a little help today, beautiful bull calf. lim father, just a pity Wil couldn't get the ropes off his feet for a few hours, Mammy became the cow from hell, bellowing and pawing up the bedding. The ropes fell off his feet in time. He seems to be having trouble finding the teats though. I'm afraid he will have to manage. Not worth getting hurt, no matter how nice he is. What on earth makes them change like this?
Hormones
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
We have been waiting for a really nice blue x second calver to drop. She was huge. A real softy. Needed a little help today, beautiful bull calf. lim father, just a pity Wil couldn't get the ropes off his feet for a few hours, Mammy became the cow from hell, bellowing and pawing up the bedding. The ropes fell off his feet in time. He seems to be having trouble finding the teats though. I'm afraid he will have to manage. Not worth getting hurt, no matter how nice he is. What on earth makes them change like this?
orrmoans
 
Funny all the different opinions and some saying that's unlikely to be the reason. Guess various reasons not one answer to all. Local suckler herd who finishes them all, says many are crazy post weaning, drops mag flakes in all water troughs in fattening yard and they are transformed. Bought a dozen cows of a retiring lady farmer, real dopes, had one of her second calvers go crazy at calving, proper crazy, had her around in summer to show her their calves and she said the only time she saw her do that was after she calved her and asked her husband to bring navel dip to her, and freaked at her husband, clearly doesn't like males. Wonder if Sandie Toksvig behaves in the same manner??
 

Giles1

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Central Scotland
We calve outside and on some rough ground at times so a cow catcher although on the wish list is only a partial solution.We try to tag calves when mum has gone to the feed trailer.This does rely on the instinct of the cow to "hide" it's calf rather than drag it along to the feeder.But our lot will look out for each others calves,so it can still get fraught.If the cow won't leave it's calf before it's likely to outrun a human,we drive up with the quad and trailer, grab the calf and get it in the trailer,tag,elastrate and drop off asap.This is normally a two man operation,but does mean you can go faster than a snotty cow........Bit rough in the back sometimes though.
 

Grim Reaper

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
I bought a cowcatcher from Drew Elphinstone earlier this year, its the best thing I've bought for ages. When a cow calves I can drive into the shed with the catcher, put it over the calf, then your safe to put the calf in the nest, open the catcher to let the cow come to the calf. Close the catcher and 'walk' her out of the shed. Simples.
 

digger64

Member
We have been waiting for a really nice blue x second calver to drop. She was huge. A real softy. Needed a little help today, beautiful bull calf. lim father, just a pity Wil couldn't get the ropes off his feet for a few hours, Mammy became the cow from hell, bellowing and pawing up the bedding. The ropes fell off his feet in time. He seems to be having trouble finding the teats though. I'm afraid he will have to manage. Not worth getting hurt, no matter how nice he is. What on earth makes them change like this?
Are you going to keep it or cull it ?
 

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