cantankerous pig

[N80]

My B-I-L always carries a rifle in his jeep, truck or in a scabbard when on horseback. This is primarily for coyotes. Can't think of a need to shoot a cow, even a nutty one. The cows are what puts bread on the table. We're still trying to decide what kind of threat the coyotes are to the herd. They are no threat at all to an adult cow. During calving season the coyotes hang around the herd and eat the after birth and any calf that is still-born. As of yet no one around here has confirmed a coyote taking a healthy calf. However, last year a fairly reliable fellow claims to have watched a coyote trying to get at a live calf but the mother ran him off. Regardless, it still seems standard policy for the local cattlemen to shoot coyotes on sight.

Soundguy, I think Bird's Dad's point was that a cow usually feigns aggression rather than being full-on aggressive like a bull. With gentle and not-so-gentle persuasion a cow will usually back off. But yes, due to the size and small brain a cow can easily hurt or kill you. I just think in most such cases a cow doesn't try to kill you. If you are in the way when she bolts, jumps, kicks or plows into a fence or railing, its gonna hurt. I just missed a kicked last winter. We were tending a down cow. My B-I-L had her by the nose with her head twisted around and I was putting an IV in to give her fluids and electrolytes. She tried to get me with a front hoof. But again, this was a sick, scared animal not one hellbent on grinding me to a pulp. any sick animal can be dangerous, as you said, even a house pet.

 

[Farwell]

I spent a lot of time as a kid helping out the neighbor with his dairy cows. He milked 15 cows by hand morning and night. I would help in the evening with the silage, hay, straw bedding and manure hauling. Four things I learned from helping out 1. Never stand behind a cow when it coughs 2. Keep an eye out for their tails in the Winter because it is like getting hit with a cat of nine tails 3. Avoid having sweat on the back of your neck because cows will lick the salt off and that is a seriously scary feeling 4. Do not trust your friend when he asks you to help out with milking when he sets you up with a cow that can only be milked from the left side while every other cow is milked from the right and of course I tried to milk her from the right side and got a couple of good kicks.
David B

 

[Bird]

Yep, I don't disagree with you at all, Chris. My Dad was accustomed to dealing mostly with milk cows and that's all I had to deal with, except the calves we raised for meat. We never had our own bull when I was a kid; Dad always just took the milk cows to visit a neighbor's bull.

Now in the late '90s, I was helping my rancher neighbor at times, moving cattle from one place to another, branding, vaccinating, etc. These were range cattle that were normally never touched by human hands any other time, so they were wild. Just going into the pastures was no problem; never worried about either the cows or the bulls and as had been said, we never had a cow "attack" but they most definitely would have run over you if cornered. I had a big brahma cow run right through the old squeeze chute and bust right through the front end of it. Once when we had a temporary corral made of the panels you can buy at Tractor Supply, a cow tried to jump over and came down on one of those panels and destroyed it.

But you could go out there with a bucket, rattle some range cubes, and they'd follow you, being careful to stay just out of reach. When I picked up pecans in the pasture, the pecans rattling in a bucket would attract them, also.

The weirdest thing I ever knew of was when he hired a couple of cowboys with horses to move a herd down the road aways. Seemed like a reasonable thing to do, but we didn't realize that those cows had never seen a man on horseback, and when those guys rode in there, the whole herd went berserk. Some swam across a creek to get away, some ran right through 5 strand barbed wire fences, etc. It was a disaster and took several days just to find all of them.

 

[3RRL]

Those are some great stories you guys have shared with us.
Thanks...

 

[roxynoodle]

My little potbelly pig died last month and I sure do miss him.

 

[Soundguy]

Gitcha another one!

Soundguy

 

[flusher]

A while back i got a new male pig for one of my adult sows. He was kinda young.. but showed promis.. pretty good pig in all. Was reasonable trained to obey a stick or cane....Lately he has uh.. hit puberty i guess... and been taking tot he sow real good. I notice dthis yesterday when i went to fill the drop feeder, as he was slightly agressive. I tapped him on the shoulder with the cane.. and instead of moving off he snapped at it... not feeling like 'arguing', i grabbed my long cattle prod and kept it with me while filling feeders. He made one more pas at me, and then went to the edge of the pin after tasting the cattle prod... Later today I noticed he or one of the other pigs had uprooted a water fountain in his pin today.. flooding it.

Had to fix it... decided to carry the prod and the cane.. and for safety.. tucked my pistol in my belt... Never came close to using it.. but.. I think a may take it with me when dealing with the pigs from now on.. especially some of the larger ones.

No real point except to point out farm animal safety...

Any one else carry a firearm with them on their farm? ( I ocassionally have a .22 rifle with me during rat and snake season.. ).

Soundguy

Gotta be careful with swine. My neighbor's daughter is in 4H and has a pig- raising project. Her animal got loose Monday and got into the horse corral. They had fun rounding it up.

My son is head of research for Seaboard Farms in Guymon, OK (the 2nd or 3rd largest pork producer in the U.S.). He gets bumped around occasionally by the animals, particularly in the boar stud facility. Helps that he's 6'3" and 250 lb. He's been doing this for nearly 15 years with hogs and Italian cattle dating back to when he was in grad school. So far no major injuries.

 

[Egon]

cat of nine tails

It's a little smoother in the summer!