Just wanted to show that just because some animals get out doesn't mean that they're not cared for. We'll see what happens with the OP and the cattle that came visiting. Hopefully everything goes well for him. I hate hearing stories like what you ran across. Makes all of us look bad.
No, I never meant to indicate that having animals get out is anything but normal. However, if I am kind enough to put your animals in my 15-acre pasture with a brand new fence, I expect you to come and give daily care for your animals by checking on them and bringing water. I don't think that's too much to ask for somebody to do who lives less than a mile away as the crow flies. We told him there was no water for the animals and he just left. He had a van that had no trailer hitch, so he got a neighbor to haul over a trailer and put it inside my pasture. Then, he and two other idiots started chasing these bulls toward the trrailer like he thought they would run inside all by themselves when they are scared and at a full run.
They almost ran through the fence at one corner. They finally quit and went away, not to be seen until the next weekend. My wife put out a washtub in the pasture and hauled water in buckets to fill it for those thirsty animals.
Then the fellow shows up at my house and tells me he is going to try and rope the bulls and lead them into the trailer. He said somebody was coming with a truck in a little bit to haul the bulls. So I told him to forget about roping the bulls and put some water and sweet feed up in the trailer and back off. When the bulls go into get water and feed, close the tailgate. Of course he tried it, and of course it worked. Then, he left.
Then they sat there for 4 hours. One of my neighbors saw the bulls on my property in the trailer and stopped to chew me out for abuse. I had to explain to her that the animals were not mine. I was getting ready to let them out when he showed up again to say it would be after 6 pm before somebody could come to get the animals. It was 3 pm when he told me that. So I told him that I was going to give him a choice. He could let me haul the cattle with my truck or I was going to let them out of the trailer. Of course, he took me up on my offer.
I grew up with animals and know they get out sometimes. There's nothing you can do about that. It's what you do after that which defines your level of decency and responsibility.
Then there's the next-door neighbor who had 8 goats including a billy goat and thought he didn't have to build any fence for them. . . sigh!
