Lightning and cows

[AGRIMAN]

I had a 4 year old registered black angus bull that I have been raising for a replacement bull. I had him in a small pasture directly behind my house for the last year or so. Yesterday afternoon we had a line of severe thunderstorms roll through. High winds, heavy rain and severelighting.

I was in the house when lighting struck something behind the house. It was close enough that it rattled the house and knock out the power. I was surprise when they got the power back on that everything still worked as I was sure that it probably got something.

Everything in the house was fine, but I found my bull today laying behind the house dead. I know it happens, but this is the first time for me.

 

[MossRoad]

Sorry for your loss. Lightning is nasty stuff. Glad you weren't hit.

 

[Argonne]

Sorry to hear that. I've been thinking about insuring my livestock against hazards like that and theft.

 

[AGRIMAN]

It could have always been worse. If it had hit on of the other pastures, i could have lost one than one.

 

[Bird]

I, too, have seen news stories about such happening to livestock, but fortunately never experienced it.

 

[oosik]

I've heard of such events but not in this area. Sorry about the loss. One good point - you were not out there in the storm.

Actually, the only "hits" in the immediate area have been on my large/tall Ponderosa pine. Around here we are told - stay low and don't stand under a large tree. In this area we seldom get lightning - I was in Nebraska long ago - now they get real lightning storms. In any case, when I see/hear anything like that coming our way - its always from inside the house.

 

[coolreinfarm]

My wife's horse got hit by lightning, waited for the storm to clear, went out horse was still steaming, bad day. Dog was in the field when it happened, she was ok but is terrified of storms to this day.

 

[dmccarty]

In the All Creatures Great and Small books, which were written by a UK vet, he had a story about a family farm that had insured their livestock. The coverage included death by lighting and the family had several cows hit and paid for by insurance. There was another farmer who said some livestock was hit by lightning and was trying to get the claim processed but it was fraud and the vet would not sign off.

Never seen it happen though I came close to being hit but that is another story.

Later,
Dan

 

[Snobdds]

Happens often out here in the high plains.

 

[David Wayne]

I grew up on a dairy farm milking 50 head in the 60s and 70s. Old fashion type, no pipeline, gutter cleaner... Dad named each cow. After a bad storm we had one that when she came in she was slow and unsteady, look at the stanchion but had a hard time turning to enter it. Vet figured a close strike got her. She lived through it but it took months before she regained somewhat normal motor skills. Dad renamed her lightning, and her next calf was named thunder.

David