About that "cute" little bull....

[Ridgetop]

I suppose we'll be reading next that the second rancher got injured by that bull. If the bull had a medical condition as a calf that prevented him from walking, that the first rescuer had to pay a vet to surgically correct, he wouldn't have been worth anything as a breeder especially without papers and family breeding and production history. SOOO why was that bull not cut, especially on a "rescue petting farm" where they advertise having traumatized children interact with the animals. I think social services should check out the Land O Lakes Rescue Petting Farm in case they have any other dangerous uncut male animals like rams, bucks, boars, etc. that they are encouraging small children to pet and socialize with! I am surprised that the farmer was the one that got hurt, not some child or patron of the petting zoo. (Heaven knows most people who go to petting zoos don't always use caution when letting their children loose with the animals!)

 

[Blue Sky]

People come to look at my farm (for sale). They sometimes complain that they can't pet the animals. Most accept my explanation that my animals don't see many strangers and are wary. Occasionally I get an expert who tells me about the bazillion pound bull who's tame as a sheep. And speaking of sheep they can hurt you. I have the dental work to prove it. Animals of all kinds can and will do three things at some point. Hurt each other, hurt themselves and hurt people. That said I still love the life. Carefully.

 

[Ridgetop]

That is so true. Even well trained kid's "babysitter" horses (and these are geldings) can kick, shy or bite under certain circumstances. Well trained 4-H animals can trample a small child when not properly restrained and even the family dog when running to bark at a stranger can knock a toddler down! Then why would anyone be surprised that a large bull would suddenly turn on his owner!
Unfortunately there are too many people who have unrealistic ideas about animals out there. TV and movies that portray wild (or domesticated) animals acting in completely unrealistic ways are partly to blame. You have only to listen to the people who complain that ranching and farming "destroys" the land and the planet without ever having learned about it. Farmers and ranchers are keepers of the land and most of them leave it in better condition than those who leave it fallow and untended. These uneducated people (many of them with extensive college educations in other subjects) are the ones who cannot believe that an animal would try to hurt them.
We all have met people like them and even when an animal injures them, they will not admit it was their own fault. It will be the fault of the animal's owner (who warned them to stay away from the animal in the first place!) or they will find some excuse for the behavior (which is totally ridiculous). These people are so indoctrinated into their own stupid beliefs (which are not based on reality) that nothing will change their thinking. Even being almost killed by a bull!

 

[Beekissed]

What most are missing in this story is the imprinting that was done on this bull and how it led to a dangerous situation. This goes on all the time on this forum and on BYC, wherein people will describe how this male lamb, goat or rooster was so gentle and loving, could carry them around and feed them out of one's hand, bottle feed them, etc. and such rot and then, at the age of sexual maturity, these animals start to attack said owner....suddenly they are claiming the animal is "aggressive" and they'd never keep such an aggressive animal around their family. Off to the butcher or stew pot it goes...until they get the next one and repeat the same behavior and come crying with the same story. Ad nauseum.

http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/Bottle-raised males can be very dangerous.pdf

http://www.producer.com/2006/02/babying-calves-may-turn-deadly/

http://www.producer.com/2014/05/bottle-raising-males-is-hazardous/

Most people raised in a farm setting know these dangers, but the new suburban livestock owner seems to want to make all livestock into pets, no matter what the implications. Don't really care if it's good for the animal/bird or not, they just want to LOVE everything, with much pets, affection, rich foods and treats fed to them by hand.

When this proves to get painful or dangerous in any way, they always blame the animal or the breeding of said animal.

 

[Ridgetop]

Exactly my point. Livestock is livestock. Don't expect them to behave in any way except what is intrinsic to their genetic coding. Loving them is fine, and it goes without saying that kind and proper care is a necessity, but to expect them to act differently from their basic DNA coding is stupid. Castrating males takes some of the aggression out of them, but an untrained gelded male animal can still be dangerous, as can females. Like I said - Hollywood and even wonderful Walt Disney have a lot to answer for in producing unrealistic movies portraying "cute" animal behavior in wild animals as well as farm animals. Farm children and families are more realistic, but accidents still happen. Working with livestock is not the "cute" and "fun for kids" job city people think. It is backbreaking work with gut wrenching losses and the need to be prepared and act intelligently all the time. That said, our kids grew up working with livestock and were taught to respect the danger as well as the wonder and joy working with livestock brings.

 

[Bossroo]

I suppose we'll be reading next that the second rancher got injured by that bull. If the bull had a medical condition as a calf that prevented him from walking, that the first rescuer had to pay a vet to surgically correct, he wouldn't have been worth anything as a breeder especially without papers and family breeding and production history. SOOO why was that bull not cut, especially on a "rescue petting farm" where they advertise having traumatized children interact with the animals. I think social services should check out the Land O Lakes Rescue Petting Farm in case they have any other dangerous uncut male animals like rams, bucks, boars, etc. that they are encouraging small children to pet and socialize with! I am surprised that the farmer was the one that got hurt, not some child or patron of the petting zoo. (Heaven knows most people who go to petting zoos don't always use caution when letting their children loose with the animals!)

Exactly my point. Livestock is livestock. Don't expect them to behave in any way except what is intrinsic to their genetic coding. Loving them is fine, and it goes without saying that kind and proper care is a necessity, but to expect them to act differently from their basic DNA coding is stupid. Castrating males takes some of the aggression out of them, but an untrained gelded male animal can still be dangerous, as can females. Like I said - Hollywood and even wonderful Walt Disney have a lot to answer for in producing unrealistic movies portraying "cute" animal behavior in wild animals as well as farm animals. Farm children and families are more realistic, but accidents still happen. Working with livestock is not the "cute" and "fun for kids" job city people think. It is backbreaking work with gut wrenching losses and the need to be prepared and act intelligently all the time. That said, our kids grew up working with livestock and were taught to respect the danger as well as the wonder and joy working with livestock brings.

 

[Kusanar]

I know this is an old thread, but my dad has a friend that used to keep cattle, he had a bull that was very tame, one day he went out there like he did all the time (for some reason the chicken coup was inside the cow field) and the bull snuck up behind him and butted him in the back, he did that in play all the time, but the guy was ready for it, this time he wasn't and the bull tossed him in the air and hurt his already bad back. The bull wasn't trying to hurt him, he was just being friendly, but he got a little too rough. We know he wasn't trying to hurt him because he actually came over and let the guy grab his head to get back up and walked slowly back to the gate with him leaning on his back. The guy tried to get the bull to walk him all the way to the house, but the bull wouldn't leave the fence. I don't believe he killed or rehomed that bull, but he was very careful in the field with him after that and didn't let anyone else in the field with him.

 

[USpony]

Personally I don't believe this bull was really sent to another farm. I just sounds like a safe thing to tell people who don't know anything about livestock or farming. Unless there is a farm called Freezer Camp.