aggresive she-cow

[aimee]

what should one do when your heifer starts getting mean?
the other day the cow tried to hit me i wouldn't care except she has horns!

 

[Royd Wood]

Slaughter her before she gets you
So many hurt by horned cattle

 

[Snowhunter]

Cut the horns and teach her some manners or in the freezer she goes

We don't tolerate nasty personalities, ESPECIALLY not from any cattle here w/horns. It doesn't matter how perfect for breeding they are otherwise, our lives are not worth it.

We've only got one cow with horns, a beautifully perfect matched set, but she also has a personality of gold and is not aggressive to us or the other cattle. She could still hurt us, like any other cattle, but she also has more reach. We're just careful.

 

[jhm47]

You're lucky that you're being given a second chance. Some aren't given one. Even without horns, cattle can be very dangerous. I have crusaded for a long time on this forum to have everyone dehorn their calves, and some have chosen not to listen. The day will come when someone who has chosen to not dehorn will post here that they or one of their family members has been hurt or worse due to not dehorning. I shall refrain from the "I told you so" reply.

I would suggest that you have the heifer dehorned. It would have been much easier when she was a calf. Good luck!

 

[goodhors]

And after you get her dehorned, carry a stick!! Cattle are herd dominant by hitting others
with their heads. The MOST pushy cow, gets first pick of the food, so being dominant in
the herd is IMPORTANT. Even with no horns, you may have to teach your cattle to
"respect your personal space" and NOT rub on you EVER.

A bump on the nose with your stick means business!! Cow SHOULD back off, that hurts.
Bovine backing up from you makes YOU dominant in the herd. Herd can be only her and you,
or numerous cattle and you. I would not be moving within the herd if I didn't have my stick
to reinforce my herd status. They have no concept that you are small and squishy if you
"act big", push them back out of your space when they try to push you. By making you
move away from them, they are moving up in herd status, you are LESSER and MUST give way now.

If your cow continues to be so pushy, despite some nose bumps with increasing force, she
needs to be in the freezer. She wants to move up, not accepting her lower status to you. So
she will probably hurt you, pushing into your space, catching you from behind, even with no
horns. Her skull is a LOT harder than you are!!

You cull out aggressive cattle, remove the genes from your herd so they are easier to deal with.
jhm47 is correct, horns on an agressive cow are going to hurt someone badly. Only takes "once".
So get horns removed if you want to give her another chance. Continue to be VERY observant
around her, carry that stick. You don't want her to sneak in a hornless hit before you can hit her
nose. Hit her hard if she acts agressive, then get out of there and get her a freezer date.

 

[greybeard]

Don't get no little wimpy stick either. Let the animal know you ain't playin around. You don't have to injure it, but well, you'll figure out the amt of SAF (stick application force) to use.
In this type instance, I have to say I'm not a terrible big fan of hotshots either. Not that I think they're excessively cruel--just not the best thing to use imo. (when batteries fail, your feet better work flawlessly)

DO use some good judgement tho. Don't expect perfect or even good outcomes if the offending animal is taller than you by a couple feet, weighs upwards of 1800 lbs, and looks a lot like something that just chunked Tuff Hederman 10' in the air..

 

[WildRoseBeef]

what should one do when your heifer starts getting mean?
the other day the cow tried to hit me i wouldn't care except she has horns!

What would I do? I'd ship her or slaughter her on the spot, no questions asked. I have no time nor patience nor is it worth my life to be dealing with a heifer or cow that is going to be a complete you-know-what to me, and it doesn't matter if she's got horns or not.

 

[animalfarm]

We had a black angus cow. She was super agressive and she set the example for the others. You could see she was considering charging any time you entered the pasture, and sometimes she did; you don't even want to think about calving time in her pasture. Her calf was the same way. We ate momma cow with a side of veal. We didn't consider sending her to auction and someone unwittingly buying her as we did.

 

[kstaven]

We had some dexters like this. Calves took after their mothers. We made steak and veal.

I agree. I will not pass along aggressive genetic characteristics.

 

[herfrds]

Ship her as a slaughter cow or butcher her. She's not worth the hospital bill if you gets you or someone else.