Cows Escaped!

[WildRoseBeef]

Give 'em time. Plus they're Angus so you gotta give them a little extra time versus some other breeds. And don't be hard on yourself! You sound like you're doing things right. They're more than likely still getting accustomed to things, they've only been around for a month, and still learning about you and other things. Believe me, I've had cattle that wouldn't come near me for the first two or three months, and would run away from me too when I get too close. But then something clicked in their heads, and finally decided one day to come up to me to sniff at me, and accept getting hand-fed some grass.

Patience and persistence, my friend! They'll come around. And it usually just takes one to get the rest to decide that you or I am okay too. So if you can pick out one heifer in particular that seems calmer than the rest, maybe focus on her and not the whole group. The other two girls will probably get a little jealous that one is getting more attention than they and soon decide they want some of that too!

You never know with cattle lol, they can be a bit stubborn and stupid one time, then next thing you know they're all wondering what you're up to and what treats you have for them today...

 

[Rammy]

My neighbor told me to put the feeder back in the stall and feed them there and not outside. One lets me pet her more than the others before moving away so many I'll just focus on her. The jerseys I had last year, I couldn't sneak out to the barn to feed them they'd come running! These girls........they look at me like ummmm, what? yeah, we going this way..............bye!! Stupid cows.
P. S. The one my neighbor took to his house that escaped is already letting him pet her. Im jealous. Mine don't let me do that. And I am there every day. He wants to bring her back over to my place cause he says she needs to be with her herd, but Im worried she will try to get out again since she ran thru the fence the first day. She will remember she got out and even tho I have more up, dont think that will stop her. Then the others will get the same idea. Should I put my foot down and tell him no? I already told him I dont want her back. He said if thats the case he would just sell her.


Rammy

 

[WildRoseBeef]

She'll certainly try to test the fence again, there's no doubt about that. But since it's reinforced better she may not try to get out again. But there's something about fence crawlers that I understand your worry on; sometimes the repeat offenders are the ones that are going to try again because they were successful last time, so why not again this time? Thing is though, you've reinforced the fence. And these are growing heifers, so that means that little hole she could get through won't be so little the next time she tries again. Personally I'd give her a second chance because she is a youngster, but what you want to do in the end is totally up to you.

 

[RollingAcres]

I agree with @WildRoseBeef, give them time to get used to you and eventually they will let you get near them and pet them. I had the same issue last summer when we first got our 2 heifers. They are out first cows so to speak. In the beginning they wouldn't come near us either and trying to spray them with fly control was such a pain. Then with advice and guidance, we started feeding them grains every couple of days and let them get used to us. Then when the grass stopped growing and snow came, we started giving them hay and feeding grains daily. I think by end of the year last year they started to let us pet them while they eat. That took quite a few months.

About the fencing, we didn't use hot wires because we couldn't afford it at the time. But so far the woven fencing seemed to work.

 

[Rammy]

I guess maybe I was hoping they would warm up to me by now. I kept them in a stall for almost a month, with a small area to turn out into until they calmed down. I would feed them while they watched me pour the grain into the feeder and try to touch them when they were eating. They would back away and sometimes kick, but I wasnt close enough. I watched videos on how to tame a calf and have been using a small 4ft pole to touch at first then get closer and use my hands. One lets me touch her a little while then backs away, the other two hide behind her but Im able to reach them and touch them a little also.
They are only here for the summer. We plan on selling later this fall when they are around 800 lbs. So Im not sure just how much they will let me get to know them and vice versa for that short period. Guess we will see.

Rammy

 

[Rammy]

Hey, Im riding the range!! I got upgraded. YEEEE-HAAWWW!!

Rammy

 

[Latestarter]

Yee haw indeed!

 

[Baymule]

Hey, Im riding the range!! I got upgraded. YEEEE-HAAWWW!!

Rammy

Riding the range on what?

 

[Rammy]

I guess the cows since I dont have a horse anymore. Giddy-up ya heifers!

Rammy

 

[farmerjan]

You are not taking into account that these heifers were most likely raised on cows; That they may or may not have had any real contact with humans. Then you got them, brought them home, turned them into a strange pasture and one got out. If the neighbor has her tamed enough to touch her, then putting her back with the others might actually help you with yours. And honestly, if you are only going to have them for the summer then sell them, why do you even need them to be "touchable"? Just having them quiet enough to come for feed is enough. If you make them pets, then they will go somewhere that they may not be treated as well as you have treated them and that seems a little unfair to me.

We try to keep all our calves quiet enough so that they do not see us as "the enemy", but do not try to make pets out of them. Then, when we do our first culling and select the initial group of heifers to keep, they get exposed to alot more human interaction. Most will try to push their noses in the buckets as we pour the feed in the troughs, after a few weeks of being fed. The flighty ones are on the short list to be sold. There are always a few that become pets on their own. Got one now that just had her 2nd calf that we call "pet6". She is off a bought cow. Just decided she wanted to be in our face everytime we turned around.

Realize that the jerseys you had were most likely bottle babies. They knew nothing except that people had feed for them. Even the ones I raise on my nurse cows, see me as a "good guy" because they are getting something from me.