My Black Angus is being very naughty

[christmascow]

I have noticed when going into the pasture to feed my little guy, he has been just about been running me down for his sweet feed, he get's fed 2 x per day with that plus we give him Coastal Hay because in Florida the grass get's a bit brown after our first frost. He is still grazing etc....

But lately when I come in he runs at me and puts his head down and tries to head but me, it is starting to be a tad scary for me he is snorting and doing this every day to me, at first I thought well he is playing a game with me.

We purchased him back in August I believe he is about a year old now.

DH bought him to raise and put in the freezer eventually so being friends is not my priority with that in mind, however it is starting to scare me....

Any advice I am new at the cow thing this is our first but I know I will not allow my daughter in there he is worse when he sees her, and I am afraid she would not be able to get out of his way if he decides to run at her.....

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Carry a good club. When he comes at you wack him! DO NOT let him get away with this. In the future, any cattle you have that start this break them ASAP! With a bull one puts a nose ring in and then you can attach a rope or chain and when it drags on the ground he steps on it and it teaches him to lift his head up. If clubbing him isn't working this could be an option if you have a place to lock him up and get the ring in. At a year old though he must be getting close to heading for the freezer.

 

[christmascow]

I am estimating he is around 800 pds. So he is not TOO far from the freezer but he is cut. I do know that I hope I am saying that correctly and I was told that should calm him down? Is that not correct?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Yes, cutting him, banding him, steering him, will make them calmer. It will also help fill them out more for butchering. I do think the younger they are when it's done the calmer they will be. In otherwords, if he was already beginning to realise he was a bull when done, he won't be as calm verus one who hadn't begun to realise it.

Remember to teach him who is boss and keep reminding him anytime he starts to forget. When he puts his head down and runs at you he is charging. Whether he stops before he gets to you or not. Charging can be very dangerous/deadly. You don't want to fly through the air or be slammed against something.

 

[m.holloway]

hi farmer kitty,

i finally got back to reading the forum. since thanksgiving i thought it was over. Anyway i'll keep that in mind about the advise. sara-lu started doing that with me when i was trying to get the bucket filled. one time she busied my upper legg. i didn't use a club , but i did wack her on the nose and yelled at her. i also push her away and told her stop that. so for now she has stop

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Cows are usually more gentle to begin with but, you called her on it right away. When they actually get to the head down and running at you (charging) stage you need a club so you have something for some protection.

 

[Ozark Hen]

When I bottle raised a steer my dh wouldn't allow me to go anywhere near him unless I carried a club...the cow not my dh

 

[wynedot55]

with pushy cattle its best to take an axe handle with you.an gently show them its not a good idea to charge or push on you.an if they do tapp them with the handle.

 

[christmascow]

:/

Thanks for all the advice DH thinks he is JUST PLAYING but I am NOT buying that at all, he said he is doing this because you let him eat from the bucket once or twice and he thinks that he is now thinking he can run up and get the feed in the bucket before we can get in his Stall to feed him. He is probably right I was thinking by letting him come up to me and allowing him to eat from it, I was getting a chance to pet him and earn his trust, but now I am not sure I was doing the right thing at all.

 

[amysflock]

That sounds exactly like what Sheila would do when we first started offering grain as a treat in a bucket. It got to the point where we couldn't come through the gate with the bucket without her being right there, pushing at us, trying to get her snack early.

We stopped feeding with a bucket altogether for awhile, and now we feed buckets by dropping them over the fence to the girls. We no longer carry buckets into the paddock. This has helped a lot. We do carry an axe handle, too, though this a recent upgrade from the piece of lathe I used to carry.

Most often I only have to poke the girls with the end of the axe handle to make my point...much like they probably poke eachother with their horns. Each has been smacked hard with the lathe, though, when warranted, for my own safety. It was hard for me to grasp the idea of whacking an animal, but given how large and dangerous cattle really are, and after reading about some really serious injuries and scary moments others have had when interacting with their cattle, I get it now.