Hi! My husband and I are interested in raising cattle in our pasture/field. The area (about a 1/2 acre) would only be able to handle one or two, but we also store our toys (such as our travel trailer, spare truck, old boat, utility trailer, etc.) in the area we are wanting to keep them. Will cattle chew on them if they are not fenced away from them? Fencing the area really isn't an option for us as we are constantly needing to accesses some of these items, so it would be a deal breaker if they do chew on things. I've tried searching the forum but haven't had any luck finding information. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated!
Will Cattle Chew on things?
- Thread starter Becca
- Start date
Snowhunter
Ridin' The Range
They probably won't chew on em.. but they will more then likely scratch on em!
WildRoseBeef
Range nerd & bovine enthusiast
Like SH said, they're probably less likely to chew on them, but they'll for sure use them as itching posts, and they'll even poop on the side of your "toys" too, which will mean extra work to clean it off.
- Thread starter
- #4
I would also worry about hardware disease with all those metal toys and if they start chewing or licking them, they could ingest a nail or a screw or something. But if you put a magnet (you can get them at feed stores) in a bolus gun and give it to them, you won't have to worry (as much) about the nail or screw cutting their digestive tract.
WildRoseBeef
Range nerd & bovine enthusiast
Those Jerseys certainly can get a little mouthy, lol. The other breeds aren't as bad, so if you don't get any Jerseys, Becca, you may have a little less problem with chewing.greenbean said:
- Thread starter
- #8
WildRoseBeef
Range nerd & bovine enthusiast
Do you have permanent fencing down already? If you don't then you can probably put a strand of hotwire (temporary-type) around the equipment in such a way that you don't have to move a gate to get at them but at the same time keeps the critters out. If you do, you still can put hotwire around them in an area where it's easily accessible. The other thing to do is to try to not spread them out so much, but park them so that you have them compacted in a small area so that you leave more grazing space for your two cattle. Hotwire does wonders, and a pop or two from them is enough to make them respect the fence. The wire should be HOT though, enough to give off a big POP or SNAP when an animal's nose touches it (or even when you touch it, LOL!!). That's what we did when we wanted a few steers out of their normal enclosure in the back yard to graze the grass down near the grain bins. Of course they're beef steers, a bit smarter than dairy heifers (usually...), and naturally if one steer gets zapped real good, the others know it's in their best interests to stay the heck away from the electric fence!! Dairy heifers, it'll take an extra pop or two to make them get it. Hopefully the couple cattle you get are beefers, and intelligent enough to not bother the fence again after just one good zap to the nose.
(And it is FUNNY to watch them get zapped!! [I know it sounds crude/cruel, but come on, who doesn't think it's funny when an animal or human gets the bejeezuz scared outta them?!] One of them reaches their head way out, neck stretched as far out as it can, nose quivering as they sniff it out, and inches closer and closer to the wire. Unlit it reaches the Point of No Return, the point were wet nose meets hot, electrified wire, and all of a sudden POP!! And the steer gives a short sharp MAWW!!! and either jumps three feet in the air or gets nearly knocked back on his haunches! Meanwhile, I'm LMAO....
)
(And it is FUNNY to watch them get zapped!! [I know it sounds crude/cruel, but come on, who doesn't think it's funny when an animal or human gets the bejeezuz scared outta them?!] One of them reaches their head way out, neck stretched as far out as it can, nose quivering as they sniff it out, and inches closer and closer to the wire. Unlit it reaches the Point of No Return, the point were wet nose meets hot, electrified wire, and all of a sudden POP!! And the steer gives a short sharp MAWW!!! and either jumps three feet in the air or gets nearly knocked back on his haunches! Meanwhile, I'm LMAO....
)Cricket
Ridin' The Range
Well, in MY neck of the woods, WRB, we wonder about those cows who aren't smart enough to test the fence once in awhile! GO, JERSEYS!
The thought on temporary fencing around equip can work. You can keep it gated and drop it once in awhile to let them graze down around the 'stuff'.
GO, JERSEYS! The thought on temporary fencing around equip can work. You can keep it gated and drop it once in awhile to let them graze down around the 'stuff'.
