Scary experience

[cowgirl8]

We had our bred heifers and last season heifers with their calves(although separated) in the corrals treating for flies. We ran the 60 head of cows into the corral alleyway to get them in line for the tub and then chute.
This group is flighty. Last spring, they pushed through a fence and before we knew it, they were 5 miles away. Someone called and asked if our cows were out, there were some on highway 37 that looked like ours. I laughed and said, that couldn't be our cows as I turned to look in their pasture.. I was like, SH!+.... We got them all back, but this group had done this kind of thing several times. They get out, they take off....
Anywho, we had them in the alleyway, its about 15 ft wide and 60 ft long, approx.. I saw one push into the group making her way to the other end once they were all locked in the alley. That set off something in the rest that turned and did the same. By the time they could go no further, there were some on the ground, I could hear wheezing, heads were stuck through the fence, legs poking out everywhere. It was darn scary how packed tight they were and the ones in the back just kept pushing.. I know a few of them have knots on their heads where we whacked them till they backed off. Luckily we didn't lose any, but it was seconds away from some croaking. We got a few of them separated and closed a gate(there are 3 gates in the alleyway) and the bigger group did it again. I looked over at them and saw no one on the ground so we ignored them. It seemed worse when we went over there..
The rest of the time we had to be very careful any time we got in there to run some into the tub. These are not crazy cattle. I just don't know what or why they seem to be prone to being flighty.... My FIL one time got caught in that situation and luckily got high enough on the fence to keep from getting crushed. THis was maybe 20 years ago and a different set of corrals, but since, this is the first time its happened.. Really thinking about retiring and planting our pasture in trees.

[TN Cattle Man]

"Flighty" cattle = "Crazy" cattle in my book. Just got rid of a couple girls who were just too risky to have around... especially trying to work them. I believe one should always be careful when working cattle, I just try to mitigate the risk a little bit by not having cattle that will spook and become unpredictable (dangerous) at any given time!

[callmefence]

Dam. You scared the he// oughta me.
I thought you saw highgrit in the bank parking lot

[ALACOWMAN]

It only takes one idiot, to light a fire in the whole bunch...

[Brute 23]

Those are the worse kind. I would have bounced their butts after going thru the fence the first time. Cattle like that don't pay. They tear up more than they earn... and that's if they don't hurt some one.

[TCRanch]

I'm glad you & the cattle are okay and I can't imagine the horror of seeing down cows, getting stepped on, mass mania. Makes me extra thankful for my docile girls!

[Rafter S]

I'm glad I'm it turned out okay, but if they were mine and had broken out and traveled five miles they wouldn't have come back and had another chance.

[cowgirl8]

When it comes to cattle, the only thing worse than a hungry cow, is a bored cow. These are very docile cattle. I believe there is a bad egg in the group and I hope to have her number. BUt it should be a lesson to everyone that just because you think you know your cattle, crap happens.

[kenny thomas]

Just like I can tell a banded calf from a knife cut calf I can tell a crazy cow that's messing up the bunch. Not that hard to do. Or if it's the whole bunch sell them all.

[True Grit Farms]

Just like I can tell a banded calf from a knife cut calf I can tell a crazy cow that's messing up the bunch. Not that hard to do. Or if it's the whole bunch sell them all.

These are very docile cattle Kenny, they only run 5 miles away, don't test the fences or stampede.

[jedstivers]

Just like I can tell a banded calf from a knife cut calf I can tell a crazy cow that's messing up the bunch. Not that hard to do. Or if it's the whole bunch sell them all.

These are very docile cattle Kenny, they only run 5 miles away, don't test the fences or stampede.

Why yes, had they been wild they would go have gone 10 miles and this time would have torn the fence down and maybe killed someone.
Good thing there's only one bad one in this bunch.

[cowgirl8]

Just like I can tell a banded calf from a knife cut calf I can tell a crazy cow that's messing up the bunch. Not that hard to do. Or if it's the whole bunch sell them all.

These are very docile cattle Kenny, they only run 5 miles away, don't test the fences or stampede.

That's where the number of cows you deal with matters. The more you have, the more you'll see. And its one thing to always remember when dealing with a large group of animals, never let down your guard. These are our replacements. YOu don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. BUt, I can see how its easy for people who don't do it for a living to think you can just start over.

[cowgirl8]

Dam. You scared the he// oughta me.
I thought you saw highgrit in the bank parking lot

Now that would be scary, but not as scary as if I had seen 5M, hes actually threatened me because you know, i'm so bad.

[Rafter S]

I didn't realize that large operations can't cull because of docility issues. Carry on.

[cowgirl8]

I didn't realize that large operations can't cull because of docility issues. Carry on.

Some are saying all should be sold. This wasn't a violent event. We've had it happen before years ago with some older cows. The room in the pen was about 90% take up. They started shifting to one end and it didn't stop...