So far I've been real happy with the new hired man. He works hard and pitches in whenever necessary. I like that. I have come across one thing since we started calving heifers that I don't like. If a cow turns and faces him he runs off.
Now understand, when you are dealing with 1000 lb cows who have just had a baby they can be a little touchy about a human messing with them or their calves. You have to be aware and alert. The thing is though, these are first calf heifers who aren't real sure about taking a human. Ninety eight percent of the time when a heifer comes at you she is all bluff. She is charging you trying to scare you off but she won't actually take you. Don't get me wrong, having this 1000 lb critter charging at you is scary but you can read the signs and know if she's bluffing or not by the look in her eyes. If you stand your ground, look them in the eyes and don't take a step backwards they will back off and leave you alone. The trick here is to recognize the 2% of the time it's not a bluff and they are serious. The other trick is not to turn and leave when they are calmly walking towards you. At least make sure they are charging at you, not just walking by you.
The hired man doesn't have the intestinal fortitude, guts, to stand there and call their bluff. If they turn and just walk towards him he turns and leaves the country. In a way that is extremely dangerous since the cow now knows she can scare you and chase you off so the odds that she is bluffing when she takes you are quite a bit less. She now has confidence in her ability to take a human and will do so more easily and often. I've tried to explain this to him but it doesn't help. He still turns and runs.
Oh well, you have to take the good with the bad. I've just started leaving him back when I'm working with a heifer that has an attitude. It might be a little more dangerous to me but the cow won't learn any bad habits that way. Maybe by watching me he will figure it out, but if you don't have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to a cow, I doubt you ever will. I do have to keep reminding myself, he said he was no cowboy.
A cowboy is a man with guts and a horse. Will James
Random Photo from The Gallery
The cows waiting for cake on a sunny morning. Taken 11/29/2005.
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She was so nutso after having them we had to pen the calves separately. She'd have stomped them - that "dumb heifer looking at her calf like what the heck is that?!?!" Times two. When she finally realized that they belonged to her, it didn't get much better - but we put them all in a large outdoor pen with a shed.
She didn't have enough milk, so we were bottle feeding the calves to supplement her lack. Since she was so ornery, I'd usually go in with my husband or father-in-law. We'd been bottle feeding the calves with her right there for probably a week. She'd been threatening for a while, and I was cautious - but made a mistake.
I went in solo to feed them. First I was standing there with a bottle in each hand, a calf sucking each one. Then I was in the air, bottles flying, calves scattering. Then I was on the ground. Even with a bum knee I somehow scrambled out of there. She did stomp my right foot during this. I didn't remember that, but the top of my foot was seriously bruised for a couple of months.
I did go right back in to feed them - I just went for reinforcements.Eventually she dropped enough milk. Her attitude never improved, so she no longer resides here.