Trespassers.........EKKK

fellini123 · #1 07/16/06, 04:26 PM

Well I was sitting here reading HT and realized it was time to do evening feeding. Went out door and heard the goats telling me that it was time to do evening feeding!!! Baaaaa, Baaaaaaa, Baaaaaaa, MOOOOO??

MOOOOOOO?? I dont have any cows, and last time I checked pygmy goats dont go MOOOOO!

So I walked down to the goat pasture and there were 3 big old cows. Now where in the world did they come from??? Is this one of those times I should have had my property fenced in with signs "Trespassers will be shot....and eaten?"

The property backs on the highway 29, a major 4 lane divided highway and on the other side of the highway is a boat ramp going down to the river. The other side of the property is the river. Now I guess these cows could have crossed the river, maybe getting in there cause it is so hot and swimming across?? But the property on the other side of the river is property that has been turned into a hiking, horseback riding trail, no cows.

So are they mine?? Can I keep them?? Look what followed me home???? LOL

Alice in Virginia

Tweetybird · #2 07/16/06, 04:36 PM

I just hope some cattle rustler hasn't dropped then off because he thought he was going to get caught. I have heard that rustling is a real problem again. Either that or a bunch of kids dropped them off as some kind of weird joke. I would check with neighbors and maybe the police? You don't want to get in trouble for having stolen property.

MELOC · #3 07/16/06, 04:50 PM

SSS...shoot, skin and stuff in the freezer, lol.

that reminds me of something that happened in my neighborhood years ago. a neighbor's beef steer got loose and was running loose all over the neighborhood. folks tried hard to corale and or capture the bugger. it ran to the top of the ridges and back down...and back up again. the neighbors grew impatient and got their rifles and were ready to shoot it. it decided to enter our horse pasture. my sister saddled one of her horses to help direct it and keep it from running back up the ridge. someone decided to lasso the steer and when they did, my sis tied of on the saddle horn. the horse was about 20-25 years old at the time and had never done any work like this. it instinctively backed up and helped hold the steer in check until others could get more ropes on it. the horse seemed to know what to do, lol.

mandyh · #4 07/16/06, 05:20 PM

I had that happen last year, turned out it belonged to a neighbor 2 miles away. He had just gotten this cow and she wasnt used to the place. Anyway she was afraid af the bull, went through the fence during the night. It happened during a snowstorm. When I first saw it , I thought it was a bear, than it mooed. I gota big laugh out of it.

Dont shoot the cow, that makes for bad neighbors.

Ken Scharabok · #5 07/16/06, 05:31 PM

Call, as a miminum, your Country Sheriff's office and the local Ag Agent and let them know the cows appeared on your property.

Do the cattle have ear tags in them (included the metal tags with the numbers)? Some ear tags have the owner's id on them. Are they wearing stickers on their back with numbers, which would indicate they were recently in a local sales barn?

Lost and found rules differ. You may have to advertise them in a local paper and perhaps on fliers at local feed stores, etc. If the rightful owner doesn't claim them within a certain period of time you might end up owning them. If they are claimed, you might be able to charge a daily fee for caring for them.

If the cattle have no identification then how will the rightful owner be able to document they are theirs? Don't know.

Neighbor bought several cows at a local auction barn. All of them came up missing not long after they were turned out into his pasture along a creek. A couple of weeks later someone called from about 12 miles away saying they had two of them. Traced back to him through the sales barn sticker. Apparently the cows had followed the creek down to the river and then the river bank down to the bottoms along TN Lake. Two still haven't shown up and, unless they joined someone's herd, may be living a life in the wild.

Cheryl in SD · #6 07/16/06, 07:27 PM

Did you check for their official NAIS tag? Just think, you could not only be calling the sherriff but filling out NAIS paperwork too!

Seriously, when we had a bull show up at our house one night, I called the sherriff and they tracked the owners down. Let us know how it goes.

ace admirer · #7 07/16/06, 10:15 PM

Don't listen to the sss shi,,,stuff, i'm sure its written by a nine year old. you live in a state that has a right to farm law. if you do anything to harm the animals you will have to replace the animals at the least, face stiff charges at the most. call animal control in your county, they will probably have a lead on who they belong to. if there is a country store nearby, you might drop by and spread the word...because one of these days your animals will be in the same situtation and i'm sure you would want honest treatment also....would not you? sss,,,good grief...present poster excluded of course. but sooner or later someone whom is serious will suggest it.

fellini123 · #8 07/16/06, 11:22 PM

Well cows dont have any particular markings, and no ear tags. I must admit I'm not crazy about going over these guys with a fine tooth comb!! LOL
I mean these are big cows.

And no I'm not going to SSS, one reason is I dont have a feeze big enough to hold even 1/2 of them!!!

I tiried to call animal control......they dont work on weekends!!! The answering machine said to call back on Monday. So I will give them a call. I dont like the cows eating all my grass!!!!! They dont seem perturbed, they arent' bothering the horse or the goats. So I guess things could be worse.
Hopefully when I get up in the morning they will have gone back to wherever they came from!!!!
Alice in Virginia (Anyone want to come over for a BIG barbacue????)

ellebeaux · #9 07/17/06, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fellini123

Alice in Virginia (Anyone want to come over for a BIG barbacue????)

I was thinking the same thing...I live about a mile from 29...

jill.costello · #10 07/17/06, 07:24 AM

Here is Texas, it is now YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to care for the animals until the Sheriff has the opportunity to go through the motions of finding the owners.

It is illegal to "turn them away" or "put them out" onto the road because of the danger to the community!

However, if the Sheriff cannot find the owners after a certain amount of time, then a judge can award them to you fairly easily.

If they DO find the owner, he is usually required to reimburse you for the cost and labor of caring for them for however many weeks you provided hay/ cubes/ water, etc.

But, of course, that's Texas....... :-)

Queen Bee · #11 07/17/06, 07:35 AM

Our cows decided to go visiting the neighbors (dh's cousin who owned a big nice bull) and traveled 3miles--though deep brush, and through two aunt's property--with no one seeing them until they stopped by the bull's pasture and the cousin counted his cows and saw our tag on their ears.....Called us and we went to bring them home....that's a whole 'nother story. Two were still feeding calves--but they followed the leader.............We had field fence with hot wire on top.. It didn't slow them down one bit.... when they wanted out they would just push thru--crying and moooing but they did it so fast it snapped the fence...So some went to market and others went to freezer camp.... I got really tired of chasing cows before and after work....

fellini123 · #12 07/18/06, 06:21 PM

Well I did get hold of Animal Control. They came out and confirmed my identification, "Yes, those are cows!!"
He said that he would ask around, didnt have any reports of missing cows.
So...havent heard anything. luckily they dont eat that much, just drink a lot of water, I'm filling up the goats water trough much more often than I used to!!!
I asked what do I do if noone claims them?? Animal Control said....."Well we can take them to the shelter, or you can keep them." Now I'm all for free beef, but I dont have 1/2 enough room for all of these!!
I think I will take a picture of them, print it out and hang it up by the auction house about 6 miles from our house. Maybe someone will recognize them.
Alice in Virginia

MELOC · #13 07/18/06, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ace admirer

Don't listen to the sss shi,,,stuff, i'm sure its written by a nine year old. you live in a state that has a right to farm law. if you do anything to harm the animals you will have to replace the animals at the least, face stiff charges at the most. call animal control in your county, they will probably have a lead on who they belong to. if there is a country store nearby, you might drop by and spread the word...because one of these days your animals will be in the same situtation and i'm sure you would want honest treatment also....would not you? sss,,,good grief...present poster excluded of course. but sooner or later someone whom is serious will suggest it.

you have no sense of humor.

i just got the "present poster" bit...maybe you do have a sense of humor.

comfortablynumb · #14 07/18/06, 06:47 PM

if you put up a found poster with a picture youll get everyone wanting to claim them.
stick to a text poster, and have them describe the cows.

Ive had loose cows here too, if they are "tame" to where you can pet them and they arent spooky, more than likely they are someones well cared for livestock.

3 big cows is a loss someone will notice, give it a few weeks. with luck you might get a small reward to remburse you for caring for them.

Ken Scharabok · #15 07/18/06, 07:50 PM

While they may not have hide or shape characteristics, they will have teeth wear. Someone who knows what they are looking at can age a cow plus or minus about one year by looking at the teeth. If they tell you they are say 6, 8 & 9 years old and someone calls saying they are missing three young cows you known they aren't the rightful owner.

Someone familiar with the local breeds can also tell you, more or less, what they are - or a mix thereof.

If you end up owning them arrange for their transportation and sale at the local sales barn with proceeds back to you.

ace admirer · #16 07/18/06, 09:26 PM

Hi Meloc,,,,naugh, i've got a sense of humor,,,,just noone understands it.....so maybe you're correct,,,,maybe bad sense of humor.....

frazzlehead · #17 07/18/06, 11:23 PM

Well, I suppose if nobody shows up to claim them in ... what, a month? two months? you can call up the local butcher and see what he'll offer for them! Take whatever meat you can use, and let him sell the rest, or sell it to friends and family 'up front': then they can tell the butcher how to prepare it for them ... and voila.

And if you feel like doing a really good deed, if nobody claims them, contact your local food bank and see if they'd take the meat. Then see if your butcher will do the deed for free, in support of the food bank.

Look at it this way, you get to have a 'test run' of owning cattle, with absolutely no up front costs!

Jennifer L. · #18 07/18/06, 11:38 PM

This happened in this county recently. 7 cows showed up on someone's place and were there for awhile. Someone contacted the local TV news and they had a story on them, and the next day a farmer from about five miles away was able to get them back.

Cows can go long distances really fast if they want to. There was a lost cow down the road from me a few years ago. In one night she was seen near the state road, and by the morning was seen near the state park on the other side of me. That was more than 8 miles just in one night!

Jennifer

Unregistered · #19 07/18/06, 11:54 PM

Same thing happened to a friend of mine who lived near Sherman, Texas. He had 7 head of cattle come up to his house in late fall. He notified the sheriffs office, put up posters, and asked neighbors. He was advised if no one claimed the cows for 90 days they were his. He fed and cared for them for 88 days. Took real good care of them. On day 88 his next door neighbor claimed the cows. My friend thought he would be compensated for the feed and care of the cows. He was, at the price the neighbor would have spent on their care and feed. It was quite a bit less than what my friend had spent on them. The neighbor thanked him for taking such good care of his cows for the 88 days.

electronrider · #20 07/19/06, 08:48 AM

Well, If you do end up having the good fortune to own these cows ( i would call the sheriffs office and ask them what the requirements are for you as far as effort to find the owner, how long to wait, etc) Once you are in the free and clear, I would fatten them up nice for a while, then start callin family and friends for freezer space? find out how much to process them, and sell it at cost to your family? Fill your freezer, then make a call to a local food bank? The possibilities for being generous to others are limitless in this situation.