Stupid animals!!!!!!!!!

pigeonracer2k · #1 04/15/06, 10:12 PM

I have [ or should I say had ] 2 calves not quite a year old and my neighbor keeps 2 that are about 18 months old up at our place. We are surrounded by woods and thickets.
Mid morning they got through a hole in the fence and have not been seen since. I have searched for miles around but so far no sign of them.
I fed them hard feed evry evening and they would always come up to me when I called them and rattled the bucket.
Any ideas as to whether they may come back on their own or how to entice them back, where to look etc.
With appreciation and thanks in anticipation of help/advice

JeffNY · #2 04/15/06, 10:41 PM

If your surrounded by woods, and there aren't any other farms near by, then things might be grim. We had an angus bull calf get out, he took off. He was seen a mile or so over on another road, then was yelling at a neighbors place. He did return the next day, because our cows were yelling, we got them to yell. We got extremely lucky on that one. In your case, one will follow another, they will walk and walk. Some people have lost animals to never see them again, it does happen.

Jeff

Rockin'B · #3 04/15/06, 11:02 PM

Tracking skills might be handy right about now....

I've been doing that for over 30 years. They do come in handy.

Up North · #4 04/16/06, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigeonracer2k

I have [ or should I say had ] 2 calves not quite a year old and my neighbor keeps 2 that are about 18 months old up at our place. We are surrounded by woods and thickets.
Mid morning they got through a hole in the fence and have not been seen since. I have searched for miles around but so far no sign of them.
I fed them hard feed evry evening and they would always come up to me when I called them and rattled the bucket.
Any ideas as to whether they may come back on their own or how to entice them back, where to look etc.
With appreciation and thanks in anticipation of help/advice

First thing I would do is call Local Sheriff's office and give them a descrition(I.E. Black&white or red, etc.). If they make it to a road or another farm, people would(and may allready have) call Sheriff's Dept. Then, I would open all gates to your pasture and leave them open(assuming they don't connect with a neighbor's pasture?) . If the calves make their way back for nitely feed, they can then come in. Makes no sense to a human being, but cattle rarely crawl back IN thru a hole they went OUT.
If the flies are out in your area, calves will hide out in deepest, thickest brush they can find and stay ther till dark. Where to look? Look where there is water. Sooner or later they will get thirsty.
Calves of that age should be large enough to survive this ordeal.
Best Wishes and keep us posted.

Up North · #5 04/18/06, 03:28 PM

Any updates on the missing cattle?

pigeonracer2k · #6 04/19/06, 06:57 PM

We havent seen any sign of the cattle. Yesterday I walked my creek full length to the highway and several of us have been all over the surrounding area. I have just about given up seeing them again, but it is a awful lot of money to write off

Christina R. · #7 04/19/06, 07:38 PM

I was wondering if you had seen hide or hair of them since they decided to run. I thought notifying the sheriff was a good idea. What about also posting something in the local feed store(s). Hope this has a good outcome for you.

dosthouhavemilk · #8 04/19/06, 07:45 PM

You might also contact the local livestock auctions. Someone could try to run them through one if they catch them.

Up North · #9 04/19/06, 11:22 PM

Sorry to hear that Pigeonracer2K. Don't give up hope yet though. They may turn up in somebody's yard, or on a road somewhere. With as many people that carry cell phones, somebody may yet call in their location.

astrocow · #10 04/21/06, 08:02 AM

Where I am $150 will get a ride in a 4 seater airplane for about 45 minutes. Flying at 500 feet you'll see everything and cover a large area.

JeffNY · #11 04/21/06, 08:41 AM

Might be tough to see the ground through the trees from a plane, I would think Arkansas has a lot of leaves on the trees now. I've heard stories of animals traveling 5-10 miles from their home. Someone was telling us of a story of some beef cattle that traveled a good 10 miles or more, and arrived at someone elses farm. They get heading in one direction, they will keep on going.

Jeff

myheaven · #12 04/21/06, 05:17 PM

Have you concidered calling the local news? It could be a good and odd story for them. it would get the word and pictures out. Its a long shot

MRSSTEAK · #13 04/21/06, 06:33 PM

My neighbors recently told me a story of a couple calves they bought at an auction a couple years ago. The calves got loose and wanderd around the area for months. Every time they would get close, the calves would run. They never did catch them. Finally in the fall a neighboring farmer said he kept seeing the calves come in to eat with his cows, so he kept throwing hay over the fence to them but they would only come in to eat it after dark. Late one night in the light of the flashlight, well, lets just say they aren't wandering the hills anymore. Best beef they ever ate, or so they say. They split it with the farmer that took care of the problem.

Greg · #14 04/21/06, 07:31 PM

Depending on what you were going to use them for maybe they not so stupid:>

pigeonracer2k · #15 04/21/06, 09:11 PM

Only trouble with informing the Sheriff is if they walk out in the road and cause a wreck I could be right in the " doo doo "

SmokedCow · #16 04/22/06, 12:10 AM

Only trouble with informing the Sheriff is if they walk out in the road and cause a wreck I could be right in the " doo doo "

Then pigeonracer2k could say they were rangeing!! haha..cuz...range laws apply, ya know what im saying? well atleast here in SD i know that if we range then the driver that hits the animals then its their fault.

But..our ewes (all 20 of them) got out and they traveled the country side..we found them 2 miles from the area they were last seen, and that was right in frount of my house!

We also had a cows travel, close to 10 miles, around the area to find somthing to eat, because their grass wasnt good enough. Same grass they ate all the other years.....so you just need to go out on gravel/dirt roads after it rains, and see if you see ANY tracks that look like theirs. Then fallow them...If there are some cows NEAR you...check with the farmers and see if they have seen them, or maybe they joined the herd...Had that happen sometimes.

BEST OF LUCK!
AJ

JAM · #17 04/22/06, 05:09 AM

A neighbor of ours had a scottish highland heifer get out when a tree fell on the fence. She went into the state park which is about 2500 acres of undevloped woods. occasionally she would be seen with deer but could not be caught. Almost a year later she turned up in her owners barnyard in great condition.

JeffNY · #18 04/22/06, 05:52 PM

I was talking with a fella today about loose animals. He said they go in a circle, they will circle an area when they get lost. So your animals could be close to home, circling, not knowing how to get back. Since it was a couple, they might have headed in a b-line and could be 10 miles away by now.

Calling the sheriff is a good idea, however as others mentioned, if there is a law that puts the farmer at fault if someone hits it, then it might not be a good idea. These days farmers are hammered on, and we had a trooper come by when a couple of ours were out. She said (good looking trooper too), that if they get hit, it is our fault. They can even write a ticket if they are out in the road :P. Either way, we have managed to keep them in, don't need any of that bs.

Jeff

vegascowgirl · #19 04/24/06, 11:30 AM

Just wondering if you had spotted your calves yet? I hate to bring up a bad fact, but Rustling is still alive and well (especially in MO and AR). Were your calves branded at all? If so you can ask the auctions to keep an eye out for your brand or anything that looks simular.

pigeonracer2k · #20 04/24/06, 08:28 PM

Cows have now turned up. A local farmer phoned my neighbor today to say he had rounded up my cows and they were over at his place, where they have been since Tuesday. They are in Prattsville which is 14 miles from where I live, so to make this distance in 3 days is going some.
I didnt make it to Church yesterday as I spent most of the day trying to track them down. A friend called to see why I never went so I told him I wouldnt be in Church till the Good Lord sent my cows back! I sure know where I will be next week, but I am not sure if prayer praise is in order.
Thanks for all of yoyr advice and words.