Crazy cows

farmerjon · #1 01/07/09, 02:14 PM

I have a few bull runnin with 2 heifers and Ive been having problems with them tring to get out. They have done though by fence twice now and they are always breaking the barn door to get in. In the barn I have a cow with a calf, so im not sure if they are just tring to get into her? I feed them Hay 2 times a day and a very little grain at night. We have a foot of snow or so and they are not grazin at all. They have about 2 acres of pasture they are in now. Am I not feeding them enough? I was told I was giving them too much...They are Angus and I know they are crazy but I didnt think they would push through an eletric fence. any ideas?

francismilker · #2 01/07/09, 02:17 PM

Sounds like you need more work for him to do or a dry lot to keep him in. Bulls can smell for miles and a couple of heifers will be made short work out of. If you don't have enough cows/heifers to keep them busy, you might as well sell them or make hamburger. It's really not economically feasible to keep a bull for that number of females anyway.

farmerjon · #3 01/07/09, 02:23 PM

My goal is to someday get to 50 head. I just started this summer with the 4 now 5. I got the bull to breed for a few years and I have him sold in 2 years to a loal farmer who wants him. The heiffers go with him, and alot of the time its only a heiffer that is in the barn.

farmerjon · #4 01/07/09, 02:52 PM

what exactly is a dry lot? just a pasture with know heiffers?...Sorry I know its a stupid quesion

Karin L · #5 01/07/09, 04:09 PM

No, a dry lot is a corral that mostly of compacted dirt, with a few large or small patches of grass here and there. It's mostly where you feed cattle out of a bunk or hay rings.

Karin L · #6 01/07/09, 04:19 PM

Have you tested your electric fence? It could be that it has low voltage and that it ain't hot enough deter them from getting out. Maximum for cattle should be around 60 000 volts, which is hot enough to here a loud snap when they touch there noses to it.

At first reading it sounded like you had a few bulls, but when I read back it was just an error you typed by accident. 1 bull and 2 heifers? Yikes, that's really asking for trouble! I would also start looking for an older cow to calm them down a bit, especially one with calf at side and one growing in her. Older cows tend to be more affirmative on herd etiquette which the heifers are in dire need of, IMHO. Plus you'll run into less trouble with a good older cow that has experience calving than a couple of trouble-hunting heifers like you got.

Plus it also sounds like those heifers are culls, in the sense that they are too wild for you to get near enough too...but with the amount of info you told I could be wrong.

agmantoo · #7 01/07/09, 05:27 PM

With the proper fence charger/energizer and high tensile 12 1/2 gauge wire installed correctly you could starve the animals without their getting out. Karin may have her numbers in error with the output of a good low impedence unit. Expect to pay above $200 for a good charger and follow the instructions for insulating the fence and for the ground. Buy a unit that is powered off the utility mains.

farmerjon · #8 01/08/09, 08:05 AM

Thanks to everyone for the input. Im making sound like they are out of control, I can walk right up to all of them even the bull (with pitchfork at side) and have no problems, I like the idea of getting another older cow. As for the fence it works great. I baught it from tractor supply, Its a 10 mile box with 4 grounds. It has some power, I can tell you that from a few misshaps. I think they may be better once I get them into the larger pasture once some of the white stuff leaves. once again thanks for the help...none of us are born farmers