Calf and electric fence

[SuperDog]

Yesterday morning I was lucky enough to get my first calf every. A really healthy black angus bull calf. Then last night the calf learned how to run. It touch the electric fence, let out a beller, and started to run the other way. The calfs mother and another heifer started to run after the calf all the way across the field, until it ran into another electric fence. But this time at a full run it just went right thru the fence. I was able to turn it around and it ran back thru the fence to momma. I guess the question I am trying to ask is this.... how long does it take for a calf to learn the electric fences?

Thanks
Mike

[myersfarm]

I bet that one is trained NOW


usually just touching the fence a few times works


tjm

[SuperDog]

"usually just tuching the fence a few times works"

myersfarm,

I hope so.... I know the heifers learned right away last year when I got them, but they were a year old at the time. I fear that a calf at just one day, doesn't have the brains to learn that quick.... I hope I am wrong and you are right. So far this morning, everyone is staying were they should be.

[ksfarmer]

Originally Posted by myersfarm

I bet that one is trained NOW


usually just touching the fence a few times works


tjm

I second that. Even 500 lb calves will go through a fence once or twice before they figure out what happened. Then you will see them cautiously touch it with their nose. I even saw one stick out his tongue and lick the wire. Thats usually the last they bother it.

[SuperDog]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. When I got home yesterday, one of the wires was down and pulled quite a ways from the fence. So he must have gotten tangled in it again. Last night watched him run towards the fence a couple of times just waiting for him to hit it..... but he never did. Maybe he has finally learned.

[Welshmom]

I always tied a few strips of plastic tape to the wire when I was training new calves or cattle, to make it more obvious and visible to them. It also really helped to start them out inside a pen, with wire on the inside, so that the only way for them to go after touching the wire is backwards, cuz if they go under it after getting zapped, it can be awfully hard to get them back in again.

[Wanda]

If this is a newborn give them a few days. They feel no pain and feel for boundrys the first week. His bond with mom will bring it back thru the fence. The first time you see one go thru a good barbedwire fence, it makes you cringe

[mary,tx]

When we put up our first hotwire, I stripped up an old sheet and tied the strips every little bit along it to make it more visible, the way I had seen my Dad do. I had a big steer who was very curious, and loved to pull my clothes off the back fence where they were drying when I had him in the other field.

So, he walks right up to one of those strips on the hotwire and licks it, jumps back a few feet, walks over and does it again. That silly steer did this about three times before deciding to leave it alone.

I'll bet that calf has already slowed down around the hotwire--depending on how hot it is. I watched one of our lessee's new calves walk over to the hotwire the other day, nose it, and run the other direction. They usually learn pretty fast.

[Trisha in WA]

Mary,
I like the bed sheet idea...sturdy material that won't tear in the wind and very visible. Good idea.
Trisha