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I was out last week with my kids, crossing a big field with a dairy herd in, when a cow without calf, started running towards my daughter. I was close and whilst shouting at it charged the cow. No one injured, and other than a rush of adrenaline all round, no one hurt. Funny at the time also.
I hear tonight that a mate at a race was crossing a field and was chased down by some cows, and is now in hospital with broken ribs and other complications.
Give them cows a wide berth eh.
City boy huh? Cows usually chase you for food, as soon as you stop and stare at them they will stop as well.
My best friend from school was a farmers son, we had a lot of good times scaring the shit out of other mates by taking them through the fields and then pretending we were running for our lives as a herd of cows stampeded across the field. Properly shitted a few guys up.
City boy huh?
You couldn't be further from the truth if you tried. I pretty much annihilated the car's suspension just getting up his road 😉
Were they Fresians? (the black and white ones 😉 ) They can be quite agressive.
Like bees in that way better 'producers' are often more angry.
The effect is more amusing with sheep. If you stop near the gate they think you are the farmer with food so they flock towards you. They all look at you and bleat, so it's a bit like being Jesus or Hitler or something.
I stopped at a gate once to make a phone call to my Dad telling him we were going to be late, and as I was on the phone hundreds of sheep gathered around me bleating loudly.. fairly comical phone call 🙂
City boy huh?
The Dexter pub near Shadwell in Leeds is named after my grandfather's farm.
My Mum recently retired has had a different farm for 30 years.
I wouldn't call myself a farm boy, but certainly know the score.
It was more a PSA for those who don't know. Even if there aren't calves in the field, a lot of them are close to dropping now. Hormonal.
Were they Fresians?
The one who chased my daughter was.
I feel for them. All that ruminating must get dull, why wouldn't you cheer yourself up with a bit of pursuit action? But yes, I treat with respect, especially the shaggy ones with sharp horns that have been wandering around the campsite descent recently.
But yes, I treat with respect, especially the shaggy ones with sharp horns that have been wandering around the campsite descent recently.
They are clumsy ****rs, they've damaged most of the saplings and smaller trees on there and Elle bank. I wouldn't challenge them, they'd hit you if trying to avoid you.
Always a bit uneasy when I'm riding in the new forest and have to pass through a little gang of the buggers on a road - you never know which calf belongs where. I try to go fast if I can, so they don't have time to start wondering whether I'm a threat
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This was at the start of a survey. I had to put the camera down and lower the picker as the rest of the herd had come over, and I swear they were trying to tip it over.
And they licked the grease off anything that had it on. Weirdos
I like cows. Their docility makes me chuckle. Having said that, their ability to stampede uphill at the same pace as on the flat is a bit eerie.
Also, a few years ago, a cow collapsed on a bank and rolled onto my FIL's car. That really was most odd.
There have been two or three people killed by cattle recently, and another close-call last week locally. A woman walking her dog along a cycle path in Calne barely escaped being trampled by a herd just unloaded from a truck, a woman in Chippenham was trampled to death by cattle who went after her old dog while she was walking along a path by the river, last year, and I believe another woman and her husband were attacked recently, and he was killed, she was very seriously injured.
They can be downright bloody lethal, and should not, under any circumstances be underestimated.
I'd forgotten about this other local attack: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/farming/10057010/Pensioner-trampled-to-death-by-herd-of-cows.html
CountZero, there was an incident a few years ago where a lady was trampled to death having walked through the same field for something like 22 years.
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i always respect the cow
The effect is more amusing with sheep
one time with my friend on the marlbrough downs near avebury.he had stopped to take some pics on his camera phone.was minding my own business,when i spotted a sheep looking at me.it proceeded to walk closer.i was thinking it was going to charge/headbutt me,but it walked to my bike instead and started nibbling the tyres then the spokes 😯
had to shoo the bovine beastie away before it ate the whole bike 😉
started running towards my daughter. I was close and whilst shouting at it charged the cow
Has he just called his daughter a cow?
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In terms of stats I did some looking up recently, in Australia there were:
1791-2013 217 Fatal Shark Attacks
2010-today 170 Cyclists Killed on Austrlain Roads
No figure on cattle injuries here
Best I can find is a UK figure of
The figures are not clear, but maybe one person a year on average is killed by cattle in Britain, and a lot more are hurt by them.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/10064225/Cow-attacks-It-looked-like-they-wanted-to-kill-him.html
Most of the stories seem to include dogs, the clear advice is to let go of the dog and let them run/be chased.
Every summer the farmer puts his cows in the field behind us and when I cut the grass I chuck the clippings over the fence, which they love. Quite soon they learn the sound of the mower and when I start cutting they stampede across the field, which is a bit alarming when you look at the rubbish fence we have:
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One summer a cow did succeed in breaking through; she scoffed all Mrs Gti's plants and left deep hoof holes all over the lawn, as well as pooing on it. What a mess that was.
Were they Fresians
Running to get warm then?
IGMC
My parents were in the pyrenees a few years ago having driven down the coast to get there. Stopped car to go for a days walking came back and it was wrecked. Deep scores in every panel including the roof, side mirrors off, one broken headlight, passengers window and one rear window smashed. There were three or four cars in the car park in the same state.
All down to cows licking salt of the bodywork, having whacking great horns and cowbells did the damage though.
I ran in the Totley fell race last night, the course went through a field with (brown fwiw) cows in it, i would guess that 200 people running through their field had spooked them, and they were getting a bit 'stampedey'.
i think someone got a bit stepped on, broken ribs, etc. later on i heard screaming (!) and sirens.
yes, those ****ers are dangerous.
[i]Running to get warm then?[/i]
They should put some Jerseys in the field too, then.
Belted Galloways in the fields next to my mums old place in Northumberland were nasty little ****ers when there were calves about.
the bovine beastie
sheep - ovine
cow - bovine
What do you call a grumpy cow?
Moody! 🙂
(with thanks to my son for that one)
Moooody surely?
I came round a bend on a night ride straight into the side of a cow, like hitting a hot wall, it barely registered me thank goodness. It was a tight trail and a panicking 700kg cow and soft biker would not have been a long lasting battle.
Well, yes but I figured that people could add as many O's as they saw fit 🙂
Every summer the farmer puts his cows in the field behind us and when I cut the grass I chuck the clippings over the fence, which they love.
Please don't feed cows or horses grass clippings - it's not good for them. It disrupts the microbe balance in their gut and can cause colic.
I ran in the Totley fell race last night, the course went through a field with (brown fwiw) cows in it, i would guess that 200 people running through their field had spooked them, and they were getting a bit 'stampedey'.i think someone got a bit stepped on, broken ribs, etc. later on i heard screaming (!) and sirens.
yes, those ****ers are dangerous.
He did, he's in Sheffield with broken ribs and fluid on the lung, hence the OP.
Never get between a mother and her calf and never start running from a herd, they will just run after you and aren't very good at stopping. Beef cattle are more dangerous than dairy as they aren't as used to being around humans.
They all look at you and bleat, so it's a bit like being Jesus or Hitler or something.
Arguably the best thing [i]you've[/i] ever posted, mol old boy. 😆
Out of the way, dopey!
sheep - ovine
cow - bovine
oops 😳
clubber - Member
What do you call a grumpy cow?Moody!
(with thanks to my son for that one)
Good work. And in that spirit, what do cows have for breakfast?
Moosli!
(with thanks to rodent junior for that also!)
Why don't bulls fall over when it's windy?
Because 'Weebles wobble but we don't fall down'.
Flaperon - Member
Every summer the farmer puts his cows in the field behind us and when I cut the grass I chuck the clippings over the fence, which they love.
Please don't feed cows or horses grass clippings - it's not good for them. It disrupts the microbe balance in their gut and can cause colic.
Wait, what?
They're damn cruel sometimes;
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Do they pull the roots up when they eat too then? Can't see how otherwise eating a cut version of the same food would have any effect?
I think it's the volume of cut grass they can eat in a short space of time that might be the issue.
My wifes uncle was killed by cows in the late 90's at Threlkeld. It was largely brushed off as misadventure in the inquest.
The same herd a few years later seriously hurt one of the farmers and killed another in two seperate incidents.
I have been in two very close incidents myself both times with a dog around this time of year when calfs are in the fields. The young cows are incredibly inquisitive whilst the mothers are 3/4 tonne and very protective. Give them a very wide berth especially if you have a dog.
Were you carrying a bucket full of feed at the time?
Just askin like.
Herded an escaped cow on my last ride - it was on the cycle path that lead to the dual carriageway. I felt like I was in the Blues Brothers 🙂
Another time the other herd on that hill congregated by a gate on the SDW - there was 1 group of MTB'ers, a couple of walkers and a single MTB'er all looking at them nervously. I just bowled in there with some loud "Mooooooove" "Yah" "Shift" etc... and cleared them.
BUT they can be protective of calves, try not to get between the calf and mum. Friesians can be tricky especially around pregnant women (it's the hormones or something) a friend of mine (wife of a livestock vet) got attacked by a herd whilst pregnant with her second child.
But mostly remember it's all a confidence trick - you tell them you're boss and they believe you.
DaRC_L leaves a lost cow in a safe place for the farmer to find;
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To shift the topic slightly from bovine to equine, are horses in a field quite dangerous too?
I only ask as a few months back a ride was halted by horses as we weren't sure whether they would, umm attack us. There were two and we gave them a wide berth but when they spotted us, started galloping over. We hotfooted it over a fence but didn't want to risk going through their field again - they seemed quite territorial.
Do horses attack?
I have been in two very close incidents myself both times with a [b]dog[/b]
well you've got it coming to be honest!
[i]Do horses attack? [/i]
Neigh.
It's a little racist there DaRC_L most breeds have protectiveness issues, friesians can be very common in a lot of areas.
Having grown up on a farm and worked with livestock for a good 15 years confidence is one thing but also discretion is important. Not being in the wrong place or leaving if the situation is not good. Dogs are not the best thing to have with you this time of year anyway with lots of lambs around and cows and calves. I said it earlier if you have a dog on a lead and it's getting ugly leg go of the dog, hopefully it will out run them to a fence. Think twice about heading into a field of cows & calves with a dog too.
To shift the topic slightly from bovine to equine, are horses in a field quite dangerous too?
Generally, no. Exception is when you have a dog in the same field as a stallion, who won't think twice about trying to kill it if he considers it a threat.
Horses will crowd around you for food or attention which can be intimidating if they start bickering with each other. I've never been unable to chase a horse away (look it directly in the eye and move towards it with arms wide and fingers spread apart).
Ultimately, horses are wimps. Cows are thugs.
I came round a bend on a night ride straight into the side of a cow, like hitting a hot wall, it barely registered me thank goodness.
Sounds like quite the experience!
[i]and fingers spread apart[/i]
they really *hate* counting fingers but feel obliged to either try or run away?
treat with respect, especially the shaggy ones with sharp horns that have been wandering around the campsite descent recently
Not much room to maneuver when it's trotting at you along there, between the stone walls. I hid behind my bike as it thundered slowly past. 😯
Am usually OK with cows and the like but last year there was one on the bridleway with a calf that had been stillborn. There was blood and afterbirth wrong all over the place and the poor animal was bellowing in a most disconcerting way.
Going back wasn't an option so we stayed there for a few minutes until the cow had calmed down (slightly) then kind of edged our way round. Really sad to see it looking at us and then nuzzling its dead calf 🙁
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/13894601589_6ff0952af3_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/13894601589_6ff0952af3_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/naPsYn ]IMG_0390[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/58162507@N07/ ]SGMTB[/url], on Flickr
those 650B wheels really make the stampede come alive.
those 650B wheels really make the stampede[b]d rider[/b] come alive
Forget the cows...it's these killers you should worry about 😉
Stopped us dead in our track they did.
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/13894861328_c9b9efd30b_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/13894861328_c9b9efd30b_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/naQNbC ]Killer Sheeps[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/58162507@N07/ ]SGMTB[/url], on Flickr
When i was doing my apprenticeship a fellow aprentice spent 3 years building a kit car, mini marcos, took it out for a first drive, a herd of cows spooked in a field ran towards fence and straight over his car, destroyed the bodywork and i think some cows had to be killed.
Last summer had to cross a field with some cows on a cycle path, chatting to a few fellow cyclists, i pointed out they didnt like red as most of the riders were wearing red, they looked absolutely petrified when the cows started to get closer.
And totally off topic if attacked by an ostrich always raise one hand above the head and make a hand sign like an ostritch, the ostrich will think youre a bigger ostrich and walk away.
Greatest danger is when they try flying - they're really crap at it and keep crashing on people. Just google 'killed by falling cow' to see how common this is. One near me:
[url= http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/aug/19/uknews2.mainsection ]Womans narrow escape from falling cow[/url]
I can see that I've completely failed to take cows seriously (I have worked on a dairy farm and have never had a problem with them).
I was riding through a field in Perthshire with my son a few years ago when a group of cows charged towards us. Ever the responsible parent I said "watch this son.." waited until they were 20 yards away before saying "boo!" and making a slight movement in their direction; mass bovine panic was the result.
Maybe I've only ever met nice cows??
wwwas: That picture reminds me of that night out in Aberdeen awhile back!! 😯
Redthunder, those aren't killer sheep, they're the decoys; the killer sheep are up the tree, just waiting to drop on you!
Fair play Chickenman, it's an approach I would normally take but not one I'd advise others to do sometimes. There is a level of understanding required that in reality you are wandering through a work place not a landscape painting.