Jersey cow headbutting me and my family

[Farm_Girl]

Annabell, my 3 yr old jersey has gotten into a hobit of headbutting me and my family. She isnt a very big cow, just borders being avaerage size as opposed to a miniture, but still packs a punch. It started when she would nuzzle against our legs and rub her nose on us, which we simply shoved her head away. But now, especially right before milking, she swings her head around and hits whoever is standing near her.
I worry because i have cousins who arent use to being near animals who are spending more time around her and the horses. I have been reading that if you punch their nose you can get a cow to leave you alone. But we dont want her to be afraid or skiddish around humans. We want her to keep the sweet friendly demeanor she has, aside from the headbutting.

She will also hook under our legs with the knob on her head and attempt to lift us or knock us over. Is there anyway to end this behavior without making her afraid of humans?

Also, is her behavior simply a show of dominance? Or something else?

 

[Luv_my_brownswiss_girls]

I have a BrownSwiss the same way she is spoiled!! She not as bad as she was after she calved. I would take a small stick and smack her on the nose or the top of her head polled area. She knows she can get away with this and she going to keep doing it until she knows who her boss is.

 

[redtailgal]

It is a show of dominance, and you need to end it ASAP.

Get a stout stick and wail her when she does it. If she doesnt stop soon, I'd replace her.

This is a dangerous habit for her to have and unless it's stopped it will escalate and someone WILL get hurt.

 

[Blackhereford boy]

my show heifer does that and i just kick her right in the nose.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Another thing you could do is just grab her ear and twist it and don't let go until she backs away, or move forward with her and get her to move off. Do this every time she gets too close and disrespects your space, and be consistent. I also wouldn't be gentle about it either, but not too rough, just enough to cause her a bit of pain and make her move away from you. Because that's what dominant cows do: they push their way into your space your comfort zone and push you around out of their way. That's why she's head-butting and ramming her poll against your legs: she's trying to get you to submit or be submissive to her. YOU need to teach her to be boss and simply being all nice and friendly and all is only going to make your situation worse. She'll only be sweet and friendly to you AND respect your space if you teach her who's boss and make her submit to you, not vice versa.

What you need to do is grab her ear, push HER around just like another cow would (she's only 900 to 1000 lbs lol), and smash her across the nose if she tries to get all b@#$%y on you (or twist her ear), and keep pushing her and making her back away and move away from you. DO NOT back away from her because you are just confirming to her that you are weaker than her and she has the ability to push you around. Be calm and assertive, though you may find you will have to get to a point where you may have to get a little aggressive, hence the "whaling across the nose" part. I believe the follow-through part is where you just stand your ground, until she figures out that you don't want nothing to do with her and moves away.

And don't encourage the head-butting by rubbing her head. Rub the neck, cheeks, chin and back, but never the forehead. There's a trick I read about that could also make her submit to you and that's to try to get her head up to the point where her nose is pointed skyward: to do this you just need a treat she really likes and gets her nose and mouth going. This is an action that is supposed to get an animal to submit to you because you are essentially making her imitate the situation where she's a young calf again and your her momma cow...and everyone knows that the momma cow is always dominant over her baby calf. (I've never tried this myself, but it would be neat to see if it actually works or not).

 

[Symphony]

I wouldn't twist her ear but a good punch of slap on the nose works well. It would of been best if you showed her straight off who's the boss.

 

[Cricket]

Interesting, Karin. If my heifer comes up to me with even a slightly lowered head, she gets whacked when she pushes into my space. She now will get to the 'line' and come with her chin up. If she's chin up, she gets a neck rub. (This can bite me in the butt when she's in heat, though ) I also discovered just this morning that a flip flop whipped off your foot works well to whap a bratty four month old steer on the nose!

 

[greybeard]

She will also hook under our legs with the knob on her head and attempt to lift us or knock us over

I have a bad feeling about this..
A 3 yr old? You may have your hands full getting her to stop if she's gotten away with it for very long. Match her level of aggression with your dominance--you must. A little pushy is one thing--trying to knock your legs out from under you is completely unacceptable and downright dangerous.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Well, the reason I mention the ear-twisting technique is because I've used it on a few steers in the past that have gotten a bit too close to me or have tried to push me over or push me around too much. I grab on to the ear and hold on until they move off or quit trying to push me around. I did this with a bull that near got me to the ground after trying to get him to move and get him walking (he had bloat really bad and the vet wanted to see him move around), and automatically or instinctually grabbed his ear when he tried to hook me behind the legs with his head and twisted it and kept at it until he backed off. That's what I'd do with this cow if she tried to hook me behind the legs like that, and I wouldn't be gentle about it either.

Another steer that got too close for comfort (upon being surrounded on all sides by around 50 head of docile 800-900 lb critters in the middle of a big pasture ) got a quick and deft ear twist to let him know I didn't appreciate him stepping into my space and crowding me like that. He tried again and I repeated the move. He tried a third time and I made a move for his ear and immediately he backed off without me even touching it. Eventually all I had to do was just make that little step towards him and arm slightly positioned as ready to "attack" and he'd quickly back off.

Cattle are smart animals, I'll give them that! They quickly learn what body language you have means to them, and determines whether they should get the heck out of the away or come to you. The thing is you have to make the right moves to get the right responses.

For me, I can hit things when I'm miffed (and I've got a pretty good aim, generally, and have hit a steer right on the nose with a stick I threw at him when I was really sick and tired of him following me around when I wanted to be left alone), but I know I'll miss, so if the nose is not available for me to strike at or the animal moves its head at the right moment, there's always the ear option to grab on to and make her (or him) back off.

But I wouldn't abandon the axe-handle or 2' PVC pipe option either.

And Farm Girl, if none of those things work, there's always the option of shipping her and getting another better-behaved cow!!

 

[Lothiriel]

Wow, you've gotten a LOT of great advice! Not much I can add... But here are a few things we were told when we had a similar problem with our Jersey.. Most of the people thought she was probably just playing, but it is definitely a show of dominance if you ask me.

It takes time, and with our dairy girls, we "gentle" them, taking away (sometimes) much of the respect other cows have. They are allowed to wollow on us for scratches and treats, run up to us as calve to get their milk, etc.. Sometimes they need a dose of reality, and a reminder that everybody needs their "bubble" of personal space, unless invited, or necessary (IE milking, or vetting).

Always have a sturdy stick with you and make sure you whack her hard enough that there is no question you are serious about not wanting to play. She should get the idea. If you are politely tapping her....that won't do. My cow is gentle and a pure delight but is capable of wanting to run and play and act like that when I walk out in the pasture. I always keep an eye on her and expect that I will have to remind her I don't want to play.

Oh, gosh, mine do this too, ESPECIALLY in the spring when they're feeling frisky. Also in the summer when it finally cools down in the evening after a hot day. They're playing. I've got mine so that all I have to do is hold my hand straight out (like a traffic cop) and yell "HEY!!!" very loudly and they stop right quick. I had to reinforce that with a crop across the nose at first, but now they respond to voice and hand.

We bought a horse crop and use that if Daisy's really bad. Most of the time she and the steer respond well to the "HEY!!!" but occasionally they'll be a little too naughty for just that and get a whack with the crop. If we don't have the crop with us a good hard slap with your hand or a booted foot will do the trick (if their nose is down there).

One word of advice: No matter how mad you are... DON'T kick a cow with flip flops. Believe me... The only thing that gets hurt or stunned will be your foot.

Best of luck to you, and hoping your girl settles down and starts to shape up.