Jersey cow headbutting me and my family

[Symphony]

The only reason I say not to "twist" the ear is you may brake or damage the cartilage. Now holding the outer soft part of the ear and pinching it does work well but I've seen twisting damage on Horses and other animals.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

The only reason I say not to "twist" the ear is you may brake or damage the cartilage. Now holding the outer soft part of the ear and pinching it does work well but I've seen twisting damage on Horses and other animals.

And then of course there's the risk of breaking an animal's nose if you hit the animal's nose or muzzle too hard and with the wrong tool (i.e., steel pipe/wood handle instead of PVC pipe). There's always risks no matter what you do. But there's the knowing when and how to do it right and not cause significant damage and make it actually work.

To each his/her own.

 

[Symphony]

The only reason I say not to "twist" the ear is you may brake or damage the cartilage. Now holding the outer soft part of the ear and pinching it does work well but I've seen twisting damage on Horses and other animals.

And then of course there's the risk of breaking an animal's nose if you hit the animal's nose or muzzle too hard and with the wrong tool (i.e., steel pipe/wood handle instead of PVC pipe). There's always risks no matter what you do. But there's the knowing when and how to do it right and not cause significant damage and make it actually work.

To each his/her own.

Who on earth would use PVC or Steel pipe to hit a cow's nose, thats just cruel and barbaric. :/

 

[redtailgal]

I have a PVC pipe and a wooden stick.......the wooden stick is my "whopin-it" stick.

I've used it many times to pop a critter in the nose. The beauty of a PVC pipe is the wonderful noise it makes........Because of that noise, you dont have to hit hard enough to cause pain, you just want that noise.

On severe cases, I pull out the whopin it stick, and smack them in the shoulders or right across the nose. Dont have to hit hard, just enough to get their attention.

The point is to use a tool effectively by NOT causing damage or un-necessary pain.

I will say that I was cornered by an old snot of a cow once......I had my stick and she was coming after me. She FULLY intended to hurt me, so it was no holes barred. It ended well, she had a tender nose that taught her a lesson and I didnt get stomped to death.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I have a PVC pipe and a wooden stick.......the wooden stick is my "whopin-it" stick.

I've used it many times to pop a critter in the nose. The beauty of a PVC pipe is the wonderful noise it makes........Because of that noise, you dont have to hit hard enough to cause pain, you just want that noise.

On severe cases, I pull out the whopin it stick, and smack them in the shoulders or right across the nose. Dont have to hit hard, just enough to get their attention.

The point is to use a tool effectively by NOT causing damage or un-necessary pain.

I will say that I was cornered by an old snot of a cow once......I had my stick and she was coming after me. She FULLY intended to hurt me, so it was no holes barred. It ended well, she had a tender nose that taught her a lesson and I didnt get stomped to death.

Priceless ^^

 

[WildRoseBeef]

The only reason I say not to "twist" the ear is you may brake or damage the cartilage. Now holding the outer soft part of the ear and pinching it does work well but I've seen twisting damage on Horses and other animals.

And then of course there's the risk of breaking an animal's nose if you hit the animal's nose or muzzle too hard and with the wrong tool (i.e., steel pipe/wood handle instead of PVC pipe). There's always risks no matter what you do. But there's the knowing when and how to do it right and not cause significant damage and make it actually work.

To each his/her own.

Who on earth would use PVC or Steel pipe to hit a cow's nose, thats just cruel and barbaric. :/

A steel pipe is a heck of a lot barbaric to use on an animal than an ax handle or a PVC pipe. A steel pipe has much more potential of breaking some bones or the nose of an animal than a PVC. I've used a wood stick (just a dead branch on the ground) before and it has a lot more give than something as hard as steel...or even iron. Same with PVC.


Ultimately it's how you use the tool, not what you use that makes it effective. Same thing with ear twisting...it's how you do it that makes it effective, not the what.

 

[Cricket]

"Who on earth would use PVC or Steel pipe to hit a cow's nose, thats just cruel and barbaric."


The person who's about to be killed by a p.o.'ed bull, for one. I use pvc much the same as a horse person would use a riding crop--it's an extension of your arm. If my cows are going to mug me for grain, I tap gently on the end of their nose, increasing the pressure if they don't listen. Knowing that it can hurt, it seldom takes more than a wave of the pipe to halt them. Jerry Lee is 15 months old, tapes over 900lbs, and doesn't have a whole lot of smart in him. I'm 145 lbs--he would win in a shoving match. Here's photos of them with their object of terror!

 

[bonbean01]

Farmgirl, I grew up on a farm and we raised beef cattle and had two milk cows. My Mom's rule was first dangerous aggression of a cow to a human was one red X beside her name. By the third X she/he was shipped to auction and gone from our farm. She pointed out that a farmer could not be a good farmer is he/she was dead or severely crippled. Any offspring from a triple X cow was not kept for breeding either.

Something to think about...if nothing works, I'd get rid of her before anyone gets seriously hurt.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I too have a pvc "bopping stick" that I use. This tool was incorporated to try and help the low steer get to eat his grain. He is a very slow eater and the others would suck down their grain and then push him away and eat his. There was a drastic weight difference between he and the other steer of same age, breed. As mentioned, you just can't push an 500+ pound critter around with your own body weight. They have to fear you. The stick comes with us at feeding time. We stand near the "low man" steer and when the rest of the herd is done eating, if any of them even make an attempt to move towards him, they get bopped on the nose. In most cases, now, all we have to do is hit the pvc pipe on the ground to make a noise with it and they back off.

 

[SheepGirl]

I too have a pvc "bopping stick" that I use. This tool was incorporated to try and help the low steer get to eat his grain. He is a very slow eater and the others would suck down their grain and then push him away and eat his. There was a drastic weight difference between he and the other steer of same age, breed. As mentioned, you just can't push an 500+ pound critter around with your own body weight. They have to fear you. The stick comes with us at feeding time. We stand near the "low man" steer and when the rest of the herd is done eating, if any of them even make an attempt to move towards him, they get bopped on the nose. In most cases, now, all we have to do is hit the pvc pipe on the ground to make a noise with it and they back off.

I kind of have to do the same thing with my ewes when the lambs are eating...except I flick or smack them on the nose and that usually keeps them away...if not I chase them to get them away. I've also had success with grabbing their 'scruff,' like on a cat or a rabbit. They freak out and run away. Course you couldn't do that on a cow Usually my larger ewe lamb finishes her feed first so I have to straddle her in between my legs so that way the smaller one can finish her feed.