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maryjane
7074 Posts
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 Posted - May 27 2015 : 11:32:09 AM
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Author: Tom Collins
CLOYNE — When Barry Smith first saw Mickey Moo, the bull calf was three days old, couldn’t walk and was on its way from a sale barn to a slaughterhouse.
Smith paid $50 for the animal and carried it to the car.
“He was going to die, no doubt about it,” said the Eastern Ontario farmer. “We brought him home in the back seat of the car with two kids, and he’s been here ever since. He was always so gentle because he was always raised with the two children. He always gave kisses and you could hug him.”
Smith paid for the operation so that the bull calf could walk. But the now-grown bull recently attacked his saviour who might never walk again.
On Family Day in February, Smith had just finished petting Mickey Moo, now a 3,200-lb. 10-year-old bull, and was walking away when he heard a loud noise like a gunshot. The noise was enough to spook the bull, which started jumping around and escaped by somehow opening a gate. He then charged Smith.
“I didn’t even see him coming,” said Smith. “The question is whether the agitation triggered the animal to become aggressive, or whether he thought I was the one making the noise and he was going to make me stop.”
The bull kept attacking, crushing Smith’s ribs by slamming into Smith’s chest. Smith’s 15-year-old daughter, Darian, grabbed a stick and began hitting the bull. When that didn’t work, she fled to the house for help, telling her mom that Mickey had killed her father. Her mother called 911 while Darian ran next door to get a neighbour to help control the bull.
“She thought I was dead,” said Smith. “It was very traumatic for her, because in her mind, at the time, I had already been killed.”
Meanwhile, the bull kept attacking, rolling Smith over on the ground.
“He rolled me over to kind of finish me off,” he said. “As he rolled me closer to the edge of the truck, I reached out and pulled myself under. I had no feeling in my legs.”
The family started looking for Smith but couldn’t see him under the truck. He lay there, going in and out of consciousness and eventually managed to call out. It took an hour for the neighbour to control the bull to allow the emergency crew onto the farm. Smith was lying on the ice in -25 C weather for about 90 minutes. The cold temperatures slowed down the internal bleeding and probably saved his life, he said.
His heart stopped several times in the ambulance and at the hospital in Napanee. He had a broken back, a crushed pelvis, cracked ribs and internal bleeding. X-rays show that his left side, where the leg bone connects to the pelvis, was smashed to pieces. He is recovering at home, in a wheelchair but in high spirits.
“Best-case scenario, on May 20, they say I can start physio and I’ll be somewhat walking,” said the former pilot. “The worst-case scenario, they come back to me and say, you can’t walk again. I’m 65 and I’m a diabetic, so I have a couple of major issues I have to deal with that make it more difficult. If I were 20, I’d be up there dancing already.”
Smith and his family still plan to open the farm this season. The Land O’Lakes Rescue Petting Farm, located at Cloyne, an hour north of Napanee, is a not-for-profit rescue farm for animals and children. “Animals which have trauma themselves help heal children who also have trauma,” he said. “It’s a pretty amazing thing to watch.”
The Smiths are now looking for volunteers to help with cleanup, fence repair, and painting. Those interested can call the farm at 613-336-0330.
Smith said he will never bring home another bull. As for Mickey, he now lives on another farm.
From Farmer’s Forum: http://bit.ly/1J22WEK |
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NellieBelle
11217 Posts
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Posted - May 27 2015 : 12:02:00 PM
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| Caution always! I don't care how tame folks think their animals are, they are always capable of inflicting harm. Too bad it happened. Hope he makes enough recovery and rehab to enjoy his life. I even watch the girls out of the corner of my eye. Thanks for posting, it's a good lesson to learn from, for all of us. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7074 Posts
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Posted - May 27 2015 : 12:21:23 PM
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I posted this before but thought it would be good to repost.
by Temple Grandin
"The most dangerous dairy bull is a bull that has not been properly socialized to his own kind. When a young bull calf becomes mature at age two, he needs to challenge the top bull in the herd. If the bull calf has been raised alone and has not had the opportunity to interact with other cattle, he thinks he is a person and he wants to exert his dominance over the "herd". This can result in dangerous attacks on people.
Ed Price at the University of California found that bull calves raised in groups were much less likely to attack people than bull calves raised in individual pens. Bull calves raised on a cow were the least likely to attack. When they are raised with their own kind, they know who they are and they are less likely to think that people are part of the herd.
There is no such thing as a totally safe bull, but the risk of an attack can be reduced with proper management. When dairy calves are six to eight weeks old, they should be put in group pens. If there are no bull calves available for pen mates, a young bull should be raised with steer calves that are older and heavier. Any mature bull that charges a person, should be removed from a commercial dairy because he is too great a safety risk to the dairy personnel. To further reduce the danger, dairies that use bulls should consider raising bull calves on a nurse cow. Raising bull calves on a nurse cow will imprint them more strongly to their own kind and further reduce the tendency to attack.
Never play butting games with bull calves. It is cute when they are young but very dangerous when they grow up. Never allow a bull calf to push his head up against you. Tell him to get back. If you want to pet the calf, stroke him under the chin, on the rear, or on the withers (shoulder). Stroke him anywhere except the forehead. Pressure on this area will encourage butting.
The major causes of bull attacks are mistaken identity or improper behavior that has been learned. A bull will perform a broadside threat prior to attack. He will stand sideways so the person or other bull can see how big and powerful he is. Sometimes a person can make a bull back off by responding with the human variation of a broadside threat which for people is a frontal stance. Alternatively, the person may just back slowly away from the bull. NEVER RUN away and do not turn your back on him.
In dairies where bulls run loose in the cow pens, managers should be trained to notice aggressive postures. The bull should just move away along with other cows when the milkers approach. A bull that does a broadside threat to milkers should be culled. Even if a bull calf is reared properly with other cattle, an adult bull is usually safer if he spends most of his adult life penned with other animals. Bulls that are penned alone for long periods of time may be more likely to attack people. However, steers and heifers can be safely penned alone.
Understanding cow and bull behavior will help to reduce accidents. There is no way that cattle can be made perfectly safe, but the use of behavioral principles will reduce the risk. Attacks by bulls are the number one cause of fatalities which occur while handling livestock. Dairy bulls are often more dangerous than beef breeds. Castration of bull calves at an early age will greatly reduce aggressive behavior."
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I've raised quite a few bulls. I've found Temple's advice to be true to the T. We had one bull that we handled too much as a calf because he was just so darn cute, you know, photos, hugs, etc. As he grew, my husband let him butt his legs daily as he fed him and he scratched him on his forehead. He's the only bull we've had who would walk up to you once he was approaching adulthood and he's the only bull calf that ever put me on my butt. All we were trying to do is load him into a trailer for a hoof trim. (He's also the only bull I will never sell.) He turned and charged me. For all the other bulls I've raised, we used Temple's principals and haven't had any problems but still, once they are adults, I'm extremely careful around them and I don't keep them amongst my girls because I want to be with my girls daily and feel relaxed.
Keep in mind that ideally you want a bull that is indifferent to you because you will need to get your bull into a trailer or be with them on occasion to attend to their health needs. When I took Beau Vine to the vet earlier this week for a hoof trim and medical testing, I felt comfortable being alone with him shooshing him from behind through a series of gates and alleyways (along the way, there were always places for me to quickly retreat) and then on into my trailer where I locked him in. And that was right after an invasive procedure (a trich test is painful). I've gotten to the point where I can read a bull's mood based on what is happening to them or around them at any given point in time. They aren't big fans of change, confusion, or chaos. They do ruts well and prefer a mellow routine.
I have a nice system for daily containment so that we can clean bedding, serve food, and provide them with water without being amongst them. The sideway stance is very obvious and mine have shown it when there is a girl in heat and I'm seen as a threat to that. But when they do show aggression, I'm on the other side of a beefy metal fence or gate.
A companion for a bull is very important. I always have a steer or another adult bull with mine and I keep them on their mothers for 6 months if her teat health is holding up. Right now, I have the bull we handled too much in with my big bull Samson, who's getting him properly initiated into adult bull hood. I like it that he's becoming less and less interested in us. Samson is a very well-behaved bull (raised by Temple Grandin’s principals) and that was evidenced when we took him to Billings to be collected. Afterward they said he was their "dream bull" and very well behaved. I had to talk them into taking a dairy bull because of their reputation (only beef bulls up until Samson).
I think the reputation constantly cited that dairy bulls are more dangerous is more a result of improper handling, and possibly abuse. If done correctly, bulls can be an essential and handy part of your herd and a stately pleasure to look at and behold. They are proud animals and must never be mistreated. I would never lead one of my bulls around by a nose ring (or a halter even) or use an electric probe. Gentle, patient herding, strong metal containment at all times, and grain treats are how I handle mine.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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farmlife
1413 Posts
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Posted - May 27 2015 : 12:46:29 PM
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| This post is timely as we are raising a bull. I'll have to make a point to put him with our steers and not just his mama. |
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Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
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Posted - May 27 2015 : 2:18:47 PM
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| Thank you for the article...I'll have a good chat with Norman about it..he is gentle but young and one large muscle..glad he was around many cows when we picked him up |
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - May 27 2015 : 4:03:14 PM
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A good reminder to respect these awesome animals with proper handling procedures. Temple Grandin's work is incredibly insightful.
Are there books that you'd recommend reading about Temple Grandin's principles?
I think the family in the article was much nicer to Mickey Moo than I would be...a new home for him would not be what I would have done as I would be afraid that once he injured someone once, he might do it again. I would not want that responsibility on my shoulders. As much as I love my animals, I love people more.
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Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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maryjane
7074 Posts
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Posted - May 28 2015 : 05:31:07 AM
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| I listened to Temple Grandin speak at WSU a few years ago and did buy one of her books but all you have to do is Google, say, BULLS TEMPLE GRANDIN and it's at your fingertips. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - May 28 2015 : 11:07:34 AM
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| I bet it was fascinating listening to Temple Grandin speak. |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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Mickey Moo the bull attacks owner
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