Post by Applelonia on Sept 2, 2017 15:48:05 GMT -5
Daffodil is due in just over two weeks - September 18th.
She is good 99.9 percent of the time, but it's the .1 percent that has me on edge. I started correcting her bad and dangerous behaviors from an early age, but she is stubborn and has a nasty bent at times.... .1 percent of the time. But, I've kept a very close eye on her and she's been good for many months. But, the last couple of days that .1 percent is increasing....
She knows she is to give me space. I enter her stall and ask her to move over and she does. I ask her to back up before she gets her hay and she does. She's usually a very good heifer. But yesterday, I asked her to move over when I entered the stall - she threatened me with her horns!! I nailed her in the rump and bellowed. She moved over immediately. She knows she's not to put her horns on me - this is a behavior that I thought was long ago corrected but yesterday, during a different encounter than when she threatened me when I had asked her to move, she got very bad...dangerous. She was eating hay and rushed forward to get me in the corner of the stall ...thankfully I was by the door so I escaped unharmed. No question she wanted to use her horns on me. But she had restraint (if one can call it that ...) as I suspect she remembers it not going in her favor in the past when this behavior was corrected. So she decided to try to use her head on me instead. Tried to nail me in my face - with her snout and side of her head - the beast - I smacked her as hard as I could with my leather work gloves across her snout and she jerked back and I got out the door. It was one of the moments in life when you realize a second or two different or if I hadn't been by the door...I don't even want to think what might have happened. Ive taken to carrying the cattle stick ...pvc pipe...with me again when I'm around her.
She's been good for well over eight months. She has been getting extra affectionate this last month prior to calving - but I didn't trust her because of past behaviors and it's good I didn't because now all of a sudden she's a crabby ill behaved monster of a heifer. Nice one second and threatening the next! Today she was okay but milling around outside acting odd - sniffing the air and mooing and carrying on.
Happenstance or can pregnancy hormones cause cows to get like this - crabby and willful? I'm going to be beyond careful when she has her calf - she might be deadly if it's hormones.
After my close call when I was able to escape yesterday, I decided I'm not living like this again - her aunt Dazzle was enough for me for a life-time...needing to fear for my safety and needing to carry a weapon of defense 24/7 when in a cow's presence. No cow is worth it. The Randalls not getting along with strangers and vets is one thing, I can deal with that, but I'm not working with a cow daily and potentially milking a cow, that has a bad temperament and threatens me. Is it wishful thinking to wonder if it's pregnancy hormones!?!? Rather hopeful she has a heifer calf that is more mellow and we can moved momma Daffodil on if needed.....
France...deep sigh of relief...she is a sweetie with people. She could still hurt me as she's big and an animal, but she's as I suspect the way a normal cow should be. Just pure joy being around her calmness. No ill intent from her towards me.
She is bossy to Daffodil - often she thumps her with her horns - sometimes in the side which I don't like - and runs her off. She's often just mean to Daffodil.
Not once has Daffodil tried to fight back or stand her ground towards France. At night I lock Daffodil up in the barn because I don't want her to have her calf around France - I worry France might do something. She is VERY bossy with Daffodil. She chases her out of both stalls and refuses to let Daffodil into the barn. France was bred by the previous owners bull. They think the first breeding took, but she was in with him for a couple more months. Most likely she is due September 31/October 1st. Her udder seems small for four weeks from calving...maybe it's the typical size for a Guernsey udder pre-calving...no idea...Most likely they will have calves within about two weeks of each other.
They share a pasture area...might having a calf make France even worse towards Daffodil or is she apt to mellow towards Daffodil post calving?
She is good 99.9 percent of the time, but it's the .1 percent that has me on edge. I started correcting her bad and dangerous behaviors from an early age, but she is stubborn and has a nasty bent at times.... .1 percent of the time. But, I've kept a very close eye on her and she's been good for many months. But, the last couple of days that .1 percent is increasing....
She knows she is to give me space. I enter her stall and ask her to move over and she does. I ask her to back up before she gets her hay and she does. She's usually a very good heifer. But yesterday, I asked her to move over when I entered the stall - she threatened me with her horns!! I nailed her in the rump and bellowed. She moved over immediately. She knows she's not to put her horns on me - this is a behavior that I thought was long ago corrected but yesterday, during a different encounter than when she threatened me when I had asked her to move, she got very bad...dangerous. She was eating hay and rushed forward to get me in the corner of the stall ...thankfully I was by the door so I escaped unharmed. No question she wanted to use her horns on me. But she had restraint (if one can call it that ...) as I suspect she remembers it not going in her favor in the past when this behavior was corrected. So she decided to try to use her head on me instead. Tried to nail me in my face - with her snout and side of her head - the beast - I smacked her as hard as I could with my leather work gloves across her snout and she jerked back and I got out the door. It was one of the moments in life when you realize a second or two different or if I hadn't been by the door...I don't even want to think what might have happened. Ive taken to carrying the cattle stick ...pvc pipe...with me again when I'm around her.
She's been good for well over eight months. She has been getting extra affectionate this last month prior to calving - but I didn't trust her because of past behaviors and it's good I didn't because now all of a sudden she's a crabby ill behaved monster of a heifer. Nice one second and threatening the next! Today she was okay but milling around outside acting odd - sniffing the air and mooing and carrying on.
Happenstance or can pregnancy hormones cause cows to get like this - crabby and willful? I'm going to be beyond careful when she has her calf - she might be deadly if it's hormones.
After my close call when I was able to escape yesterday, I decided I'm not living like this again - her aunt Dazzle was enough for me for a life-time...needing to fear for my safety and needing to carry a weapon of defense 24/7 when in a cow's presence. No cow is worth it. The Randalls not getting along with strangers and vets is one thing, I can deal with that, but I'm not working with a cow daily and potentially milking a cow, that has a bad temperament and threatens me. Is it wishful thinking to wonder if it's pregnancy hormones!?!? Rather hopeful she has a heifer calf that is more mellow and we can moved momma Daffodil on if needed.....
France...deep sigh of relief...she is a sweetie with people. She could still hurt me as she's big and an animal, but she's as I suspect the way a normal cow should be. Just pure joy being around her calmness. No ill intent from her towards me.
She is bossy to Daffodil - often she thumps her with her horns - sometimes in the side which I don't like - and runs her off. She's often just mean to Daffodil.
Not once has Daffodil tried to fight back or stand her ground towards France. At night I lock Daffodil up in the barn because I don't want her to have her calf around France - I worry France might do something. She is VERY bossy with Daffodil. She chases her out of both stalls and refuses to let Daffodil into the barn. France was bred by the previous owners bull. They think the first breeding took, but she was in with him for a couple more months. Most likely she is due September 31/October 1st. Her udder seems small for four weeks from calving...maybe it's the typical size for a Guernsey udder pre-calving...no idea...Most likely they will have calves within about two weeks of each other.
They share a pasture area...might having a calf make France even worse towards Daffodil or is she apt to mellow towards Daffodil post calving?