Post by narrowgateacresgirl on Aug 16, 2019 9:17:11 GMT -5
Hey all!
My family and I have recently purchased a Jersey due to calve in January and we are so green with all this that it's not even funny. We've been around animals of all kinds (a pony being the biggest) most of my life. Dad's been raising Mini Herefords for a year with decent temperament success.
He bought this 4yo Jersey(Flower) a couple of weeks ago that was supposedly a pet that has been hand milked previously. She is very skiddish. She'll approach and stick around if you have food but I have yet to be able to lay a hand on her. She's in a field with two other cows. She's definitely top cow. Running the others off frequently. In the nextdoor field there is the Hereford bull and another heifer. She's taken a fancy to the bull and spends a lot of her time by the fence line.
Yesterday my husband and I were doing chores. He stuck around on the other side of the fence doing some chores while I tried to hand feed Flower. She kept an eye on him and was somewhat cautious of him. When I headed into the barn to get feed he headed out to turn the water on. As I came back I saw Flower cantering across the field toward my husband. I assumed she was after a handout since we had just been feeding them until she broke into a full sprint. I was about to yell a warning when he turned around and yelled "whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" She stopped just short of plowing him over. She then immediately turned toward the other field and bellowed for the Bull and stayed against the field until we came out of the fence and called them for grain.
My husband doesn't want me on the other side of the fence with her at all now. Is she aggressive? Or was this a fluke? He knows not to turn his back on the cows but she was all the way on the other side of the field so he let his guard down. which won't happen again. If we take more precautions and continue to work with her will this kind of behavior subside? I'm concerned about how the behavior may get worse as she calves. Part of me thinks I can still slowly train her to get into a stanchion so I can milk. But how can I work with her if I can't even be in the pen with her at all? And I planned to keep the calf on during the day and separate them at night. But then I think with her behavior that could be a recipe for disaster.
I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts I can get.
My family and I have recently purchased a Jersey due to calve in January and we are so green with all this that it's not even funny. We've been around animals of all kinds (a pony being the biggest) most of my life. Dad's been raising Mini Herefords for a year with decent temperament success.
He bought this 4yo Jersey(Flower) a couple of weeks ago that was supposedly a pet that has been hand milked previously. She is very skiddish. She'll approach and stick around if you have food but I have yet to be able to lay a hand on her. She's in a field with two other cows. She's definitely top cow. Running the others off frequently. In the nextdoor field there is the Hereford bull and another heifer. She's taken a fancy to the bull and spends a lot of her time by the fence line.
Yesterday my husband and I were doing chores. He stuck around on the other side of the fence doing some chores while I tried to hand feed Flower. She kept an eye on him and was somewhat cautious of him. When I headed into the barn to get feed he headed out to turn the water on. As I came back I saw Flower cantering across the field toward my husband. I assumed she was after a handout since we had just been feeding them until she broke into a full sprint. I was about to yell a warning when he turned around and yelled "whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" She stopped just short of plowing him over. She then immediately turned toward the other field and bellowed for the Bull and stayed against the field until we came out of the fence and called them for grain.
My husband doesn't want me on the other side of the fence with her at all now. Is she aggressive? Or was this a fluke? He knows not to turn his back on the cows but she was all the way on the other side of the field so he let his guard down. which won't happen again. If we take more precautions and continue to work with her will this kind of behavior subside? I'm concerned about how the behavior may get worse as she calves. Part of me thinks I can still slowly train her to get into a stanchion so I can milk. But how can I work with her if I can't even be in the pen with her at all? And I planned to keep the calf on during the day and separate them at night. But then I think with her behavior that could be a recipe for disaster.
I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts I can get.