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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:36 pm
by Broomcroft
Just had our first (unplanned) death on the farm. Found a steer this morning frozen solid head stuck in the ring-feeder under the bale, poor chap. Either I've placed the bale on him when he had his head in, which I am very careful not to do and always look for calves asleep, or he's pushed his head down under the bale and the bull & steers the other side have managed to push it over onto him.
Mentioned it to a farmer and he said he had two steers that strangled each other in a ring-feeder at once - one with his head above the other in the same slot. Maybe those tombstone ones are a good idea? But that would not have made any difference in my particular case.
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:50 pm
by Saffy
Oh dear Clive that is sad. It could well have been the bull pushed it, they do love to push at things don't they. Horrible.
Many years ago we lost a recently "bucket" weaned calf and search as we might we couldn't find it - next winter it came to light! Someone using a contraption that carried in 20 small bales at once had reversed into the barn and placed the lot on top of her. No idea by then of course if she had been asleep or dead at the time.
Stephanie
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:27 pm
by domsmith
Things like that happen, there is not point in worrying about it.
you know what ist like with sheep, a small rut in a 30 acre field and you find a ewe rolled over in it.
our knacker man was collecting something from us 1 day and as he winched it into the wagon i noticed a big limousin heifer lying on top of the pile. it was in very good condition, apart from it being dead!
what happened there i asked. farmer had let some of his pedigree heifers out into a yard to muck out a shed with the tractor loader. he left the loader in the yard whilst he opened a gate or 2. and the heifer had run onto the grab spikes and was impaled and killed on the spikes, still hanging there.
they will find away if they can
dom
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:00 pm
by Kativa
Oh how sad, poor you finding him like that.
we use the tombstone feeders as we also have horses but i have tended to find that my cattle waste much more haylage. i also have found that the younger and therefore smaller animals struggle to reach over as the ones i have , the solid metal part is taller than a regular ring feeder.
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:19 pm
by Minnie
Hi Clive,
What a terrible way to find him.
We use an open sort of feeder here, and put it over the big round bales (a couple have horns and I thought they'd get their heads stuck). Sometimes they half climb in onto the hay when it starts going down, I'm sure to take ownership.
Poor little fellow. 
Vicki
Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 9:42 am
by Broomcroft
I think I just didn't see him. I have a vague memory of putting a bale in when it was dark and although I had loads of lights on, he must have been there. He should have died quite quickly looking at the neck on the body.
Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 11:08 am
by Duncan MacIntyre
A sad thing to have happened.
I don't suppose many Dexter owners use silage block cutters which cut block from the face of a pit and can be put in front of barriers, but if any of you do be very very careful if you are placing blocks with animals anywhere near. I have seen too many cattle with horrific cuts from putting their head under the grab which has an edge like a razor, then lifting their heads suddenly and the result is scary. If you use them, try to ensure cattle are away from the barrier first.
Duncan