Wish i hadnt done that!

[domsmith]

Yesterday at breakfast my father said to me, could we put the 2 bulls together that would save work and keep them out of our way.

i said probably, they are very used to each other and have spent alot of their lives together.

having nothing to do yesterday afternoon and being on my own other than dogs, i decided to let angus in with dexter. well.... wish i hadnt!!

as the angus dashed along the edge of the open hay barn the dexter torpedoed him in the side with a full on charge. it catapulted him through the end gate of the barn sending gates flying. there then follwed a full fight. with the help of my dogs i managed to get one of them back in to the hay barn and behind a gate. Clutching a pathetic blue pipe and screaming at him, makes me cringe just thinking why i do these things.

the angus was traumatised by the event and had to be councilled and returned to a new pen. Dexter has been shouting all day about how he is the man around here.

it went from being a good idea to tidy things up, cut down work and start to get things in order after the winter, to a total out of control disaster. i stood there as it all unfolded jaw dropped in disbelief, really lucky it wasnt a whole lot worse!

Wish i hadnt done that !

dom

[Broomcroft]

I had similar dom. My AA bull was with the cows, and the little Dexter was in the next field with some steers. Big mistake! Somehow the gate got opened and they must have had a hell of a scrap because you could see the marks on the grounds. I didn't see it, but when I got there the AA was in a field all by himself looking scared stiff, and the Dexter was in the other field with all the cows looking very happy indeed . I've just bought a Stabiliser bull to replace the AA, and he's an even bigger sissy.

[Tim Watson]

I have no experience of bulls but the 'somehow the gate got opened' comment is interesting.

When we first got Dexters, apart from the 'what on earth did you get them for' comment a local farmer and now good friend told me that if cattle want to get out of a field he has watched them very gently lean on the gate until it bows enough for the peg to pop clear of the staple in the gate post. Originally he thought someone was letting them out the field and took him a while to figure out what was happening till he lay in wait to watch.
All the gates that open outwards we tie shut now.
Anyone else experienced this?

[JohnnyP]

Thanks for posting that! Best of luck with the tidy up.

Reminds me of the time I came across a line of stopped cars on our single track road (on Skye) with some cattle at the front of the queue. "Tourists", I thought, "I'll soon sort this out", and approached the jam full of self-important confidence, only to find two massive shorthorn bulls having a barney, sweat flying everywhere. I stayed in the pickup, feeling a little less smug.

[Saffy]

I have seen cattle open a gate once or twice but this was the only time I had my camera! I had just stopped to have a look at a big bunch of steers on the side of the road when this one showed off his skills.







Dom that was a brilliant post - I really enjoyed it, although it sounded a tad on the dangerous side for you but all is well that ends well. Is the Angus bull OK after that big thump in the side?

Stephanie

[Broomcroft]

I have watched my first Dexter bull push a fully pregnant cow sideways on into a brand new 15 foot x 7 bar gate and bend it permanently like a banana, it's still like it now.

I like this video of Daisy escaping every night and taking the herd out for a walk around http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxIhh_V-cVA

[domsmith]

Angus bull, actually known as George, is absolutely fine. his pride is hurt but we talking it through, and every day he feels better and better! lol

i like the gate photos.

i have a gate in the barn, that was tied shut most of the winter. it stopped cows getting into the feed passageway. then everyday for a week i found them in wrecking my expensive silage, some mornings there would be more cows in the feed passage than there were in the cubicles.

so that day i put a padlock on a chain around the gate. i remember thinking, well you little buggers that will stop that.
The padlock is one of those that uses a code and you have to press the button on the bottom then to open it up.

2 weeks after first using it, they were in the middle again!.... how the flip do they know the code!!
Not just once either!

[domsmith]

Angus bull, actually known as George, is absolutely fine. his pride is hurt but we talking it through, and every day he feels better and better! lol

i like the gate photos.

i have a gate in the barn, that was tied shut most of the winter. it stopped cows getting into the feed passageway. then everyday for a week i found them in wrecking my expensive silage, some mornings there would be more cows in the feed passage than there were in the cubicles.

so that day i put a padlock on a chain around the gate. i remember thinking, well you little buggers that will stop that.
The padlock is one of those that uses a code and you have to press the button on the bottom then to open it up.

2 weeks after first using it, they were in the middle again!.... how the flip do they know the code!!
Not just once either!

[Rob R]

We know our Dexter could take our neighbour's Lim bull, I wouldn't fancy his chances if it did get over here (the neighbour's fences are not in the best of health).

[marcus]

Hi, I run bulls together with no problems, but as with rams I always shut them in a house tightly together for half a day first. This allows them to sniff each other and mess around a bit, but does not allow them room enough to do each other damage. Then I put them into a small yard for a while and keep my eye on them just to make sure they are behaving,usually works!!.
regards,
Marcus.

[Broomcroft]

I run bulls together with no problems

Have you got them near girls Marcus? I ran some together no problem once, till they went past a field of heifers then they nearly took my fences out. Fought hard for about hand an hour, nothing I could do to stop them.

[marcus]

I,m not that silly Clive!.