When it comes to homesteading, ranching, and/or farming we often are dealing with animals that are much larger than ourselves. Whether it is horses, cattle, swine, or other livestock, in the grand scheme of things, we are the low man on the totem pole. We might be the ones running our operation, but that doesn’t mean these animals do not deserve our respect. In fact, its quite the contrary. Many of these animals that provide sustenance of meat, milk, and other food stores for us are dangerous livestock. I have been a part of a family hobby farm for over a decade in my youth (pheasants, turkeys, quail, ducks, etc) and now in adulthood I find myself again hobby farming, but with much larger animals like red Angus, Mangalitsa pigs, and soon goats. None of these hundred and even thousand pound animals should be taken lightly.
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Red Angus – Dangerous Livestock
Cattle are interesting because they either fall into 2 camps for most of the people who are working them on a daily basis. Regardless, if they’re milk cows or meat cattle, you either look at them as giant grass puppies or see them as enormous, angry, locomotives. Some people have friendly cattle while others have grumpy ones. If your cattle fall into the latter category of being grumpy, you likely and naturally will give them all the respect they deserve. Give them space, never approach too quickly, and don’t get between a momma and her calf unless you have a lot of help and possibly additional equipment like a Bobcat, four-wheeler, or some other type of machinery. Where things can get hairy is when you have friendly, nice, or playful cattle. Then, your senses can be lulled into a false sense of security.
“They’ll never hurt me. They’re a pet (even if they’ll become a ribeye steak). They like me.”
You very well might have a healthy working relationship with your cattle. After all, you are the provider of their food. The “great food bringer!” So, most of the time if you are a nice owner they will like you. This can lull you into a false sense of security. We should never forget that these are wild animals we are trying to control and domesticate. Not all of them will willingly oblige.
I don’t believe anyone should fear livestock because then you won’t be running your livestock, they’ll be running you. But, they deserve our healthy respect. Being a young, strong, confident guy on the ranch I have never feared working cattle, but I have definitely awarded them the respect they deserve. Yet, I have been humbled by their effortless strength and stubbornness multiple times in the past few years.
Taking One to the Chest – Dangerous Livestock
In past years, we have needed to band and neuter some of our juvenile red Angus. Not quite calves and not yet adults; probably in the realm of 500 – 800 Lb cattle. So, to neuter all the boys of the herd, we got them into a small corral (maybe 40 yards by 40 yards in size) with a narrow chute and head gate on one end. We then needed to coax these unknowing young bulls into the chute of “jingle bells removal.” To do this, it was myself and a vet we called out to the ranch dancing around in the corral with these juvenile yet large bulls. Gesturing for them to go this way and that. Doing the hokey-pokey and I was getting all turned around.
We needed to do this for half a dozen bulls and it wasn’t going swimmingly. After the better part of an hour, the cattle were becoming as exhausted as I was with their tongues dangling out of their mouths like a tired dog on a hot day. The longer it was taking to get all the boys through the neuter chute the worse it was for everyone. Although, all those present were tired – man and beast included – we were all agitated as well. You could sense in the air something was about to come to boil over.
With only a few young bulls left, I was gesturing and attempting to herd one of the bulls into the chute. The bull – likely feeling cornered and not wanting to take his only way out (into the chute) that I was offering – decided to improvise and run right through me. With an awkward gallop, bounce, and head butt this bull lowered its head and charged into my chest. This “trump card,” or at the time, unpredictable move clearly worked for the young bull. It knocked the wind out of me, startled me, and likely would have laid me out on the sod if not for me seeing it coming and a rush of adrenaline to aid me in staying upright.
Soon after another red Angus JUMPED OVER our 4 foot field fence. We were gobsmacked; we couldn’t believe what was happening. We needed to get this task done ASAP before more went worse. Thankfully, we coaxed the escape artist back into our pasture with a 5-gallon bucket of corn being classically shaken like a dinner bell. The other head butt champion I soon gathered into the neutering chute with ever-more determination after he had gotten the best of me.
Dangerous Livestock – Cautionary Tale
These stories are funny in hindsight and phenomenal teaching lessons, but in all honesty, things could have gone much worse. I could have gotten cracked ribs, knocked unconscious, or actually trampled upon. The escape artist could have ran off to the next county. Sometimes you need to count your blessings and chalk things up as a learning lesson. Now, whenever we are catching calves, neutering livestock, or working them in any significant manner, we look to enlist a bunch of people for help, use machinery, and “work smarter, not harder.”
“Work Smarter, Not Harder.”
So, let these cautionary tales be a guide that we might love the pigs, cattle, and other animals on our homestead, but all dangerous livestock should be respected and not taken for granted. Be safe, be smart, and by all means, ask for help. As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
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