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Top dog of the herd and bullying

  • 13-11-2014 9:46am
    #1
    KatyMac
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,209 ✭✭✭


    Usually the oldest animal is the 'top dog' and the rest seem to find their place according to their age, or so it seems. But this year I have 5 Angus cows that are all almost the same age and have come into the herd this year. The trouble is they spend every minute bullying each other.
    There is one Shorthorn heifer that has no look in at all but she keeps well away from the others (I may have to put her with the weanlings as she is definitely bottom of the pile and I'm beginning to think she isn't getting fair play at the silage).
    I'm afraid that they may hurt unborn calves.
    These 'ladies' are outside in high dry fields so it is not that they are confined in too small an area and are being fed in a ring feeder. I think the Shorthorn has to wait until the rest leave before she gets a chance and I think the others are so busy pushing and barging each other they don't eat much either!


Comments

  • #2
    _Brian
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,720 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Sometimes its hard to know what's going on..
    Over the summer our bullocks took a dislike to one red whithead, they would consistently bully him without provocation. The result was he would never be with the rest of the group, always in a different corner on his own, and if he could he'd be in the next field.. Anytime he approached other stock, even ones that came from the same herd at the same time, they would beat him till he moved away, He wasn't the smallest either, smaller angus bullocks would start on him and then more would join in.. Never seen it happen like that before.


  • #3
    Kovu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,241 ✭✭✭✭Kovu


    Females :rolleyes:

    Always a matriarch here in this herd, but there's three that belt the absolute cr@p out of each other after they're let out. But once they get that out of the way, they usually respect the others. Strange that they've continued on with fighting it out in your case. Have they been doing it long? Or are they all at their 'prime' age and all have notions of being the queen?:D

    We house ours and split them up as we watch how the fighting progresses, usually heifers go in with weanlings as the cows would nearly lift the heifers off the ground if they spotted them at the barrier. Yours have the chance of running away though so they can't be feeling the whacks too much if they stay around to fight on.


  • #4
    Genghis Cant
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,980 ✭✭✭Genghis Cant


    There's always one alright. We had one that couldn't be housed, she'd bully all before her.
    I'm terrified of those circular feeders with cows. Would it be a runner to put out two feeders, and would this break them up a bit?
    You couldn't organise a barrier type of setup? I dunno do they bully as much at barriers as opposed to round feeders.


  • #5
    blue5000
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,754 Mod ✭✭✭✭blue5000


    _Brian wrote: »
    Sometimes its hard to know what's going on..
    Over the summer our bullocks took a dislike to one red whithead, they would consistently bully him without provocation. The result was he would never be with the rest of the group, always in a different corner on his own, and if he could he'd be in the next field.. Anytime he approached other stock, even ones that came from the same herd at the same time, they would beat him till he moved away, He wasn't the smallest either, smaller angus bullocks would start on him and then more would join in.. Never seen it happen like that before.

    That's it right there, red hair.
    Seriously though it happens in every herd, as kovu says you could split them up. Dominant cattle seem to like being in the middle of a bunch.

    If the seat's wet, sit on yer hat, a cool head is better than a wet ar5e.



  • #6
    Kovu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,241 ✭✭✭✭Kovu


    _Brian wrote: »
    Sometimes its hard to know what's going on..
    Over the summer our bullocks took a dislike to one red whithead, they would consistently bully him without provocation. The result was he would never be with the rest of the group, always in a different corner on his own, and if he could he'd be in the next field.. Anytime he approached other stock, even ones that came from the same herd at the same time, they would beat him till he moved away, He wasn't the smallest either, smaller angus bullocks would start on him and then more would join in.. Never seen it happen like that before.

    That wasn't the lad that changed colour on you by any chance?


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  • #7
    freedominacup
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,920 ✭✭✭freedominacup


    Size sometimes doesn't come into it. The first cow to do 9000l here was no bigger than average but she could keep a bay of the feed barrier to herself at night when the pressure was off. Come and have a go didn't come into it. And she was a complete pet.


  • #8
    Greengrass1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,493 ✭✭✭Greengrass1


    Usually the fittest cow here is boss mostly 5/6 yr old cows. The older ladies are respected they dont fight with thr young bucks and the young bucks dont dare fight with the older ones..
    Awful fighting goes on in spring though here


  • #9
    _Brian
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,720 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Kovu wrote: »
    That wasn't the lad that changed colour on you by any chance?
    it was actually... I wondered did that have a bearing on it as it was only at that stage that things seemed to get very nasty.. All gone now but I was getting worried he'd get hurt.


  • #10
    Kovu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,241 ✭✭✭✭Kovu


    _Brian wrote: »
    it was actually... I wondered did that have a bearing on it as it was only at that stage that things seemed to get very nasty.. All gone now but I was getting worried he'd get hurt.

    That's a strange one so. Perhaps it was his odd colour that marked him out as one to be bullied? He probably looked tiger stripey to the others.


  • #11
    Charliebull
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,448 ✭✭✭Charliebull


    Funny enough daddy sorts that out here, any girls get excited, one snort from him and it's over, leet the cows have free run of slats and only group at calving, usually works,


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  • #12
    KatyMac
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,209 ✭✭✭KatyMac


    Genghis Cant wrote: »
    There's always one alright. We had one that couldn't be housed, she'd bully all before her.
    I'm terrified of those circular feeders with cows. Would it be a runner to put out two feeders, and would this break them up a bit?
    You couldn't organise a barrier type of setup? I dunno do they bully as much at barriers as opposed to round feeders.

    I was thinking of another feeder. There are only 6 in the whole bunch and the feeder I have has (I think) 16 head spaces. The problem is that there is only a few days between them in age and they all think they are boss. The rest of the herd have their 'big' boss momma and all know their place under her. I have a group of 6 weanlings in company of an old cow so I think it best to put the SH with them, hopefully the cow will keep her from trying the same on the weanlings.


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