neighborhood calf question - venting

[Farmer Kitty]

Seeing or not seeing someone feed their cattle is a very poor way to judge how the animal is taken care of. They may be fed at a different time than what you would or in an area that you can not see. You need to look at the animal's condition to determine if they are being fed or not. If I were to go by seeing the being fed I would have to call my neighbor in. I don't see them feeding their cattle. But the cattle are in good shape and the neighbor just runs a different schedule than I do.

As for the one with the tumor, there probably isn't anything that can be done for the tumor and they have opted to grow the animal out and butcher it.

 

[vickig]

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[Love my Critters!]

I agree, and if animal control won't deal with livestock, call your county's livestock inspector. That will get someone out there to investigate the situation. Also your neighbors will not know it was you who called. I agree that you probably need to do something, even if you do not want to talk to them directly. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[hazelton farms]

Quote:
Wouldn't surprise me if this is the fact of it. I'm sure they can see a growth on the cow's tail if you can.

Stacy

 

[Chirpy]

I had an older horse (in his 20's) that was very thin and I was working on getting him into shape. I had him into the vet, had his teeth floated, got him on a good feed plan (with the help of the vet) and was bringing him back to a good condition.

A lady came out to see another horse I had for sale. A week later I got a call from Animal Control saying that she had called them to report neglect concerning my horse.

Now - I had to send pictures, wait several months and talk several times with Animal Control to make sure they understood the whole situation. They did and were wonderful and told me that they were tired of this lady calling them turning in people she knew nothing about. I still lost sleep and was stressed all because of some dipstick who ASSUMED I was irresponsible.

All she had to do was to ask me up front about the horse. I would have been happy to explain that I was working with my vet to put weight back on this horse and get him into shape. Instead she "assumed" I was being neglectful!! I was furious to say the least.


Never assume anything. Talk to the people and find out the real situation. Then act if it's necessary.

By the way ... my boy looks wonderful now and is in great shape. It did take most of a year to get him together though. You can't add weight to a horse fast.

 

[corancher]

I agree. Please check with your neighbor before reporting this to anyone. We have lots of cattle. Cattle eat grass if it's available so you may not see someone feeding them. If it's the middle of winter in Colorado then yes they need to be fed. If you live where there is grass available all the time then they may be just eating grass.

We had a cow a few years ago that just kept losing weight. We had the vet visit several times and did all kinds of tests and medicine which cost more than the cow would have ever been worth. With all the tests, we were not able to find what was wrong with her and had to have her put down. While we were waiting for test results, she looked awful and thin so I passer by may have thought she was not being cared for.

Things are not always what they look like.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:

Maybe where YOU come from...in these small WV counties people can and DO get by with murder, actual murder, sanctioned by what passes for the law. Everyone is related to everyone else. These folk's simple mistake might have just been they were "outsiders" who bought some land that someone else wanted, started raising cattle (on pasture that someone else used to rent for THEIR cattle or to cut hay on) and had the audacity to make a profit and do well. I'm telling you folks, its a whole other planet here. What you know of justice and the laws just don't apply here! When the good ol' boy network kicks in you best be related to someone in office!

 

[texaschickmama]

Simply go to your neighbor and ask him what the calf has on its tail. No one would get mad over that. It is also a good time to introduce yourself as a neighbor.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
And take some eggs!

 

[ruby]

Wildskye is right, take some eggs say "hey" Look around and ask questions. Everyone likes to talk about themselves. I had a bad neighbor, his pigs would get out and trample everything. It was a overcrowded, and bad management. I grew up on a farm, he would not talk to me because I was female and he was a religious extremest. I called the Alabama Dept of agriculture, he and his pigs were moved in two weeks. My 2 year old girl was confronted with one of these pigs in my own yard. To move him though it took the local police, sheriff and the dept of ag.