COWS! livestock!

[TinAbbey]

I was thinking of the places the trail goes right thru pastures today where you are in cow territory like in VA or NY. I was wondering if anyone has had any interesting experiences with them. I was imagining some deciding to do some night hiking and walking up a bull's ass. anyone?

[Miu]

All of the cows I've ever met have been afraid of people....unless they think you have food, or they recognize you because you have given them food in the past. In that case, they chase you a little. Otherwise their hobbies include: pooping, eating, staring at you, and pooping while eating and staring at you.

[Jim Adams]

All of the cows I've ever met have been afraid of people....unless they think you have food, or they recognize you because you have given them food in the past. In that case, they chase you a little. Otherwise their hobbies include: pooping, eating, staring at you, and pooping while eating and staring at you.

sounds like every cow I've ever met!

geek

[Pedaling Fool]

All of the cows I've ever met have been afraid of people....unless they think you have food, or they recognize you because you have given them food in the past. In that case, they chase you a little. Otherwise their hobbies include: pooping, eating, staring at you, and pooping while eating and staring at you.

Me too, except this little bull that did not want me to pass through "his" field. This was ~ 1 - 2 miles north of Trimpi Shelter.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...s&cutoffdate=1

[Miu]

These are the times when cows deserve to be tipped

[Tipi Walter]

I've spent many nights stealth camping in cowfields and other than setting up the tent on a cowpie I think cow pastures offer the best tent camping. One time near Grayson Highlands I drank cow-tainted water and puked all night by my tent but that was my own fault. Another time I was trying to reach a good spot at night and stumbled into a fully charged electric fence which I blamed on the cows.

Horses can be more of a pest though and will bite.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

The female dino's grandfather owned a dairy farm and also had beef cattle. With the exception of a territorial bulls (usually during the 21 days or so that the cows are in heat), you are very unlikely to have problems with cattle. They are docilie critters.

Cattle are like people in that they have personal space. Wild and rarely handled cattle have a larger amount of personal space than cattle that are accoustomed to human contact. As you move into their personal space, they will become nervous. Keep in mind that a cow / bull has a very wide angle of vision, but cannot see directly behind itself. If you move into a cow / bull's personal space in this blind spot, it will perceive you as a threat and act accordingly - so don't do it!

Approach cattle slowly and from the front or side-rear. It's instinct is to move away while still keeping you in sight. This is the most effective way to get a cow or bull out of your way.

[Toolshed]

I worked on Dairy farms here and in the UK while growing up (Gr-r-rab your wellies boys, the cawwws are in the byrrrre.) Dino is spot on. I have only 2 words of caution to add Bulls and Pies.

Pies are self explanatory.

Bulls are unpredictable. Really unpredictable. You'll be able to tell a bull from a cow or steer by looking low between the hind legs. Don't use horns as a sign.

In many cases, farmers no longer maintain bulls but hire the services of a breeder who comes to the farm usually every days or so, depending on how amny head, and checks the charts of each cow that is coming into heat. The farmer tells the breeder which bull he would like semen from (there are catalogs). The breeder usually keeps about 50 semen specimens deep frozen in nitrogen in his truck.

Usually Dairy Farms do not raise steer. They may keep the calves for veal, but at 500# or more, they usually sell them off to a farm that specializes in beef cattle/steer.

[superman]

Winter is a white German Shepard. When we crossed our first cow field the cows saw Winter as a wolf (threat). We were well into the field before I realized what the problem was. I had Winter tuck in close behind me and the cows relaxed. It was as if Winter had become invisible. Winter quickly learned to automatically tuck in close behind me whenever there were cows around. The cows never had any concern when Winter was right behind me. I should have posted this to the dog thread.

[Pennsylvania Rose]

Cows freak me out. I was walking through a pasture once and all 50 or so turned to face me, chewed their cud, and STARED at me until I was well past. It was creepy.

[taildragger]

The only times that cows have ever made me nervouse are when I'm stealthing through the woods in full camo and just happen to end up right in a small part of a herd. They tend not to like this 6' Entish creature walking around. I've only had one cow act like she was going to charge me, but she was a wild cow from Florida.

If the herd is staring at you, and not really letting you pass, you can just move towards them, move your arms around and use a loud voice (being from Oklahoma, I prefer the phrase "Come on mommaa cow, gitemup")

Warning: The above does not work with buffallo

[Landshark]

Once while hiking on private land in Vermont (not on the AT/LT) I came across a TON of tracks that I thought were moose tracks. I think you know where this is going... I was thinking "oh boy, I am going to see a moose!" I came around a corner into a huge herd of cows. They pretty much just went "Moo!" and got out of my way. However, when driving out of there later they were all hanging out in the road and they did NOT want to move for me to drive past. I had to inch the car up right under their noses and they looked extremely disdainful as they stepped just barely out of the way to let me pass. Not like the grass growing down the center of the road looked any tastier than the grass along the sides!

Another time I was roadwalking with a friend near Clarendon gorge. A huge group of cows on the other side of a fence all looked up at once, saw us, and began to follow us along the fence, mooing and looking at us and keeping pace with us the whole way! One of us must have looked like the farmer that feeds them....

[Fiddleback]

sounds like every cow I've ever met!

geek

Shoot! It sounds like a bunch of people I've met...

FB

[superman]

All of the cows I've ever met have been afraid of people....unless they think you have food, or they recognize you because you have given them food in the past. In that case, they chase you a little. Otherwise their hobbies include: pooping, eating, staring at you, and pooping while eating and staring at you.

When I was a kid we had a one cow (plus other animals) farm. It was my job (among other chores) to milk "Lucy" the cow. Her hobbies (in addition to the above) included trying to swat me with her tail and trying to step in the milk bucket as I milked her.

[Alligator]

I had some difficulties with cows. I came in late one night to I think it's called the Davis Farm Campsite in VA. Nice view into the valley. I should have realized there could be trouble 'cause one area of the pad had a big ole cow pie on it. Threw some leaves on it and set up nearby. In the morning, I went over to get water. Before I left, I noticed the fence had lost a crosspiece down in the pasture. Didn't think much of it. Then I noticed the water source was fenced in. The water looked secure so I pumped up a few liters and headed back. When I got back, there were a couple of cows surrounding the tent pad. One cow was licking my tent. I chased it off but it left a nasty slimer on the fly. I spent the morning shooing cows with a branch while packing up.

[Mags]

Somewhere on the AT (I think it was in Virginia), I was hiking through an easement.

I walked, the cows followed.

I walked a little faster, the cows went faster.

I ran a little bit, they ran!

I made it to the stile.

At a shelter later that night, I saw a fellow AT hiker. He did not "escape" and was instead licked by the cows a bit.

Somehow the cows in the area have learned to associate sweaty hikers and their salt encusted clothes and gear as walking salt licks.

Then there's the CDT (Cattle Droppings Trail)....

[emerald]

Somewhere on the AT (I think it was in Virginia), I was hiking through an easement.

I walked, the cows followed.

I walked a little faster, the cows went faster.

I ran a little bit, they ran!

I made it to the stile.

At a shelter later that night, I saw a fellow AT hiker. He did not "escape" and was instead licked by the cows a bit.

Somehow the cows in the area have learned to associate sweaty hikers and their salt encusted clothes and gear as walking salt licks.

Maybe they heard tell of a hiker feed and were wondering if it was any good?

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

The cows are providing a trail service.

[emerald]

The cows are providing a trail service.

Dino, you've got some strange cows where you live. In The Green Diamond, our dairy cows are too busy eating our tender alfalfa, clover and other fine forages grown to perfection by Berks County farmers to be bothered with such silly games.

[emerald]

Oh, Dino, by the way, there's a reason we keep the animals up on The Blue Mountain as much as we can.