# This is what a bull can do to you



## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

From my local newspaper, the Watertown Daily Times.

Anyone who EVER thinks about keeping a bull around should read this. Unfortunately, I read articles like this every few years because it's a dairy area. 

BANGOR - A 55-year-old North Bangor man died after being attacked by a Jersey bull, according to New York State Police.
Troopers said Wednesday that they had responded on Sept. 5 to a report of an unresponsive male at 1754 County Route 8 in the town of Bangor. Matthew L. Boyea was taken by Bangor Rescue to Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, where police said life saving measures were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 1:31 p.m. by Dr. Michael Garber.
Franklin County Coroner Brian Langdon ordered an autopsy, which was conducted by pathologist Dr. Leonardo Dishman at Alice Hyde Medical Center. Police said the autopsy revealed that Mr. Boyea sustained *massive internal injuries, including a severed spine, multiple fractured ribs and severe internal bleeding.* The cause of death was determined to be a fractured thoracic spine and ribs, and bilateral hemothorax.
Troopers said their investigation revealed that Mr. Boyea, a farmhand at the Barry White Farm, was attacked at the farm by a Jersey bull that was known to be aggressive and unpredictable. Mr. Langdon ruled the manner of death to be accidental.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Same thing can happen keeping a cow.. It only takes one good head hit (or kick) from any large animal to do serious damage...


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

When an animal gets testy or unpredictable here they go to freezer camp. Period.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Our local VFD is getting ready to have the yearly Ox roast.. This year the Bovine of Honor belongs to the Fire Chief. He said it has to go because it's gotten pretty mean, and he doesn't want any of his grand kids hurt.. They help tend to the cattle and horses..


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

1000lbs of any animal can kill you, got to show some respect to the big girls and more the big boys


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## sv.maple (Feb 16, 2014)

Thats terrible to see. People dont understand that its in thier nature to be agressive even the nice cute little cuddly calf that was raised and handled all thier lives more often then not will show some aggresion. I was raised on a dairy farm and had a dairy farm and now have beef cows and in 37 years had very few bulls around. When had bulls they would be very young and if looked at anyone funny they were gone. Best bull is in a semen tank never git mean! 
People also need to remember cows git agressive to i had a year old hiefer last fall out of my best cow tied in barn and she was nice and calm. My 7 year old daughter walk down manger and hiefer would try to get her with her head. Not play git her down right mean try to git her. Practicly gave her away but she wasnt stayin another day not worth keepin anythin thats agressive and unpredictable. Cow or bull they need respect and some need beef truck.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

My neighbour was killed by a bull years ago, took about 6 hours before anyone knew he was gone. All they found was a piece of his torso the size of a basketball, everything else had been trampled so badly they couldn't recover it from the mud.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I don't trust either cows or pigs.


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## Missourifarmboy (Aug 24, 2014)

Raised cows for years, had an old cow calf has she had done many times before walked over to look at her calf just like many times before and without warning she drove her head in my side and sent me air born about 20 feet. That's the second time I've had my ribs broke. Been kicked stomped etc. and this is with gentle cows. Who knows maybe coyotes or dogs had bothered her or maybe she just had a bad day. Point is there is a risk to raising large animals. You try to keep a gentle herd and always respect them but odds are if raise many for enough years you will get at least a close call or two.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

That's terrible. It would have been painful and terrifying, just an awful way to die. 

Our bull has never shown one lick of attitude towards people, but we still don't take any chances with him. One time when I had to put hay out by myself, Bull went headfirst into the bale soon as I dropped it but I still needed to put the ring over it. So I bumped him at the shoulder with the ring and hollered at him, he backed right out and let me flop the ring over the bale. I was so relieved, because I was bluffing. If he didn't move -- that ring wasn't getting put on!


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

DaleK said:


> My neighbour was killed by a bull years ago, took about 6 hours before anyone knew he was gone. All they found was a piece of his torso the size of a basketball, everything else had been trampled so badly they couldn't recover it from the mud.


Yikes.....

I was thinking of a Dexter (cow) someday...


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Some are injured or killed by bulls known to be aggressive. Some are injured or killed by bulls that had not shown signs of aggression until the incident. Either way, few were expecting it.


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## Ceilismom (Jul 16, 2011)

I have a nice, calm, low-key Dexter bull. Have had him since he was a cute little weaned calf, and now he's a nice beefy bull with a cute little curly toupee. He's never shown a single sign of aggression, and I still keep at least a fence, corral panel, or preferably a pickup truck between me and him. My kids deserve to have their mother around.

Had the vet out a couple of months ago, and her helper asked if the bull was mean. I told him I'd never known the bull to be, but, you know, he *is* a bull.


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## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

how heart breaking and sad for his family. I have a 2000 pound pet steer, big baby doll most of the time, and I am always, always careful even around him. I have a minature I handle daily, brushing, feeding ect...and still even with his small size aware of where he is and what he is doing every second I am in there. Same with the girls, even tho both are very small...man I hate to hear about this stuff. And I know even being careful things happen, I think people might want to always have someone, or a good farm dog (like I have) if messing about with a bull for any reason, with them.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

CAjerseychick said:


> Yikes.....
> 
> I was thinking of a Dexter (cow) someday...


I have a Vet friend that has treated thousands of cattle over 30 years and she claims the wildest cattle she has seen was a small herd of Dexter. Go figure. As we know there are huge variations within every breed, don't expect uniformity in temperament.


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## wannabfishin (Jan 31, 2014)

they can all be mean and dangerous, but jersey bulls are one of the worst


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## Chief Cook (Apr 24, 2011)

How awful for his family and friends. After joining HT I have learned a lot more about livestock than I started with. When I was a kid, my DGM would catch me in the cow lot and have a fit! :hair I just loved the cows, and their calves, and that big ol bull just loved scratches behind his ears!!! :nono: Don't you know that my guardian angel got lots of gray hair keeping this kid safe. I never got hurt by any of the animals, and now, I realize just how lucky I was.


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## OregonGuys (Mar 13, 2005)

We always have a good handful of Dexter Bulls on our farm and we love them. They're our buddies. We follow some rules to help keep us safe.
1. Don't keep bulls from breeds known to have nasty behavior (Jerseys are the worst partly because breeders don't select for nice bulls)
2. Only keep bulls from breeds known for having nice bulls (Dexters are the best)
3. Only keep bulls from cattle-breeders who select for well-behaved bulls and who cull any with questionable behavior.
4. NEVER wean a young bull away from mom and other adults before 7 months. This is partly why dairy bulls can be mean (they're weaned away from adults too early). 
5. Always keep young bulls with the mother and/or other adult cattle in a herd situation, to help teach the young bulls manners.
6. Make friends with young bulls, but don't engage in play with them. Never pet them on the head, but do pet them elsewhere. 
7. Learn to read bulls. Watch their eyes and body language and even their voice. If they are in a bad mood, don't approach them unless you know what you are doing.
8. Don't march straight up to a bull head on, it may scare them and put them in a protective mood. Instead, approach them from the side or 3/4 to the rear within his clear side view (but not directly from the rear in his blind spot) 
9. Talk to the bull calmly and use his name as you approach him.
10. Rub the bull gently on his back/shoulder/neck/rump and talk to him and use his name.

Everyone on our farm loves our bulls and we've never had a problem at all and can't imagine our farm without our gentle bulls (and AI is a pain). 

PS. We also have very gentle Icelandic Sheep rams and gentle American Guinea Hog boars who are our good, non-aggressive friends. We only breed out of the most gentle animals. 


http://cascademeadowsfarm.com/


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## bellcow (May 12, 2014)

One more

11. Never get between a gentle bull and a hard spot.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

#5 is a very good observation. Bulls try to act like bulls pretty early, but the mature cows and herd bull put them in their place. With only human company, they don't get that "herd discipline". 

#10 - There is no good reason to put your hands on your bull. Give them a shot, pour on wormer, sure. Simply pet them, never. I do allow my SIL to hand feed cubes to our bull from her side of the fence. One day she was helping DH, she was sitting in the truck out in the pasture and Bull recognized her, came up and stuck his big head in the window looking for his handout, she about peed her pants.


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## OregonGuys (Mar 13, 2005)

MO_cows said:


> There is no good reason to put your hands on your bull. Give them a shot, pour on wormer, sure. Simply pet them, never.


We've been able to walk out to any of the 40 dexter bulls we've raised and slip a rope halter on them and lead them to where we need them including onto trailers and to brush them or trim hooves and trim hair. 
But, these are well-bred Dexter bulls selected for friendliness and ease of handling. Any that made me worry at all, wouldn't see the sun set, and I wouldn't raise any other breeds that weren't as easy.


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

I worked for a vet for 2 years in high school. I brought up a dog for some sort of treatment and he put a muzzle on it. I knew the dog from several visits and said, "he's fine, he doesn't bite." The vet told me, "every dog bites, it's just a matter of time and circumstance." That was a good lesson for me of how to work with animals.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

OregonGuys said:


> We've been able to walk out to any of the 40 dexter bulls we've raised and slip a rope halter on them and lead them to where we need them including onto trailers and to brush them or trim hooves and trim hair.
> But, these are well-bred Dexter bulls selected for friendliness and ease of handling. Any that made me worry at all, wouldn't see the sun set, and I wouldn't raise any other breeds that weren't as easy.


Yes, halter broke is a different deal. Only a small percentage of herd bulls have been halter broke. If they all were, it would help imprint on them that humans are the ones in charge and probably make them a better bull for their lifetime. But most people don't have the labor resources to do it. 

We let mother nature take care of the hairdos. I don't care for how hair is "sculpted" for most shows, either. Improving the conformation with hair spray! But I digress. Needing ongoing hoof maintenance, to me that would be a deal breaker. If you are prepping for a show and trim them up for a perfect stance, fine. Needing it just to stay sound, is not acceptable here.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Chief Cook said:


> How awful for his family and friends. After joining HT I have learned a lot more about livestock than I started with. When I was a kid, my DGM would catch me in the cow lot and have a fit! :hair I just loved the cows, and their calves, and that big ol bull just loved scratches behind his ears!!! :nono: Don't you know that my guardian angel got lots of gray hair keeping this kid safe. I never got hurt by any of the animals, and now, I realize just how lucky I was.


Yeah I used to play with a horse a friend had that lived in a pair of dry lots (it was a big company ranch that we all lived on) and one day the ranch hands had unbeknownst to me turned some half grown bull calves into it- it was a breeding ranch for pedigreed cattle)- I went in, and got charged, managed to sit between two cattle gates between the lots-- they saw me and yelled and I got out- never really understood what a big deal it was.... til maybe Now (I thought they were just mad at the fool kid messing around, not that I could have been killed)...


And yeah I used to scratch plenty of them behind their ears - used to fish in the cattle ponds growing up...


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## SpaceCadet12364 (Apr 27, 2003)

I have seen a Bull pick-up the back of 45HP tractor Just scratching on it. If they can do that think about what they can do if they put a little effort into it.


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## OregonGuys (Mar 13, 2005)

MO_cows said:


> Yes, halter broke is a different deal. Only a small percentage of herd bulls have been halter broke. If they all were, it would help imprint on them that humans are the ones in charge and probably make them a better bull for their lifetime


Thanks for this comment.... I never thought about that, but it makes sense. We halter break all of our cattle at a young age. We have even been able to slip a rope halter on a bull and lead him away from in-heat girls when necessary. 

PS. I'm far more worried about driving my car to the store than working with well-bred and well-trained bulls. 35,000 people per year in the US die in auto collisions...


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

SpaceCadet12364 said:


> I have seen a Bull pick-up the back of 45HP tractor Just scratching on it. If they can do that think about what they can do if they put a little effort into it.


right I understand now why those Cowhands freaked out- it wasnt a great combo- non farm workers/ a company -- based outa this ranch .. so hence there I was an unsupervised kid used to spending my days on the lots near the buildings.... 
( I used to ride bareback and take naps on the horses)....


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

The most scared of cattle I've ever been was when I had to put a strange bull that had no flight response through a roadside gate. He did not care a whit for whatever Hell I might stir up for him - turned out he was a hand-raised pet that went walkabout 3 miles up the road with a cow in tow. I do not forgive the neighbor for keeping this animal.


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## tommyanunnaki (Apr 30, 2014)

If I lived my whole life scared of bulls I would never get anything done LOL. 

Any animal can hurt you. A beagle can bite your lip off. I've seen it happen LOL.

You just have to be smart about it. 

For the record, my bull comes up for back scratches every time he sees me. I scratch one side for a few minutes. Then tell him to turn around. He does a 180 and I get the other side. 

I think that people often leave out docility when they're selecting livestock.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

You don't have to be scared of them, you just have to respect the living daylights out of them.

I posted this because I read on here quite often about people who aren't taking into consideration what a bull can do if he's having a bad day. The bull in the article was known to be aggressive and they kept him all this time because they figured they could handle him. Probably figured they were experienced with him and were being careful. The heck of it is, they knew what he was like, but the friendly bull can be just as dangerous except you think he's fine, until of course he's not.

My whole point is, if a bull decided to do something, he's going to cause severe damage to you or a family member. He may never decide to do something, but you'll never be sure of that. I just want people to keep that in mind.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

I'm not ashamed of being frightened by trampling, whether it's a running bunch or some other best-part-of-a-ton animal aimlessly drubbing you along.

Anyone who's seen bulls in the field knows the pawing, pushing and head tossing that's part of their nature not usually seen in cows. I think the point is to appreciate their potential and stay out of harm's way.

PS: I think it's prudent to avoid kissing beagles too!


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