The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Cattle => Topic started by: little blue on June 17, 2011, 11:14:33 pm

Title: clever cows ... check your gates!
Post by: little blue on June 17, 2011, 11:14:33 pm
http://news.yahoo.com/video/sky-oddly-14898207/udder-genius-daisy-the-cow-s-great-escape-25645121 (http://news.yahoo.com/video/sky-oddly-14898207/udder-genius-daisy-the-cow-s-great-escape-25645121)
Title: Re: clever cows ... check your gates!
Post by: SallyintNorth on June 18, 2011, 12:45:40 am
Great footage.  I am very envious of all his smoothly-moving bolts!  It'd take more than a young stirk's tongue to shift some of ours...

We have similar gates, with just one bolt, and years ago BH had a very similar experience to this farmer - but wasn't able to video it so could never prove it to anyone else.  He then adapted the gates to put a piece of metal on the top which has to flop over and lock into the H girder the gates are mounted on.

This winter I had a similar experience, and at first I thought I must have left the flop-over back, so made doubly sure - turned out one of our Blue-greys (in for a few days for calving when the weather was evil) had accidentally discovered about the flop-over by rubbing her neck very vigorously - and the thing about cows is, they learn really quickly. 

My Fell gelding thankfully lacks quite the brains of Daphne the Blue-grey; I see him watching me closely when I'm opening gates from his back, but they have to be extremely simple for him to be able to do it himself.  When I finally get riding my young mare I think it may be a different story...
Title: Re: clever cows ... check your gates!
Post by: robert waddell on June 18, 2011, 08:29:59 am
we have a pig that opens the gates    spring loaded bolts as well        next yime she is in will need to video her :pig: