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what to do about lost cattle

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Anonymous-0

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a week ago sunday 3 nice black angus cows and 3 calves about 600 lb just showed up at my farm(actually in my hay field)none of the neighbors say they belong to them.and they are about half wild they see me coming toward them and they are gone like deer.so what should i do i wont have any hay field if they dont leave they mostly come around after dark. i have no other cattle but i do have 5 horses.and i also have a nice cattle holding corrall that would hold them if i could somehow lure them in and sneak up and shut the gate real quick.what would you guys do. thanks RICK
 
In most states you can put them in a holding pin, when the owner comes, name your price! I think you must run a add in the paper though. I would get a wittness as to the date and damage their doing!
good luck
eat well, (maybe)
 
I am not a rancher or farmer but I like steak.......Mmmmm.......Yummy.

I think you should give it a week and then if they are still around have one of the black angus cows taken to the butcher and get steak dinners made up.
Beef.....Its whats for dinner.

Maybe put up a notice at the local store or whatever and ask if anyone is missing these animals. (they have to have proof that they belong to them)
 
My first thought when I read...."what to do about lost cattle" was: pray for"em. Hehehe!

But perhaps it would be better to pray over them after they have been converted....into steaks, hamburgers and roasts.

Surely, somebody will come looking for them. If nobody showed up after a week or three...or for word to get around that you had extra cattle on your place.....I"d ask the sheriff or county attorney what you"re entitled to.
 
Put some sweet feed out in buckets. They'll investigate. Then keep moving the buckets closer to the pen, then in the pen. If you can stand some where with in ear shot when they eat the feed holler "come boss" or something like that so they make a connection between the call and the feed. They'll get so they like you after a week or so.
 
Back in the 50"s my granddaddy Howell was the county sheriff.

He drove a 61 Ford Fairlane with a long "whip" radio antenna bolted to the back bumper.

When he would feed his cows at the old Ragan home,
he would pull up to the gate and turn on the siren.

You could hear those cows bawling from half a mile away.

Soon you could see them running out of the woods down the hill to the old house.

<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/?action=view&current=IMG_0127.jpg" target="_blank">
IMG_0127.jpg" width="520" height="420" border="0" alt="Photobucket
</a>



Got a smile on my face now; thanks for the memory.
 
I would not recommend killing these cows no matter how good they may taste.
In fact if you put the shoe on the other foot you would not want someone killing your horse just because it got out and you could not find it.

It sounds like catching them may be more problems than it is worth.

I would first contact the sheriff and see if anyone has reported them missing. If no leads have turned up in the next day or two I would get a few friends; saddle some horses; and chase them into the next county.
In other words make it someone else’s problem.

But then again I live in a area where there are large tracks of unused land that is owned by investors or paper mills.
 
do they have a brand if they do contact a brand inspector and they can tell you the owner the brand is registered to. other wise id call the sheriff. you never know could be a real jerk that owns them and may drive by looking for them and think you stole them. always remember not all people are honest best to be on the safe side.
 
Dad had a couple of wild western feeder calves get away from the chute when the truck delivered them, and they ended up way out in the other end of a neighbor's farm. We couldn't come anywhere close to them and baiting didn't work so dad got his tamest old herford stock cow and turned her loose in the field with them. In a couple of days the wild ones followed the stock cow home.

When they were finally corraled they were wilder than the wind so dad hauled them to the sale barn. Jim
 
get on your horse and round them up into your coral. feed and water them everyday and keep track of all costs. some farmers dont know they have cattle missing until they go to work them. farmers will come looking for them and will gladly pay you for taking care of them.
 
What others have already said. Call the sheriff. We have seen alot of herd abandonment down here. A buddy of mine did a head count after seeing tire tracks at his gate...turns out someone dumped 65 head of goats into his existing herd. All in good shape but obviously the previous owner could no longer afford the food and upkeep. You never know.
 
(quoted from post at 03:18:51 04/08/09) Leave them alone and they will go home wagging their tails behimd them. rw
Click to expand...

now that one is funny,,,, but you would be surprised how many people would think that is the way it is,,,,

I had a neighbor, about 1 mile away,, from NYC,, I never met him before this incident, but anyway, I went out to feed my cows one day this was a few years ago,, and noticed more cows on the top side of my pasture,, they werent mine,,

they went through my fence to get IN,, well I finally got them in a holding pen, and then into the barn, wild creatures they were..

ends up I found out they belonged to this guy that just bought property, no fence to speak of, only up here once every month or so,,

I fed them for close to 2 weeks, the guy comes to get them and asks what he owes me I had 4 cows for 2 weeks, I say 100 bucks,,, and that wasnt including the window they busted out of teh barn, the brand new lawn mower they trampled,the fencing I had to fix, he thought I was getting rich on him,,

find out he bought these at an auction on sat, had them delivered sunday morning and went home after they were in his "yard",, he thought they would just stay there at there new home and be happy,,

ended up costing me more than it was worth,, next time it will be different,,, probably not, I would still hold onto them until I found out who owned them, but the charge will be more haha,, good luck, the thing is if they are wild, meaning sprited, they will probably take out your fence then you got horses on the loose,,
 
This is one of my original stories.

The photo was taken at the hill where the cows would come from.

Just behind the hill is a small pond that overflows and feeds a very small creek.

Cows were always grazing somewhere near the water.

You can just barely make out the old Ragan house in the center of the photo.

Granddaddy Howell would pick me up on his way to his farm.

I loved that man; now I'm his age and wish I had a grandson to share our farm.

A lot of good stories are shared by many of us on this forum.

After granddaddy passed away, my dad had to figure out another way to call the cows at feeding time.

Have you ever heard the Arkansas Razorback fans call the Hogs?

He would let out a long "Woooooooooooooooooo" and eventually the cows caught on that it was feeding time.

Another man I loved and miss a lot.

They both live on every time a post "sparks" these good memories.

Thanks - I'm smiling again.
 
holy crap, that's exactly what I say, where's the money for the guy that dumped them? Sounds very... odd.
 
Rick,

The county where I live in Middle Tennessee has an animal control department in the county government. I've had involvement with one incident a few years ago where someone lost a couple of cows. The animal control guy has a contract with a local farmer who will round up loose animals and transport them to his farm. If the owner claims the animals, the guy who has held them is compensated for his time and expense, and then, for a fee, will deliver them to the owner. I believe there's a thirty day waiting period on ownership. If the owner doesn't show up, the guy who rounded them up gets to keep them.

Do you have an animal control department in your county government?

Tom in TN
 
Folks here are sometimes hesitant to call to claim lost or strayed livestock. Reason being, that sometimes if a car hits a cow or horse, they run an ad looking for the owner of the animal they hit.
 
Bait 'em in the lot with ground corn. Someone will appreciate your help.

My neighbor bought a nice steakhouse dinner for two for my wife and I after I caught a wild calf he'd been after for several months.

Paul
 
thanks for your replys guys.oh well i have been thinking of gettin some cows anyway.might be a good way to get started. RICK
 
Around here most folks only use there land for recreation and there s not much fence so some travlling cows could go a long way . Most times a cow that gets out knows where it got out at . Saddle the horses and get behind them , dont try to push them just keep them moving and let them go the way they want and they will most likely take you to there home . Dont mean they will stay there !!
 
You have a corrall and 5 horses, and you are asking how to pen the cows? Why do you feed the horses if they cant even pen a cow? Tom
 
John,

that's the neighborly thing to do.....consider the other guys needs and interests over those of your own.....might as well invite them critters inside the house for supper, then call the vet and have them checked over while you're at it.

What's the matter with folks like you? How many people do you think have time to tend their neighbors cattle? These critters are dumb beasts.....food on the hoof...nothing more, nothing less. They are also property....they belong to somebody and that somebody needs to tend to his property and be held responsible for them.

I wouldn't have time..nor the inclination to 'saddle up and drive them doggies home'. Pi$$ on that. If they come onto my place and take up residence, eat my feed and the rightful owner doesn't come looking for them....or willing to make restitution.....then I'd eat them.
 
My mistake; lots of "irons in the fire" lately.

He was the county sheriff in Morris County Texas during the mid 50's and early 60's up until his death in February of 1961.

His brother, Uncle Frank, was the Morris County Tax Assessor/Collector.

These two brothers always played as partners at the local domino hall during lunch time.

I can still remember how each one would slap a domino on the wooden table and yell out the count.
 
explain how you could drive a 61 fairlane in the 50's? Watched one too many Back to the Future movies maybe?
 
Not all horses are cow horses. If your horse isn't trained to work cattle, it might get real exciting trying to push cattle with an untrained horse especially if the cattle get cantankerous.
 
We had four cows show up about 12 years ago. They had the white stickers on their backs from where they had been through a auction. Those cows had calves and nobody ever came looking for them. They were eventually sold along with the calves several years later.
 
You've already taken the step of asking all of your neighbors. I would until they've all been to church, the café, card games, bullsh!t sessions, or wherever they talk to *their* neighbors. You will probably get a call within a week. Unless the cattle escaped out of a trailer, they're probably not far from their home.
 
Hate to be a an ole "stick in the mud", but before you get yourself into a whole heap o' trouble by following some of the highly creative ideas on this thread, give the sheriff a call and see what the law says about the situation in YOUR state. "Self help" can be fun, but expensive.
 
Used to help a neighbor feed sometimes- we'd go through the gate, then honk the horn on the pickup- critters come arunnin'. Went one time, and there was a group of 40 or so Herefords over by the far corner- it was an Angus ranch, and the guy said they got a whale of a buy on a whole herd- said "They're a little snaky yet, but they'll calm down." At least that day, when we honked, they ran the other way.

Came a few weeks later, no sign of the Herefords. Asked the boss- he laughed, said he honked one day, and here they came- Good, they've finally figured it out. Well, not so much- they came on the run, and never stopped- he said if he hadn't made it to the pickup, they'd have run him over. He went home, called come local cowboys and a cattle semi, and sent them on to their next home, via the local auction. He said he heard later via the grapevine that the auction that week was pretty exciting, complete with livestock attempting to join the bidders in the bonded buyers seats.
 
If you live in Oregon then its your duty to notify the Sheriff that they are loose an on your property. If you don't and you keep the cattle then you can be charged with Cattle rustling.
Good law for those of us who have cattle its not always possible to keep them critters in the pasture.
But on the other hand you can go to jail in Polk county where I live if you don't keep them in.
We have lots of laws out here that contradict other laws, helps keep the lawyers busy I guess.
Walt
 
Years ago in previous life I was a banker.

Every year the "feds" would come down and "review" the bank's operation.

This was a rural bank with more than a few timber loans and of course several cattle loans.

Well as you might guess I ended up drawing the short straw on taking the "feds" on cattle inspections.

We met one of my bank customers, a well-known rancher in the community, at one of his grazing pastures.

He honked the horn on his truck and cows came from everywhere.

The young man from the Federal Reserve Bank seemed puzzled and asks me "How do you know these are his cows?"

Deciding to have a little fun, I replied "Because they have been trained to recognize only the sound of his truck horn."

Giving me another strange look he asks "How can you be sure of that?"

I smiled and replied "Just look across the road at the cows in the other field; they have not run up to the fence like his cows."

Now we get down to business with the cattle inspection itself.

The young man reads the loan documentation and asks "How do you know which of these cows secure this loan?"

I smiled again and replied "The fattest ones secure the bank loan, the "poor" ones belong to him."

By this time I admire the young man for trying to get "one up" me.

The young man reads the loan documentation once again, but much closer this time.

This time he smiles and asks "How do you know there are 100 cows here?"

I smiled and replied "The quickest way is to count teets and divide by 4."

Thankfully the young man took it all in good spirit.

He called on me several times when he had questions about cattle loans and timber loans. that he was reviewing at other banks.

That is one of my favorite banking stories.
 
Cattle law basics- is your state a "fence law" or "range law" state? Fence law means owner of livestock required to keep them in his fences or joint boundary fence- loose cattle on road and car collision the catle owner responsible, same with crop damage, etc. Range law state means no fence needed- gardeners and crop farmers maintain their fences to keep cattle out, no fence, cattle graze your flower bed- your problem. Hit cow on road - you pay for cow. you corral cow in range state and owner may charge you with theft. Check sherrif and see what he says. Could be local, could be some PETA rescue/stolen from long ways away, could be trailer accident and they got loose long way from home.
In rough times a herd that is insured and dissapears/wanders off may be a break even payout instead of loss at auction. Others may let their pets go wander instead of send to butcher if they are being foreclosed. Loose horses and hogs known to happen that way- can"t feed them, don"t want to slaughter so treat like unwanted dog and turn loose close to somebodies feed ground or pasture. RN
 
I was an ag lender, also- SW Washington Production Credit Assn. Had a few "problem" loans over the years, but my favorite was a situation in about 1980 in which the husband was a good guy, very trustworthy, but he was injured in a mill accident, so we had to deal with the Mrs. My boss had written in the loan history several years earlier, "Mrs. xxx is a crook- deal only with husband."

They had a loan of about $6,000 that was past due, secured by Holstein heifers that were long gone, of course. She kept giving excuses, and a favorite trick was to give me a postdated check anticipating some kind of income, then call prior to the date and make add'l excuses- but still no money.

They had sold some property to a local timber baron, and had an annual payment. I went out on a Friday, and she gave me a check dated for the next Monday, when the payment was supposed to be made. What she didn't know was that the timber baron was a client as well- so I called him about the payment when I got back to the office, and of course, the payment wasn't due for months. But he said he had plenty of cash at the moment, and he could pay it early if it would help. I opined that it certainly would, so made arrangements to be the next in line behind him at our bank when he made that payment first thing Monday morning.

Went to the office Monday morning, and, knowing that Mrs. would soon be calling to disavow the check, I told receptionist that I had to be out for awhile, probably back before noon. Had coffee until bank opened at 10, and it worked like clockwork. Baron made the payment to their account, and I was next in line, to present my check from her for cash. Teller knew both Baron and me; she looked at me, then at Baron walking out the door, back at me, and said "I don't even want to know." Got my cash, went back to the office, and, surprise, Mrs. had been calling- I called her, thanked her for the payment, and the phone line turned blue.

Postscript: A couple years later, Mrs. xxx called, sweet as could be, and wondered if we could finance a car for them. I (reluctantly) declined.
 
Call the sheriff and start the time going on the lost, found, and abandoned property statute. Sometimes 30 days.

I had some black angus get out after a lightning storm. 8 of them went about 12 miles south. Luckily he called the sheriff as well as me and I hauled them back. They can go a long ways. I trailed their tracks down the road a ways but lost them. 1 got into another pasture with some other cattle. Never could round him up. Even built a catch pen in his pasture but couldn't chase him in. The neighbor just said to wait till the end of the summer when he rounded them up.
 

Had four "wild ones" here on the farm that missed the truck to the final sale last fall. After weeks of trying to bait them into the barn,I finally came up with the idea of using our never used headlock wagon and some corn silage from the neighbors bunk silo.
Trained them to use the wagon ,then pulled the wagon in the barn and set the head gates to auto lock.Finally the critters came in and locked themselves in. I shut the barn door and let out a long and relieved sigh.
Calls from the Sheriffs dept at 2:30 am stopped immediately after that.

Good luck
Chris
 
A few years back a friend of mine, traveling at on a wet, rainy, nite hit a bunch of cattle on a rural highway. She topped a hill, and there they were. She got sued by the farmer, and lost, had to pay. This was in spite of the farmer's history of having animals out frequently, and having run-ins with the authorities over it.
 
Nancy, no offense, but as I was reading this I was thinking of posting exactly what Tex posted..."get on your horse and put 'em in the pen".
Like you said, not all horses are "cow horses". Some are draft animals. But, most any riding-type horse that's worth his oats should be able to get 3 cows with calves at side into a pen, provided the rider knows what he or she is doing. Your statement of a horse being "not trained to work cattle" would be better said "not all riders are trained to work cattle". Most decent horses can figure it out by themselves. Put me or anybody who has spent most of their lifetime ahorseback working cattle on most any semi-ridable horse that's not dead on it's feet, and putting just 3 head of cows and calves anyplace they need to be is pretty much as easy as falling off a log.

That kinda thing is easy...figuring out all the functions of my cell phone, getting the clock to blink anything but 12:00 on my vcr, driving in city traffic, now THAT'S what's hard! I guess different people having different skills is what makes the 'ol world go 'round!
 
Obviously you don't live in an area where neighbors rely on neighbors to not only get things done but to also help each other out when in need. Ya sure wouldn't last long around here, even though in this area neighbors are sometimes as much as 10-20 miles apart.

As a good example, there was a guy locally a while back who had pretty much the same attitude. Didn't have "time" to put a neighbors cattle back in, go help at neighbor's brandings, etc. etc. "Why should I help them, I'M BUSY WITH MY OWN WORK".

Well...ok then.

In these parts grass fires are common, and it's usually neighboring ranchers with spray rigs on the back of pickups that get 'em put out since the real "fire departments" are in towns from 40 to 80 miles away. Seems this grass fire was burning right towards this self-important "screw everybody but me" guy's place. All the fire rigs stopped at his fence, drove around his place to the downwind side, and proceeded to continued to fight the fire once it got there. Don't remember if the guy got the hint or not but he's no longer in the area, so I'd guess so....
 
Mark, your post reflects so much of what's wrong in this world today that it isn't even funny. Way too many people have your "me me me" attitude", and attitudes like that are what has this country by the tail with a downhill pull.

Obviously you don't live in an area where neighbors rely on neighbors to not only get things done but to also help each other out when in need. Ya sure wouldn't last long around here, even though in this area neighbors are sometimes as much as 10-20 miles apart.

As a good example, there was a guy locally a while back who had pretty much the same attitude. Didn't have "time" to put a neighbors cattle back in, go help at neighbor's brandings, etc. etc. "Why should I help them, I'M BUSY WITH MY OWN WORK".

Well...ok then.

In these parts grass fires are common, and it's usually neighboring ranchers with spray rigs on the back of pickups that get 'em put out since the real "fire departments" are in towns from 40 to 80 miles away. Seems this grass fire was burning right towards this self-important "screw everybody but me" guy's place. All the fire rigs stopped at his fence, drove around his place to the downwind side, and proceeded to continued to fight the fire once it got there. Don't remember if the guy got the hint or not but he's no longer in the area, so I'd guess so....

And yeah, I know I posted twice...oops! Wish there was an edit button on here!
 
Yep, lots of ranchers around here have aftermarket sirens mounted on their cakin' pickups and feedin' tractors....sound carries alot farther than honkin' a horn.
 
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