Cow Behavior

[farmerchick]

I am new to cows. I've had horses and goats for many years, but we bought a dexter cow/calf about a week ago.
Some background info...Since our goal is milk I bought one that had a young calf and that the previous owner had milked. The cow is 3, this is her second calf (heifer) and the calf is about 6 weeks old. The baby is with her mom 24/7 right now, but I milk the cow in the morning and evening. The cow stands fairly well at her feed while I milk and I'm getting about 3 cups am and pm.

Now, my problem... She seems to show aggressive behavior. Anytime I try to work with her (aside from feeding time/milking which she is quite good for) she starts snorting, stomping, and pawing with her front feet. Most of the time I can come up to her left side and touch her, sometimes not and if I keep pushing her then she starts shaking her head and pawing with her front foot (like bull). So far she hasn't actually done anything that could injure anyone, but it seems like she is threatening it. I never run at her and try to be very calm and non-agressive anytime I'm with her. 

Is it just that she is young and has a young calf and that she will get better as the calf gets older and she has more calves in time? Or should I actually be concerned about this?

I've trained horses for decades, but I feel rather lost trying to figure out cow training. Any advice would me really helpful!
-Kristin

[kansasdexters]

farmerchick - Your cow is showing aggressive behavior. You've only had her a week and it takes more time than that to establish a good relationship. She doesn't know and trust you yet, and she has a young one to protect. Spend time with her, groom her (do this when she is in the stanchion and she is properly restrained). If she continues to give you threat warnings (snorting, stomping, pawing the ground, shaking her head at you), take a rattle paddle (http://www.koehnmarketing.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=23 ) and whack her rear end with it to make her move away. When a cow challenges another cow, the winner makes the other move away in submission, and like-wise, you have to be the winner, every time. Once you have established who the boss is, she will stop challenging you. Right now, she doesn't know where she stands in the hierarchy of her new "herd", so she will challenge everyone, including you.

Watch this video and you will see typical cow threat gestures and challenges, these are normal behaviors between mature females in the herd that are used to establish their rank in the herd. Whenever a new female (mature female) is introduced to the herd, you will see these types of fights occur until the new cow establishes her rank and peace is restored: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qua1yAU1Asw

Patti

[kansasdexters]

Susan Lea - This video is in French (my mother was French), and it really showcases normal cow behavior and fighting instincts. Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyCEHMsay4Q


Patti

[wagradexters]

Great videos Patti, always fun to watch.
They can be nasty little monsters, three or four bullies can single out the one animal and run it into a dam, so when we first put separate mobs together we bring them all into the central paddock with no dam. That way they can all become totally exhausted but none risk being drowned.

Edited to say cows-chasing-cows makes camp-drafting look tame. 
Margaret

[zephyrhillsusan]

That was fascinating, kansasdexters.  It's a really good illustration of behavior.  

I must say, I can't get into cow fights for the sake of cow fights any more than I can bull fighting.  But it was good to hear the cows' owners talking about their cows' affectionate nature and intelligence; it's clear they really care about their animals.  And I'm glad the judges pull the losing cows or non-combative ones before they get hurt. 

[farmerchick]

Thank you so much!! I think I was inadvertantly letting her become more dominant. Now she is becoming sweeter and easier. Thanks!!!!