OregonFamilyFarm
New member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2024
- Messages
- 2
Hi all,
New to this great forum. Have been learning a lot. So this is our first year with angus steers we have 3 of them that are about a year old. One of the three I call "big dog" is considerably bigger than the other two, his hair is also MUCH longer. Anyway, they have been fine until recently. My neighbor was doing excavator work on the property and left a gate open and they got into his property. I went down to into his property to try and push them on foot back through our gate. I pushed them a couple times and this "big dog" just didn't want to move and stared me down head high. He always stayed between me and the other two steers. I ended up getting VERY close and pushing them into the corner fences of his property (at this point with a large branch in my hand) and was trying to push them up my fence. As I got closer he lowered his head and charged me. As I backed off he charged me again and I just got out of there. They ended up back on our property a little while later and we closed the gate.
So ever since then when I get close to them at the fence up by the house he is always head up staring me down and he will come up toward me at the fence leaving the other two behind him as if he is a barrier for them. I was mowing near them when they were eating out of the feeders and he pinned his ears back at me and was always watching me. Then today I did an experiment when they were feeding up by the house where I kept my distance and walked all they way to one side of them and then about 120 yards to the other side of them. He kept feeding but always stayed between me and the other two and would turn his body always keeping it toward me as I walked around them.
Seems like we have some trust issues. I fed them some alfalfa flakes today right over the fence and he came within throwing distance of me cautiously and they all started eating.
Should I keep feeding them up close to gain trust? Should I stay very clear of this guy? He seems to be acting more like a bull and is always watching me which makes me nervous doing stuff out on the property.
Thanks for any suggestions!
New to this great forum. Have been learning a lot. So this is our first year with angus steers we have 3 of them that are about a year old. One of the three I call "big dog" is considerably bigger than the other two, his hair is also MUCH longer. Anyway, they have been fine until recently. My neighbor was doing excavator work on the property and left a gate open and they got into his property. I went down to into his property to try and push them on foot back through our gate. I pushed them a couple times and this "big dog" just didn't want to move and stared me down head high. He always stayed between me and the other two steers. I ended up getting VERY close and pushing them into the corner fences of his property (at this point with a large branch in my hand) and was trying to push them up my fence. As I got closer he lowered his head and charged me. As I backed off he charged me again and I just got out of there. They ended up back on our property a little while later and we closed the gate.
So ever since then when I get close to them at the fence up by the house he is always head up staring me down and he will come up toward me at the fence leaving the other two behind him as if he is a barrier for them. I was mowing near them when they were eating out of the feeders and he pinned his ears back at me and was always watching me. Then today I did an experiment when they were feeding up by the house where I kept my distance and walked all they way to one side of them and then about 120 yards to the other side of them. He kept feeding but always stayed between me and the other two and would turn his body always keeping it toward me as I walked around them.
Seems like we have some trust issues. I fed them some alfalfa flakes today right over the fence and he came within throwing distance of me cautiously and they all started eating.
Should I keep feeding them up close to gain trust? Should I stay very clear of this guy? He seems to be acting more like a bull and is always watching me which makes me nervous doing stuff out on the property.
Thanks for any suggestions!
