Is it generally safe to walk through a field of cows?

City boy checking in.

So, this one time out on a hike in a semi-rural area, the trail opened out on a grassy riverbank kind of place, and there were a dozen or so cows between me and the path onwards.

Now, I mostly grasp which end of a cow the grass goes in, but that's about my limit; I have no real idea how they operate IRL.

I ended up carefully edging my way past them and gave them as much space as I possibly could, and got extremely stared at by all of them, who probably thought I was nuts.

Just out of curiosity - how careful did I need to be? Can you just like walk through the middle of them, or would that be asking for trouble?

Anticorp ,

Not really, man. Cows are like people, some of them are just assholes. Cows kill hundreds of people every year. If you don't know a cow's temperament, don't put yourself where it can kill you.

Skkorm ,

We used to rent our farmland to the neighbors for their cows and horses. We would periodically have to go out there and do work on fences and the barn and stuff. I was always told that horses are not to be trusted, but the cows are probably fine.

Take that information and do with it as you will.

Codilingus ,

Texan with a Ranch and cows here. They're VERY curious and goofy and stupid, and scared. Occasionally you'll have a lone bull in the herd try to intimidate, but they're scared too. The only thing to watch out for is look down where you walk so you don't step in poo!

Anticorp ,

I grew up visiting my friend's family's cattle ranch all the time. The mean ones up there were cows, not bulls. There were a couple that you didn't want to get caught in the open with. I was chased up a tree a few times. Some cows just want to see the world burn.

Codilingus ,

Lmao, interesting. I was just there this week and repaired something close to the fence. All of them, about ~50, came over to watch. I wonder if it's a breed thing? And you're sure they came at you to be mean, and not come see what you were doing?

Anticorp ,

Oh yes. Cow body language is very different when they're curious and when they intend to cause you harm. These ones wanted us wiped from the face of the earth, or at least wiped from their line of sight.

Edit: I should point out that these were free range beef cattle in the foothills, so they're a lot less friendly than your average dairy cow. They would only see people a few times per year, and they never liked what they got when people came around, so they likely had pretty negative associations with humans.

Codilingus ,

Ohhh OK, these are beef cows as well. I don't know at what point they're free range, they have 100s of acres, but they see humans all the time.

Anticorp ,

These lived on 1800 acres of wild land. They normally only saw people when we were driving past to get to the ranch house, or when me and my buddy were hiking. Twice a year they were rounded up, branded, counted, and either sold off or let go.

They were rounded up old Western style, by cowboys on horseback, and driven into the pens by the ranch house. It was actually an amazing experience getting to be a part of that as a teenager and young man.

My friend and I would go exploring all over those hills in the summer time, and that's when the murder cows caught us in the open a few times. Most of the cows didn't care, but there were a few that we knew by site to run from if we happened upon them. So we'd skedaddle over near a tree or back to the truck if it was close and hope the cow would just wander off and do cow things. It usually just gave us angry looks and bluffs, but a few times it charged us and drove us up the tree. One time we were tree'ed, and were able to scare it off by firing our guns into the air. Good times.

Crisps ,

Cows kills more people each year than sharks.

I mean when did you ever here of a cow killing a shark.

Professorozone ,

Don't know anything about this from personal experience, but I thought I heard a report a while back about a fairly large number of hikers in the UK injured or killed by cows. So I'm guessing, not as dangerous as crocodiles but still best to be careful.

creditCrazy ,
@creditCrazy@lemmy.world avatar

Id be a bit careless to say they are a hundred percent harmless but over all they are really shy and cerous creatures id probably say you were being just as shy and careful about them as they were being towards you so yeah they have the strength and weight to crush you and rip you apart but they at most accidentally use that capability bulls on the other hand as far as I'm informed are kinda like 100 ton dogs

SRo ,

Usually it's pretty safe except when there are calves on the field. It happens every year that some tourists (especially with dogs) go through a field with calves and their mothers and someone gets injured.

samus12345 ,
@samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

This reminded me of a time I went up and petted a cow and it turned and gave me the most wide-eyed horrified stare I've ever seen. I felt bad.

xmunk ,

Extremely safe - just be careful about where your feet are if you're next to them. More people than you'd think have lost or seriously injured a foot because a cow or, especially, a draft horse, can't see where they're stepping.

If you get a chance and it's just cows then go up and say hi, they're wonderful animals and unbelievaby chill. I'd honestly be more comfortable petting a strange cow then a strange cat... if they shy away or noticeably get irritated when you approach be smart and give them space, but you're probably just going to get licked and mooed at.

Lightrider ,
@Lightrider@sh.itjust.works avatar

https://youtu.be/bnI_Y8PyTHM is an interesting perspective on cowology.

neidu2 ,

Yes. They might follow you, but that's mostly out of curiosity and the fact that you're tall enough to be their leader. Sometimes they might even run at you, but that's mostly just to catch up and/or get closer - They're not charging at you. Stop, turn around, and T-pose, and they'll stop as well, waiting to see what you're up to.

Cows alone are pretty chill and playful. Think of them like huge dogs, but without the instinct for hunting. If there are young ones with them you wanna give them some extra space for obvious reasons.

Source: Grew up on a cattle farm.

Regna ,
@Regna@lemmy.world avatar

I was helping out at a farm when I was in my preteens, and was rushed by a docile cow that loved being scratched behind her ears. I had petted and scratched her, and when I went to leave the paddock, she rushed me and almost impaled me with one of her horns. Since then I only have one working kidney.

Cows are big, strong and heavy, and docile dogs can also kill. Any kind of caution around things large or feisty enough to kill you is healthy.

Dozzi92 ,
@Dozzi92@lemmy.world avatar

Glad to hear t-pose is the way to go. I'm beginning to think it's the solution to the world's problems.

gnu ,

I never had a problem with walking around cows as a kid and I did it pretty often. Visitors would get spooked occasionally because cows love to follow you and see what you're up to, but I never got chased or anything. That was beef cattle country though so these cows were mainly cows (female) and steers (castrated males). I've heard that some bulls could be territorial however so your mileage may vary if one is around - the couple I've walked around were fine but your chances of issues are higher with them.

Lionheadbud ,

Apparently they are the UK's deadliest animal

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/killer-cows-named-uks-most-30956262#:~:text=As%20the%20UK's%20deadliest%20animal,and%20Safety%20Executive%20(HSE).

Quicky ,

That’s why we take no chances and mow them down with blue light vehicles.

Police car repeatedly rams escaped calf

waz ,

Wow. Just wow.

englislanguage ,

In addition to the other comments here: Don't run near cows. Quite often, they will start running with you, which is very impressive and dangerous at the same time. Cows generally are faster than you for the first few hundred meters at least.

TheSpermWhale ,
@TheSpermWhale@lemmy.world avatar

Country boy here - cows are pretty harmless most of the time if you leave them alone, they might wander over to have a look, but they’re usually pretty docile. If you don’t want them near you, clapping your hands or making yourself big with your arms and shouting usually makes them go away. I will say that you should absolutely not approach them if there are calves nearby and bulls in general are typically more aggressive, but if you keep a safe distance you should be fine

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