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?

empireOfLove2 , (edited )
@empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Depends very heavily on the cows. Cattle rancher here. Be careful about it and *most cattle are OK to walk among.

Generally speaking, most farm cattle are timid towards people. They may come check you out and encircle you as a herd, but will usually scurry away if you move suddenly, and don't care if you're just in the field with them. They are herbivorous herd/prey animals, after all. The cattle my parents raise, perfectly safe to walk through. Hell the calves will often come up and sniff you out and rub up against you.

Some remote range cattle can be more wild. They might take off running if they see you within a half mile, or they might come running towards you if they deem you a threat.

The real danger often lies with bulls (hanging balls and huge shoulder) or cows with young calves (<1mo old). Both of these can be very unpredictable.
I've interacted with some bulls that were as gentle as can be and some that would rip your skin off if you weren't on the other side of a panel. You should never go into a paddock with an unknown bull, ever.
And even the most timid cow can start squaring up if she has a very young calf still in need of protection.

It's something you mostly have to learn how to read. Cows are expressive. They have body language. They speak with their head and their tails, and they look with their ears. For me it's easy to tell if a cow is safe to approach, but it is a learned skill.

When you approach cows, make noise. Nothing racocious but just talking in a firm tone to them is enough. Make sure the herd olknows your approaching long before you get close enough to be a danger, never suprise a cow. Always keep a distance of minimum 30 feet unless they approach you themselves out of curiosity.

A head and/or tail held very high means they are alert and focused on you, this usually means they are nervous and about to fight-or-flight. Back off slowly and try not to turn away.
If a herd dispersed while grazing begins to bunch up together, that also means they're getting nervous. Just avoid the bunch and walk away from whatever direction they're heading.

A head held low while looking at you, or still grazing means they are relaxed. They dont usually lower their head to "charge" like in the cartoons until they're already moving. You're new to the field so they'll always look at you. Move smoothly and steadily, they won't bother you.

RamblingPanda ,

Me as a kid: running away from a curious cow

The cow, running behind me: "wait, I want to check you out! What are we running away from anyways?"

empireOfLove2 ,
@empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Haha yeah they'll do that. They can be insufferably curious.

I remember one time one of our border collie pups (not old enough to work but just getting introduced to the herd) got away from my mom. The cows all came over to check her out and she took off with the whole herd right after her!
She wasn't that interested in working much after that...

RamblingPanda ,

Me and my sister got encircled once by about ten cows while we wanted to visit our pony which was on the same absurdly big pasture. As they closed in, our little Shetland pony raced in to our rescue and showed them who's boss in seconds. That was surprising in multiple ways. Especially as I didn't expect ponies to be that protective to their scratch givers.

I hope your dog was able to overcome the trauma with time and therapy 😅

Zonetrooper ,
@Zonetrooper@lemmy.world avatar

Small horses, like small dogs, are herd animals, are utterly convinced they are ten times their actual size, and will show this off at any opportunity.

empireOfLove2 , (edited )
@empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Oh yeah, she's fine now. She was young and impressionable, wasn't hard to get her used to going back out there in better circumstances.

Shapillon ,

With both horses and cows, the stupidest most effective way to make them come see you is turning your back to them amd fiddle with your hands while looking busy.

That's how curious they are. I really like that trait of character.

DarkThoughts ,

If OP walks there frequently then he could also start to befriend them.
Offer them some grass, give them some pets & head scratches. Cows are pretty social and usually friendly animals. So if you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you too, but most importantly learn that you're no threat to them.

tamal3 ,

Fun fact, cow licks feel like being rubbed by low-grade sandpaper.

b3an ,
@b3an@lemmy.world avatar

I love this post. Thanks for sharing all that!

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.

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.

Crisps ,

Cows kills more people each year than sharks.

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

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.

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

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

Cows, yes. Bulls, no.

Cows'll usually retreat from people. Or if they're curious, they'll approach but not too close.

Just don't walk behind them, or they might try to kick you.

Bulls are territorial. Stay the fuck away from 'em.

NaibofTabr ,

Just don't walk behind them, or they might try to kick you.

This is really good advice for basically every animal with hooves. They mostly have a blind spot directly behind, like horses:

https://www.allhorsebreeds.info/horse-vision-chart.jpg

If you walk up behind them inside that blind spot and then move out to either side and suddenly appear in their vision, they'll react defensively, usually by trying to kick you with their hind legs.

Basically if you can't see the animal's eyes then assume it can't see you, and stay out of kicking range.

Agility0971 ,
@Agility0971@lemmy.world avatar

was kicked in the head like this once. Flew a meter into the wall

technopagan ,

+1 on this. Hiker+Trail-Runner here. So I sometimes encounter cows on high mountain passes where taking a detour can mean hours of delay. But after getting kicked like that once, I am very careful around herds, esp. when they have young ones / horns (as they often do grassing on mountains) / bulls in the mix.

TexasDrunk ,

I was too. I surbibed with tribial blain dablage.

Nah, I got kicked in the ribs. Hurts like a motherfucker.

chellomere ,

What they say for horses is that if you're going to walk behind one, stay just behind it. That way if it does decide to kick you, the legs won't be able to build up momentum and will be mostly vertical before hitting you. Under no circumstance walk 1-2m behind it, you can die if it hits you in the head.

Apply at your own risk to cows.

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.

CarlCook ,

It really depends on what breed and how they were raised. In the Alps, there are almost anually reports of wanderers being attacked or even killed by cows. They often are with their calves for a longer time, are less accustomed to (strange) people and usually a fully intact male is in the heard that can get really protective.

Approach them with caution, watch their behaviour closely and use common sense. That’s what I do and for me that works.

anton ,

I had quite the opposite experience in the alps, we have hiked within meters cows because the heard was laying and standing on the path. I have never seen very young calves or bulls on the mountains.

CarlCook ,

Well, then you were lucky.
I‘ve been hiking off the beaten paths and more than once forced me an agitated bull to detour as he would not let me near his herd.

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.

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.

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