Q&A for How to Understand Bovine Behaviour

They are doing this because you are letting them be overly friendly. You have no boundaries or discipline established with them, which needs to start NOW. Otherwise, when they're a lot bigger and stronger, this isn't going to be "cute" anymore, and they WILL hurt you. You have to find a way to get them to learn to not do this to you, and moving away is not going to help. You will need to get a little "mean" with them to get the point across that you are not to be treated like their plaything. This will involve a bit of pushing, a lot of saying "No!" and a lot of time and patience on your part. Just remember, these tiny 60 lb calves are going to grow into 1200 lb beasts in only a couple of years.

I believe you are. This doesn't sound like submissive behavior. Usually this "bowing" behavior is accompanied by him rubbing his head and neck on the ground to make himself appear more masculine with more dirt on him. I think he's more challenging you than acting submissive. Watch for other challenging bull behaviors like shaking his head, showing his side (arching his neck as he does so), pawing the ground, etc. The best show of submission is when he turns away and shows his rear to you and walks away from you.

Keep the dog tied up on a leash away from the cow, or just keep the dog in the house. The cow is just doing what comes naturally to her when something threatening like a dog is harassing her. She will stop head-butting and attempting to trample the dog when you've got control of the dog.

To form a bond with their young and to groom them. Cattle groom each other when they're best pals in the herd, regardless of age.

It's not a good sign. Depression comes with anything from pneumonia to acute poisoning. Contact your veterinarian immediately.

There's a distinct possibility that they might be harassed by a roving neighborhood dog pack. Normally cattle wouldn't be so suddenly aggressive and antsy if they are not being bothered by dogs, or even cattle thieves. But either is a possibility that you must watch out for, especially because you lost two animals already to severe injuries. Even in play, cattle would never get so rough that one would die. Keep an eye out, put up cameras, hire a night watchmen, call the local authorities, and talk to other farmers in your area if they're also noticing their herds acting up strangely. Earthquakes can also cause animals to act out in distress, if dogs and thieves are not a problem.

This may seem like a playful act now, but when he's bigger he will easily push you over and hurt you. He's probably getting you to move as he does this, which is giving him confidence that he has dominance over you. Correct him (pop the lead shank) every time he tries to do that to you. Move away from his head and into his shoulder to get him to move. Soon he'll figure out that he needs to find another place to scratch his head on.

This comes down to hormones. Those cows might think that calf is theirs and want to take it away from her. Separate the new pair to allow them peace and quiet and to mother-up without the commotion.

There's no such thing as a "steer cow". If it's a steer, as in a castrated male, then it's just a steer. Separate steer from the pair. Hormones would be a big player, and the fact that the steer doesn't know that this new calf is actually not a threat and a part of his herd, would also be why he's probably trying to "protect" the heifer from this new threat. Separating the steer from the heifer-calf pair will solve this problem. Keep them separated for a couple of weeks or so, but not so that the steer can't sniff noses with the heifer through the fence.

How frequently are you cattle doing this? If often, there may be cause for concern. A rogue bull might be stirring up the herd or dogs or other wildlife may be harassing your animals. If it's only an occasional phenomenon, your cattle might just be playful. Cattle will run like that when they feel good or when there's a change of weather that invigorates them.

She may smell or taste some salt on your clothing or skin. Or she's just curious about that jacket your wearing and is trying to satisfy her curiosity by doing a "taste-test." Cattle commonly use their mouths to investigate something that is new to them.

You've not mentioned how you've been feeding them, once daily, letting her have access to the pellets at all times, etc. It sounds like she's telling you that she's had enough and you're giving her too much, so she's starting to get too picky with her food. Start limiting by giving her only a few pounds once a day or once every couple of days and see how that goes. Otherwise, without any more information there's not much else that can be said.

Dominance. The boss cows or cows on top of the pecking order will head-butt those lesser cows away from the bale so they can take their "prize" (as the feed) for themselves. Boss cows will also head-butt the lower-pecking-order cows from the water or mineral source, or even from the best grazing spots, just because they can. The lesser cows need to either wait their turn, go find a different part of the bale (or lesser feeding/grazing spot), or go hungry/thirsty, particularly when the instinct to follow the herd is so strong.

This is not nervousness, nor submission. This is a direct challenge for dominance to you and your stance on the pecking order. If you let him get away with it this time, the next head butt isn't going to be so gentle and small. Submission is him turning is butt to you and walking away. Dominance and challenging is turning to you and trying to shove you around with his head. You need to get on his case and herd him around the corral for several minutes to get the point across that you are the leader and not him. You will need to do this repeatedly over the time you have him to make sure he knows you are the boss. This is because he will try to challenge you at unexpected times.

Watch for head-shaking, pawing the earth, and displaying the side or stiff neck, especially in the holding pen; it may be more difficult to tell when she's crowded in with other livestock than if she is by herself. She may try to challenge you if you are trying to walk her down the alley to the trailer, shaking her head and attempting a bluff-charge. Also keep an eye on animals when they have their heads down when you're trying to walk toward them. If they're not turning their rears to you and instead are giving you their heads, then you either may not be moving them fast enough, or they're not sure where you stand in the pecking order and may try to charge or escape by you. Just be careful.

It typically means he likes you and is attempting to groom you, just like he would if he had a bovine friend with him.

Laneways for pasture, or for working facilities? There is a difference. Laneways for working facilities should be narrow (no more than 10 to 16 feet wide) so that it doesn't make it easy for animals to get past you, and so that equipment can be easily moved from one corral to another. Pasture lanes shouldn't be more than 20 feet wide, for the same reasons. Cattle aren't going to be pushy or aggressive towards one another once you have good movement going. It's when you're confusing them with where they must go that you will get turmoil and fighting. Lanes are a guide, so it's you who needs to be the one to use the power of flight-zone and zig-zag movements to get them where they need to go.

This is completely natural. He's treating those cows like his harem, just like any male ungulate treats his harem of females. He's probably a "night rider" too, or getting some of the cows settled when you aren't watching for any action. He may be doing this if he's been with the herd for just a week or so, and may eventually settle down because it really does take a lot of work to try to keep track of his girls. Once some start showing signs of heat he'll be very interested in them, more than just keeping them in line as a male to-be-patriarch.

He is most likely annoyed at flies that are biting him, or itching his skin.

It's a relaxed form of movement. Cows carry 60% of their weight on the front and 40% on their back. So when they have to shift weight from one foot to another, their heads bob. Cows are not the only animals that do this; most -- if not all -- ungulates do this, including equines.

Is she alone? This could be part of the reason. If you're not getting her so that you're grooming her as often or daily as possible this could be another issue. This behavior could really be a result of being lonely and bored, and less (another reason) of a nutritional issue.

It's not known why they do this. Could be partly learned behavior, partly breeding (Jerseys are famous for doing this), or just because they can. They may find it "better" to do if they can't escape, so getting as low as possible to escape any potential pain they're expecting from above. Or, they're in such a state of panic that they can't either fight nor flight that they just can't hold their weight up any longer. There's a multitude of reasons why they do this, and it could be due to several combinations of those reasons.

Yes, if there is a noise they may look up, but more commonly they scan from side to side.

Well, I think the answer is pretty obvious: Your cow won't get pregnant, you won't get a new calf in nine-months time, and you definitely need to find a new bull that will actually do his job and not lose his mojo when it counts the most. I would suggest that you get that bull checked out by a veterinarian. If the vet says that he's not functioning properly, then take the vet's advice and get a new bull. He is not worth the extra feed and money to keep around if he can't do his job. Sounds pretty harsh, but that's raising cattle for you.

There's only one distinct possibility: She's going into labour and is very close to delivering a calf, and has this instinctual need to get away from the main herd to calve out by herself where she's not going to be disturbed. This is completely normal behaviour for a cow to do.

First thing is to figure out what's causing him to do this. Is it because he's very nervous about you? Could it be that he has some genetic abnormality that is causing him to be a bit mentally "weird" than the other steers? Is it his breeding (again, genetics) that's causing him to be a bit more flighty and nervous than the others? Could he be much more sensitive to biting insects than the others? When you figured that out, then the rest will be easy.