Why would a cow bawl all night? Anybody know?

Oh the poor thing!! She's mourning.

Smudge howls, groans, moans and makes sounds like a baby is crying. He does this every night, as soon as we go to bed. He gets quite loud.

He drags a throw pillow off the couch down the hall, sometimes leaving it in the hall and sometimes right beside the bed. He's a Maine Coon and are quite known for their range of vocabulary.

I've been expecting the fox to start up. UGH! SHUT UP for pete's sake! Or at least wait until 5 o'clock. And she got 4 of my laying hens so they're locked up 24/7. Crabby hens, now.

I had quite a discussion with the guy that brings my hay.........he says he has extra rifles, better than mine, and he'll leave one here. The unfortunate thing about that is she probably has babies somewhere. If I shoot her, another will come and take her place. I haven't seen her since I shot at her last week but she's just smarter now and knows my range. It's a no win for all of us. Let my chickens live and I'll let her live.

Jasip, I'm sure your neighbors love you. ;)

I don't know for sure it was a calf. That's just my best guess as they do get very upset when it's anything to do with babies.

Oh Imhappy, that darn fox. You will have to do something about it or it will just keep coming back. I've been sooooo lucky. And I know just how lucky I am because I haven't lost a single bird to coyote, fox or hawk and mine free range outside all day long. My neighbor (one with the cows) last year lost 12 of his 24 Chickens to a fox. He did eventually get the fox, but they just cause so much damage in a short time.

When I lived in the country, it was a rooster. Any and all hours of the "night". If it was crowing for morn, it's time clock was off. At my last house, I lived close to the fire station and I'd hear sirens occasionally. Not all the time. Now, I hear nothing. I live underground at the bottom of the hill, far from the street. Ah. Except my upstairs neighbors. And it's about to get noisier. I love!!!! to hear the pitter patter of toddler feet (such giggly happiness), but big bro is pretty much over that stage, and they're expecting again. So all hours of the night warming bottles is my guess.

Yea, like Smudge, Murphy makes his vocal sounds at night. Typically outside my door with his present of his snuggle bunny. "Yes, you killed a stuffed animal dear. Now be quiet!" ;)

We have issues in the city as well--coyotes. They are silent, sneaky, bold and prey on dogs and cats. They can jump very high walls, so having a pet in a fenced or walled yard is not much security. They are seen daytime as well as at night. One attacked a child here in So. CA this spring.

But they don't keep us up at night like cows!

I always think how peaceful life in the country must be, but I know you have your share of poor animal problems. It would be nice if the wild animals would let the domestic animals alone. I love the summer when I can have the windows open 24/7 and at night I hear a train in the not too far distance as it comes through our town. I like hearing it. There are about 3 places where he/she blows the horn at the crossings.

We used to have the infrequent cat fight going on, but I think there is only 1 cat right now who is out at night.

The sounds at night are one thing, but those early birds that start at about 4:30-5:00 in the morning can drive me nuts. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Why can't they sleep in like the rest of us want to???

We used to get turkeys early every morning under the bird feeders under our bedroom window. That stopped when we had to remove the feeders when the bear started raiding them!

Aww that's so sad, I hope nothing happened to the baby. :(

Yes it's sad if something happened. I shouldn't have put definitely in the post to Rhizo though because I really have no clue. In my experience, it's likely, not definite. She's been quiet for the last few hours. Likely grazing now. The only good thing if it was baby related is that the mothers usually get over it fairly quickly. Still sad, but they don't stay too upset for a really long time. This winter I had a first timer goat that was rammed by my buck. She ended up going into to labour way early. The babies sadly died shortly after birth as they were very premature. She was upset and crying for her babies, but after a day, though still sad, wasn't crying for them anymore. After a few more days she wasn't showing that she was upset.

No thanks, that's not for me.

I'm much too accustomed to living with easy access to all the advantages of urban amenities.

Enjoy it if that's what you prefer

Socks, I used to get woken up here by the coyotes when they'd group together for hunting, but I can't remember the last time I heard them.

Rob, I have 3 roosters so I know how early they crow, but luckily nothing like you experienced with all hours. Well except when we had some in our house. LOL Our bedroom used to be at the back of the house so we'd hear them early, but at the front we don't hear our animals we hear across the roads. Their rooster crows fairly early but I always hear the birds way before the rooster.

Kathy I'd stop feeding the birds too if I had a bear at my window. LOL

It really sucked they crowed all hours, because we had a newborn then. UGH!

I'm with Murraysmom! Sure, the grieving cow would be something extraordinary (sorry you didn't get any sleep), but what about the ordinary? The birds here TWEET in the morning. I fine with all the chirping and twittering, but the crumpers who TWEET wake me up!

lol I'm laughing---and not. It is torture being kept awake against your will. Snoring hits the list high, too. Very high.

It sounds like the calf either died or they took it away if it was a milk cow. We used to raise beef cows and if one got on the other side of the pen from them, they would sure let us know! At my house this week it is the crows cawing early in the morning in the yard near my bedroom window! Ugh.

I once lived in a city in California where nearby neighbors raised farm animals. For several months a rooster slept in a bush under my bedroom window. Animal control said they would come out if I caught him. One day my next door neighbor came over and asked if I could watch her great grandaughter while she shot the rooster. He had dug up all her bulbs she had just planted. She got him with her 22, one shot to the head. My son lived in a semi rural area in CA and said neighborhood dogs barked all night. Here in town in Iowa, I sleep right next to my bedroom window and like to leave it open. When traffic starts up in the morning, I can just reach up and close the window. Too bad that the weather when I have the window open coincides with motorcycle riding weather.

I love uncanny coincidences ... just as I read murraysmom's post, one of our several-times-a-day trains signaled at a distant crossing. It's just far away enough to be pleasant.

Our young mockingbird is still at it--at night, and often times during the day. He has claimed the crabapple tree outside my bedroom window as home base. Lol, he burst into song as I finished that sentence.

A neighbor used to have a donkey that would let loose once in a while, with a loud raucous bray which echoed through our little valley. He'd get out and come to our ponds to get a drink of water.

Oh, coyotes. They were out last evening, just as the sun set. The sky was full of clouds, except for an eerie orange swath at the horizon, and there was a lightning storm in the west--no thunder, but the sky was gorgeous, and the gibbous moon had a fuzzy orange halo, in the southern sky. My GS and I sat on the tailgate of the pick-up truck, watching the light show, until the mosquitoes ran us inside. The only thing needed to make it perfect was a whippoorwill--haven't heard one in years, but I think I'd be happy to be kept awake by a whippoorwill, just one more time.

Nothing else like living in the country. ;)

Oh Linda reminded me. We too like the window wide open all year, and the bed is right underneath it.

We sometimes hear the train whistle 2:30-ish in the morning, and a loud airplane that carries supplies far north 3 times/week. These don't bother me at all, "but" when the next door neighbour comes home around midnite, or fires up his loud, mis-firing Harley at 5:30 to go to work? Grrrrrrrhhhh!!!!!!

I am kept awake at night by croaking of the frogs and toads that live in and around my pond. It is amazing how loud they are at 1 am 2-3-4-5 am Just as you think they are settled down one will start and the others chime in. When they stop the birds start chirping just before sunrise I gave in, and wear ear plugs you can still hear them just not as loud. But I will take my frogs over the screaming squirrels that I had at my last home.

Mama Goose, that was poetic and evocative. Thanks for the great pictures.

I sleep right through city noises, like low jets and helicopters (there's a small airport not far by flying standards). The mockingbirds are killer though. They do car alarms, but have no batteries to run out!

Smudge was 'singing' a few minutes ago. Yep, a pillow in the hallway and him laying beside it.

Never did nap today but I'm having a glass of wine so that should put me out pretty well tonight. It's been cold enough to wear a sweater all day today so maybe I can convince the hubby we should shut the window tonight. That should keep it nice and quiet.
I'm think we are all a bunch of light sleepers here. LOL

Green Acres vs city life

I live in the city but love hearing the train whistle every evening.

Here it is coyotes yipping and howling in the middle of the night. First time I heard it I didn't know what it was because it was so weird. Now I kind of like it.

My rooster crows at all hours of the day and night. Idiot.

blfenton, Green Acres was going through my mind earlier too, didn't think others would get the connection.

Rightly or wrongly, that cast of characters, gentle scoundrels and country bumpkins of all types, etched in my mind at a young age what kind of people might be encountered in a small town. It wasn't all right and wasn't all wrong either.

It is inhumane to remove the calves from their mothers at birth, so that the farmer may profit from the milk meant for their babies. The mothers bawl for their babies; the babies bawl for their mothers. If you haven't lived in dairy country, you haven't experienced the desperation you hear at calving time. It is sick.

Oh, and secure your chickens and enjoy the beauty of the foxes. I LOVE having the foxes come with their young....they hunt the rabbits along with the rats and mice that are drawn by my neighbors' chickens. But, wow! The sounds foxes make would wake the dead!

Olychick, they don't profit from their milk. They have a single milk cow that serves as all their milk and cheese needs for their Mennonite family. Which I said cow, singular, not plural.

I've said this before and do not want to start a war on this thread but it bothers me when people think that just because they are vegetarian or vegan everyone should be. Humans are meant to eat meat. You cannot get all the required vitamins and minerals in your diet without supplementation. Some people are worse than others. I was a vegetarian in my early 20s and I became very sick despite taking mineral supplements. I now know it's that my body doesn't metabolize supplements properly.

Imhappy has said her chickens are in the barn at night. It's obviously finding a way in. They are in a protected area. Chickens will not move at night, they can't see well in the dark.
My husband one time, not knowing that chickens couldn't see well at night, did the night time barn chores himself. In the morning I found only the feet of one of my poor chickens in the pig pen. These two young pigs never touched the chickens or ducks during the day. When they'd get out for exercise, they'd never bother with them at all. Even the times they escaped their pen in the early morning hours they never touched them. What happened was that this particular chicken choose to roost on the gate of the pig pen every night. When my husband opened it she lost her balance and went in. He thought she just fly back up onto the roost. What he didn't realize is that their vision at night is terrible. The pigs took her for prey. To the fox in a barn at night, they are just easy prey and they will keep coming back until they are all gone. My neighbor couldn't find out how they were getting his either. His was during the day though and his chickens are all fenced in. The fox took 12 chickens over 2 1/2 days. By that last night the neighbor put an end to that. They can kill a lot in a short amount of time and hide all their kills.

Anyway, sorry about that freedom to raise animals for our food speech, but just wanted to say that I slept well last night. I did not hear anything. I also slept in until 8:30am. I'm usually up well before 7 am every morning. It felt great.

I'm so glad you had a good night's sleep!

This is your thread, and your speech was on topic, so please don't apologize.

My chickens were free ranging all day and locked up from about an hour before dusk and not out again until it was well daylight. The fox was picking them off in view of the house and barns. Fox are not the shy wild things you think. A few years ago I chased one that had one of my chickens. It stayed just far enough ahead of me to be out of reach. Lucky fox because I was so mad I would have killed it with my bare hands. Yes, I would. Walk a mile in my shoes and then tell me how to run my farm.

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or tell you how to run your farm....our neighbors have chickens that the foxes don't get into their pens or take them when they are free ranging (maybe the dog keeps them away)? Foxes are very foxy! But I do appreciate that they hunt rodents and rabbits in our neighborhood. And they are so beautiful, the cubs are adorable.

On that note, I read an interesting article about "working cats." The organization rescues feral cats from being euthanized and puts them to work in places like the (wholesale) flower market in downtown Los Angeles. The article said that just the smell of the patrol cat was enough to keep the rats away.

Maybe NYC could use some of those ferals plllog!

Bronx County has the highest rates for asthma, and rats are thought to be one of the culprits in this equation.

I saw that too, pilog, thought it was a cool story.

We don't have chickens so when we have foxes around here they are mostly welcome. However every so often one will jolt me awake in the middle of the night with one of their many vocalizations some of which sound quite alarming. One website describes the female foxes mating call as "... horrible. A shrill, hoarse scream of anguish, it sounds more than
anything like a human baby undergoing some kind of physical torture."

This video is a pretty good example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zk1mAd77Hr4

Bob I finally found that same video on youtube after being awakened by those blood curdling noises in the middle of the night. It would go on and on and, of course, we couldn't see anything. When I'd ask people, no one seemed to know what it was, nor had they heard anything similar - if they didn't live in the neighborhood. Some thought it might be begging Great Horned Owlets, but since I knew there were foxes here, I started looking for recordings of fox vocalizations. The one you posted finally answered the question for me. Sometimes I'll come home late at night and there will be fox cub twins (one year a set of triplets) sitting at the side of the road where mom apparently told them to stay, while she's off hunting in the brush at the edge of the road. OMG are they adorable. This video popped up when I was looking at yours and includes some of the more disturbing sounds, too.

More fox vocalizations

you haven't lived until you've had a peacock screaming on your roof at 2 am.

Don't let your cat out for a run if there are foxes around.

o j

I was worried about foxes and cats, but they really do not hunt them. As I did research, I found that foxes don't want anything that fights back. I had a 6 lb manx Kitty that looked like a little bunny and I worried and worried about her when I spotted my first fox here. One day, she was sleeping on a small deck in my back yard (no railings) and I saw the fox approaching from the forest behind the house. I watched to see what would happen, (I was in the house but near the door to the deck and her) believing I could save her if he looked like he might grab her. She saw him approach and raised her head, but did not move from her spot and did not appear alarmed. He saw her when she raised her head and they looked right at each other, while he just kept on walking around the house. She went right back to sleep! It appeared they had an agreement of some kind.

Another time she was lounging under my chair in the garden, with me in it. The fox saw her (maybe a different one) and tried to figure out how to get to her without her seeing (he seemed to be ignoring me). She wasn't asleep but was rolling around on her back looking for tummy scratches. He was walking up from the side; she flopped over and saw him and shot out after him - he flew out of the yard with her in pursuit. She came back to her spot and he tried it again, and she took off after him again. He then took a very circuitous route around the house, avoiding the area she was in. After that I never worried and she lived to be 18. I also saw a fox chase the neighbor's young cat around my house. That worried me until I heard a big fuss and here they came back around with the kitty chasing the fox. So I don't think you have to worry about cats and foxes. It's the coyotes and owls that are the worry...and cougars if you have them nearby.

I'm a big fraidy-cat. I'd be skeered to live in an area with bears and cougars.

I do see the occasional suburban coyote and fox here, and do think them to be marvelous. Our most fearsome critters are the fire ants in the garden and the black widows in the garage. And they don't scream.

Good grief....some of those fox sounds were horrifying.

Oh, I would be more petrified to live where there were black widows and fire ants! The foxes would wake the dead some nights. Now that I know what it is, it's just annoying, not terrifying.

"...you haven't lived until you've had a peacock screaming on your roof at 2 am."

I've lived! I've lived! ;) Even worse was the size of their poo on the porch though...

------

We have many more brown widows than black now, but I don't like how they tolerate bright conditions. More than a few times I have grabbed some foliage of a shrub or perennial and found a brown spider/web in my hand; that didn't happen with black widows. Which reminds me, I am due to make my rounds tonight. After dark, with a flashlight and a paint stir stick does the trick in keeping their numbers in check. Even tiny ones stand out with a shadow, and at night they don't tend to move or hide. By far the easiest and best control method I have found.