A friend and neighbor has a wonderful Guernsey that normally never kicks or misbehaves in any way. But she managed to put a 4 inch gash in her udder right above the teats. We got her stitched up, and the vet said to milk her every four hours, change the bandage and apply Neo-sporin. Believe me, she is kicking up a storm right now whenever one of us touches her. Our main concern is that that kicking hoof is coming real close to the wound, and we are afraid she will re-open it. Another friend has a Kow Kan't Kick that we are free to use, but it's a 2 1/2 hour drive there. She's never used it, so it doesn't come with any kind of guaruntee that it will work. I'm willing to go get it, if they work, but hate to miss church and be off the place for 5 or more hours if it isn't gonna help. Has anyone out there ever used one of these devices? If so, do they work, and how do you "install" them--it won't come with instructions, either. Thanks a lot! Kathie

-- Kathie in Western Washington (twinrosefarm@worldnet.att.net), April 07, 2001

Answers

Hi Kathie I used a pr. as a younster and they worked quite well. A savage store here just got in a large box of them and no one knew what they were. Sure wish we were closer to each other. I could mail you a pr but it would take to long to do you any good. Its 2 brackets that fits above the hock and on the rear of the leg,with an adjustable chain that holds the brackets together that goes in front of the leg. Jay in central NC

-- jay vance (jay.l.vance@worldnet.att.net), April 08, 2001.

I worked at a small farm where we milked jersey cows and water buffaloes. On a few of the buffaloes that would kick (and man can they kick!) we put a little gadget across there back that clamped down in front of their hind legs. I'm not sure if this is what your talking about, but it worked very well! Only problem is if one of them decided she really, really wanted to kick, she would end up falling over! (and believe me, you do not want a big, stinking water buffalo on top of you!)

-- Elizabeth (Lividia66@aol.com), April 08, 2001.

There is also a point that you can apply pressure to on a cow's back that will essentially temporarily keep them from kicking. Of course, this requires two people. Apply pressure to their backbone, right behind their front shoulders. We have used this technique successfully many times. Good luck. Polly

-- Polly (NNY) (oakridge@northnet.org), April 08, 2001.

I meant to say this requires two people, one to apply pressure, the other to do the milking. Polly

-- Polly (NNY) (oakridge@northnet.org), April 08, 2001.

Dear hubby was raised on a small dariy farm and they used these all the time on problem cows. Be careful as the cows can break these!! We have used a rope tied around the withers and then insert a handle from an old broom or something. THen just crank it around and around until tight. Be careful not to tighten it too much as it does stop the circulation. THey will drop to the floor!! Good luck and Have a great day!!

-- michelle (tsjheath@ainop.com), April 08, 2001.

I use 2 types kickers. One over the back with the steel curved pipes that go into the flank area. Has a crank on top . Its my best bet for new heifers or a case like you have. I crank her down tight and just stay with her. They can still jump around a bunch. The other kind just hooks over the back and hooks up into the flank. Any serious kicking and it flies off. Only good for cows who are not to into trouble making and just like to swat the milker off with there foot. The chain type really make then go wild at first. Don

-- Don (dairyagri@yahoo.com), April 08, 2001.

Take a rope and tie up one of the cow's front legs. If you keep one of the front leg's off the ground the cow will not attempt to kick with the back leg or they would fall down. We used a similar "non- kicking" device back on the farm and they worked fairly well. However, we found that roping a leg up was as quick and worked better.

-- Richard (richard@n-tiersolutions.com), April 10, 2001.