Why would you move to the middle of farmland if you are scared of farm animals?

[RocketPanda]

I live in the countryside, surrounded by fields and until recently my nearest neighbour was a distant speck.
There was a derelict house that has been bought and renovated and I met my new neighbours yesterday. There's a big field between our houses and they asked was it used for animals. I said yes in the spring it usually has cows and calves in it. The husband said There better not be because he and their children are terrified of cows and big animals and can just about cope with hearing my donkeys.

Why on earth would you choose to move here then?

Why on earth would you choose to move here then?

I'd have said that to the neighbour.

Excellent, all the fun with none of the Agro!!

I know someone who did the same, bought a house to renovate & 'live the country life'. Banged on about it endlessly... then since they've moved in have done nothing but whinge about tractors & horses on the bloody roads & livestock crossing the roads 'willy nilly' (that'll be those pesky farmers!!)

not to mention 'the smell' (not silage or anything) just the usual.

Rooster, goats, sheep, horses all making it it unbearably noisy.

how much time he spends driving the teenagers 'from pillar to post'

etc rtc

we're all struggling to see why he wanted to move for 'the country life' EXCEPT to say he has x Acres, in x Area.

He's very annoyed none of us are giving him the feels he was after 😂.

id swap in a heartbeat but id never let on! 😂😂. I would genuinely love living there & not whinge about 99% of that. (In winter the rooster might get the side eye)

Someone near us recently got some alpacas - you could do that and encourage them to spit on your neighbours?

We had three chickens at my last house. We once found a card from the postman by the front gate which stated the reason for non delivery that day was because 'hens out' 😂 what on earth did he think they were going to do to him!?

brilliant 😂

I think we need pictures of @RocketPanda donkeys

Cows are scary because they can look so docile and then trample someone to death. Geese fly their arsehole flag high. They don’t pretend to be nice. I respect geese.

Same bonkers level of entitlement as people who don't like noisy children... who move opposite a school. Or those who move next door to an 18th century pub... but don't like smoke or drunks.

Attack hens. You don't mess with those feathered bastards.

Yes I actually think the new neighbour is quite sensible to be terrified of cows, given the number of people who have been chased and trampled.

I live in a London Suburb years ago we used to have free roaming cows in the nearby forest they often used to leave the forest and roam the streets eating garden plants etc. One morning Mum saw the milkman chasing a cow out of our garden. Our cat was put out when he saw one in the street especially when it mooed. The local police got used to herding cows of the main road using their cars. It was great excitement when the cows used to get into the school playground.

You could tell him in a serious voice that after consideration you will save that field for 'the seasonal rituals'.

What an absolute idiot - he’d best stay out of the field then

Could you learn to play the recorder? Sumer Is Icumen In would be a lovely way to wake them up in the mornings.

now you are REALLY going to piss off these alpacas 😂

Feral cat groups are a thing round here where loads of people have stables or smallholdings. Most of the people who have them treat them really well. They are trapped, neutered and earmarked and them live their lives with more freedom and in more safety than your average domestic cat. They usually get worm and flea treated as necessary and cosy spots are made for them in barns and sheds.

I believe I am right in saying that statistically more people die from being crushed by cows than from contact with any other animal- far more than from dangerous dogs for example.

The HSE statistics say that on average 4-5 people are killed annually by cattle. Of these, the vast majority are farm workers working in close quarters with cattle. Only 1 or 2 members of the public are killed by cattle per year.

In comparison, ONS stats say that 16 people were killed by dogs in 2023. That's quite an increase from previous years (6 people in 2022) but there are a lot more cattle in the UK than dogs.

Country girl here. Geese are one of the few things that bloody terrify me.

Wait until they see one "loose". I was washing dishes one day and watched my neighbor chasing a cow right past my kitchen window. Brightened my morning watching him chase the thing to and fro, could almost hear the old-timey chase scene music in my head

Runsyd · Today 11:53

Attack hens. You don't mess with those feathered bastards.

I know, right?

My regular dog walking route goes through a nature reserve with a large number of sheep. If I catch sight of any I start shouting.

Im often seen traipsing through mud with the shout of “sheep, sheep, sheep” in various tones emanating from my lips. They notice me way earlier and just get out of the way rather than me surprising them as I materialise around the dense gorse.

As to the OP - they’ll just have to get used to cows won’t they! But I agree, it’s a bit bonkers moving to the country and expecting no animals!

before we bought this home in a gated community, we had a lovely condo close to the beach. We are not country. Often cows wandered the streets. One night around 3 am I got up to use the toilet, and heard laughing and grunts, Looked out bathroom window and some stupid idiots were trying to ride a cow that had just been rummaging in the garbage cans. They were so drunk, cow was not pleased. Didn't know cows could run that fast!!

I'm wondering what he thought might be kept in fields? Unless there are already signs that it's purely arable land, did he not think some sort of animal might not graze there? I was sort of hoping it might be pigs. 🐷 I mean they really can stink!

It's not the being scared of cows that's the issue here, it's the fact that he seems to expect other people to accommodate his (or his kids') fears. He's an idiot.

They do get fed, or they don't?
My friend adopted a farm cat that was in a very poor, thin condition. Two of her kittens had died and she was already pregnant again. Maybe your neighbour has a point.