Drone Operations around Farm Animals considerations

[HISS13]

I have found all animals very approachable domestic or wild if done correctly. I have 956 flights at the farm with every wildlife in vids....undisturbed. My cows love the drone. I blow the flies iff their backs ? The horses are a little more skiddish. But all animals can be cl ou se up shots if done right. Deer, hogs, turkey.....doesnt matter. Seeing you is expexted. If they move away your shot is over. Leave them alone. Common sense.

I agree but, how have you approached the interaction working with a production crew?

 

[HISS13]

I agree but, how have you approached the interaction working with a production crew?

By the way that is an awesome shot

 

[ScottM2Zoom1]

I agree but, how have you approached the interaction working with a production crew?

Well....of course I dont have a production crew to deal with. I would assume the ground crew has its own thing (shots) going on...separate from your interaction. If simultaeneous is required overstimulation to the animaks is likely. The M2Zoom I fly is extremely advantageous for animal shots.

 

[ScottM2Zoom1]

By the way that is an awesome shot

The drone did a great job holding in 23 mph wind at 96mm zoom. As a side note I will mention ... I have had some successes that would have otherwise been failures....by approaching with the sun at my drones back. Just something I have become aware of over the 100s of shots. Hearing but not being able to see has some critters chosing to ignore that otherwise would have become anxious. (Info might be silly....but I have taken note by observing them squinting to try to see me and then just shrugging it off)

 

[CactusJackSlade]

On our ranch I have flown over horses above 25 feet with no ill effects.... HOWEVER, once I got below about 25 feet they took notice and started to move off.

Deer on our property, about the same, maybe slightly higher 30-40 feet.

Pronghorn antelope: ANYWHERE near them, even a couple hundred feet away and they spooked.

Yes, please be cautious around animals.

 

[Mavic Air Head]

I have flown my mavic pro at an outdoor horse show with the prior permission of the landowner and organiser. I have the quieter props fitted, but it still sounds like angry bees. I kept at least 50 feet altitude, tried not to be directly over any of the horses and all but one of the 100 or so horses and ponies showed little or no interest in the drone. One horse got very agitated and spooky and the rider had to dismount blaming the noise of my drone as the cause. When I became aware of this I landed immediately and shut down my drone. I then went and apologised to the rider and assured her I would stay grounded until she left the show. She was as agitated as her horse and was quite abusive to me, so I apologised again and walked away before the situation deteriorated any more. I then went and informed the show organiser what had happened and was advised that the horse spooking was more the riders fault than my drone as it had been showing signs of agitation even before I took off.

It was the rider agitating the horse, not your drone. I've spent a lot of time in the saddle (grew up on a ranch where horse was the primary mode of transportation) on numerous horses and found that squirrelly riders make good horses squirrelly. If that poor horse is stuck with a nut job it will behave accordingly. 1% bad reaction is not bad at all in a group that big. Your respectfulness is to be commended, handling a situation like this with the grace you showed is an art in itself.

 

[HISS13]

It was the rider agitating the horse, not your drone. I've spent a lot of time in the saddle (grew up on a ranch where horse was the primary mode of transportation) on numerous horses and found that squirrelly riders make good horses squirrelly. If that poor horse is stuck with a nut job it will behave accordingly. 1% bad reaction is not bad at all in a group that big. Your respectfulness is to be commended, handling a situation like this with the grace you showed is an art in itself.

Thank you, riders and the horses were safety concerns which is why we chose to first have the riders dismounted and then fly near the horses for reaction. I do agree
with you as you can have a greatly trained horse and a rider can cause that horse to react in manners it would normally not.