Brangus temperamant

[Dsteim]

Hey guys I bought a brangus heifer about a month ago that I posted a picture of her in the breeds board, and in terms of quality of animal she's the best that I have. I took her and one of my other open heifers to the veterinary hospital yesterday to get them AI'd. I called the vet today to see if I could get a blood test done on one of the other ones as I'm new to this and have been feeding mineral blocks to see if there were any deficiencies, I just switched over to free choice mineral yesterday and I'm going to give that whirl, according to him it wasn't as simple as doing a blood test and some type of liver procedure would have to be done to tell if there were any deficiencies that is something I wouldn't be interested in because it seems too involved, I'll just try throwing the free choice minerals. So we talked on the phone for a while and then he shifted the conversation to my heifers. He said the one I purchased about a month ago is one of the craziest cows he's worked with. He said she charging the people who were trying to get in the chute, and when they let her out she turned around and was trying charge them again. I personally haven't had any issues with her as far as charging, I do know however she is definitely skittish, if I'm within 10 or 15 feet of her and I pour out cubes for my cows she watches me as she eats, if I get too close to her she trots off in the other direction until she is at a comfortable distance. Is this something y'all would sell right away after hearing that? Do y'all think traditional breeding with a bull in the pasture would be a better practice for her so no one involved would get hurt? Is there any chance she'll settle down over time? Also do y'all think it could be due to how they were handling her? I put cubes in my pen that is attached to the corral and chute and backed my trailer up to the chute and just walked along the edge of the pen to get her to go into the trailer.

 

[Howdyjabo]

typical Bos they don't like change.

 

[TexasBred]

Let her have her space...she should be ok.

 

[Dsteim]

I'm sorry what exactly do you mean by that? I looked up Bos and it seems like it's just referencing to cows in general.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

They don't take to being messed with. Handle them easy and quite with people they know. A vet is the worse person you can get to do AI work.

 

[Dsteim]

The AI guy I used last time wasn't available this time and I only have two that are open so I just figured taking them to the vet would be the easiest route, I always handle my stuff easily because to me cows are so big it doesn't matter if it's the tamest one if it get's going in the wrong direction towards you it's going to hurt.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Is this something y'all would sell right away after hearing that? Do y'all think traditional breeding with a bull in the pasture would be a better practice for her so no one involved would get hurt? Is there any chance she'll settle down over time? Also do y'all think it could be due to how they were handling her? I put cubes in my pen that is attached to the corral and chute and backed my trailer up to the chute and just walked along the edge of the pen to get her to go into the trailer.

There is a good chance that she will settle down once you get her home, give her enough space and at the same time continue to get her used to your precence. Some cows care about who handles them and act differently around strangers. A nervous cow can be tamed down too, it just takes more work.
The real question is if it is worth all that time / work or not?
If you keep her, consider that she might no longer be a good choice for pure breeding, and maybe future calves out of her should be by terminal bulls.
There is also the small risk to consider that she might be flighty / agressive whenever other people handle her in the future.

 

[Bigfoot]

I could tell from her picture, that she is gamey. I wouldn't worry about it. Keep feeding her, and walk near her while she is eating. Close the gate on her some, while she is eating to. She'll probably always be flighty, you might be able to take the headhunter aspect away.

 

[A.J.]

I'm sorry what exactly do you mean by that? I looked up Bos and it seems like it's just referencing to cows in general.

I think meant Bos indicus, which is what Brahman and Brahman influenced cattle fall under. A lot of times they need to be handled differently than non-eared cattle-bos Taurus.

 

[ANAZAZI]

I'm sorry what exactly do you mean by that? I looked up Bos and it seems like it's just referencing to cows in general.

I think meant Bos indicus, which is what Brahman and Brahman influenced cattle fall under. A lot of times they need to be handled differently than non-eared cattle-bos Taurus.

For one thing they seem to care more about what people handle them and might fear or "hate" certain individuals, while being completely trusty towards their usual handlers.

 

[Jogeephus]

Don't get too comfortable feeding cubes to her especially if she has a calf. She's is apt to catch you. She'll definitely be a great mamma cow but Brangus papers should come with a motherly instinct rating from 1-10 with 10 being hateful buggers that will kill you.

 

[highgrit]

Jogeephus, we saw just the bull to breed that cow to Monday. He was the wildest bull that I've ever seen at a sale. That's the first thing I thought of when I read this. Just be real careful, cattle can and will kill you.

 

[OkieBrangus]

Seems to me that most of the wild ones or the younger ones. They seem to calm some as they get older. Of course you will always have some crazy older ones in a bunch. I love Brangus cattle and wouldn't trade for them.

 

[Jogeephus]

Jogeephus, we saw just the bull to breed that cow to Monday. He was the wildest bull that I've ever seen at a sale. That's the first thing I thought of when I read this. Just be real careful, cattle can and will kill you.

Yeah, he was a beauty wasn't he?!?! If you weren't such a tightwad and had done as I suggested and went in halves with me on the bull and given it to Hook as a gift CT would have been livened up a bit with posts of his epic adventures handling this bull. But nnnnoooooooo you had to be a tightwad and deny us all some good reading material.

Okie, that hasn't been my experience with them at all. When they are mean they just get meaner .... and smarter. Lucifer, a brangus I once had the pleasure of owning, would leave the herd and walk two hundred yards to try and catch me. She was pure evil and just got worse but she sure did keep the mushroom collectors and other varmints out of my pastures and she was one he77 of a momma cow. Never seen one drop twins and nurse them where both twins were only 25 lbs under the herd average. Terrific mamma cow for sure but we had a falling out one day and she died with the smell of cordite in her nostrils.

 

[OkieBrangus]

Normally if we have a cow that acts that way she's loaded up and sold. Maybe they do get meaner in some instances but we just don't give them the chance.

 

[Jogeephus]

Normally if we have a cow that acts that way she's loaded up and sold. Maybe they do get meaner in some instances but we just don't give them the chance.

You are smarter than I am. I bought some at a breeder sale and walked out thinking how great I'd done being I had paid half the price for some beautiful bred heifers.....and they were sooooo calm ........ till the dope wore off them...... then they showed their colors. Loading them was out of the question since I needed a covered cage. Did happen to lure one into the trailer once and hauled her off but after running through the sale barn she went out the back door and cleared a 12 foot wooden wall and I don't know if they ever caught her again. Last seen she was heading to the woods dragging barbed wire. The others I gradually thinned down but I just couldn't part with two of them because they were such wonderful momma cows. One tried to catch me one too many times and I put a few bullets in her head. The last, I finally lured in the trailer and spray painted an X on her forehead and spray painted "kill pen" on her side to keep anyone from thinking she would fit in their herd.

That ear is great and they are great mothers but like you say you best haul them as soon as they learn you ain't nothing more than a soon to be spot in the field if they want you to be.

 

[branguscowgirl]

There ARE blood test to check minerals. That is exactly how we are checking my cattle.

Taken off my lab report from UC Davis:
Heavy Metal screen showed Maganese, Iron, Zinc, and Copper.
Selenium- Specimen type- blood, EDTA, LTT

Maybe some of those abbreviations will mean something to your vet.

 

[Jessica06]

I think you might have just figured out why the guy sold her! Time and quiet handling will cure most, but some are just wired that way.

 

[Jogeephus]

I agree. Will probably be a great mother. Sure looks nice in my eye. Just be careful and don't drop your guard around her especially if she has a calf by her side and whatever you do don't get between her and her calf.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I have definitely had some that are more evasive than others when you want to pen them, but will let you walk up and scratch them in the open pasture. This kind are not afraid of you, they just simply are too smart for their own good. Any "flighty" ones have settled down around the calmer cows and with feed.
I wouldn't breed or keep anything that remained "chargy". But I too would give her a fair chance to settle in. AND I would always carry a big stick with me! A hard wap on the nose should change her mind. If not, she would have to go.