calm cattle

[farmerjan]

Resurrecting a thread from 2007?

One of the things I learned in my college days was that docility was one of the most heritable traits in animals. Choose well...

Nothing wrong with resurrecting a thread...

Agree on the heritability... there was a well known Holstein bull that put lots of heifers on the ground... milked like gangbusters... and would be as likely to bust you as look at you....

 

[Ky hills]

I have heard stories of Herefords that could only be corralled with a 30-30.

I'd say that's true, Herefords are like any other breed some are extremely docile, some are at the total end of the spectrum and others anywhere in between.
It is my belief that disposition is a multifaceted situation. Some individual cattle are just genetically prone to be more wild or aggressive than others.
Management has an effect too, if cattle are used to seeing people and having a fairly positive experience when people are present then they generally are easier handled than when only dealt with on rare occasions or dealt with roughly.
Environment plays a role too. If cattle have to contend with predators then they are more cautious and on edge.
Back to Herefords, I've had some really calm ones and some real skittish ones too. One bull I used was kinda flighty, but manageable, some of his daughters were crazy, Have one right now that we have to hide out of her sight before she will go through a gate, while the rest of the cattle will walk right through with me standing at the gate after opening it.

 

[Ky hills]

Nothing wrong with resurrecting a thread...

Agree on the heritability... there was a well known Holstein bull that put lots of heifers on the ground... milked like gangbusters... and would be as likely to bust you as look at you....

When I was raising dairy calves, I had a fairly that milked around 100 cows and I got the calves at around 3 days old. Sometimes they had the calves in places that I had to walk the calf out of through the cows. I didn't usually have any issues , the cows didn't pay much attention.
On one occasion I was thankful to be in one piece by the time I got the calf out of the cow lot. They had a gate by a corn crib and it was spaced enough that I could get the calves through without opening the gate. And then I'd squeeze through. About the time I got to the gate with the calf. 100+ pound awkward Holstein calf, I heard a commotion behind me, I thought it was one of their bulls which one of them had got one of adult sons of the dairy owner down and hurt him pretty bad. I looked around and it was a big Holstein cow coming right for me bellering and carrying on just like you'd expect an over protective Angus cow to do. I managed to get the calf slipped through and she was on me so I jumped on the gate and as I was going over the gate the cow came up on the gate right beside me. She'd a killed me if she'd a came down on the gate where I was. Definitely changed how I was around those cows, no more letting my guard down.

 

[alacowman1]

Nothing wrong with resurrecting a thread...

There is when it shows my horrible spelling ability..

 

[alacowman1]

Have to say my Occ offsprings are the most docile I've ever delbt with..

 

[Warren Allison]

I have seen wild and/or mean cows of about every breed there is, and I have seen Brahmas as gentle as a Jersey milk cow, and Angus cows with a new -born calf that would let you pick it up on day one. The absolute gentlest bull I have ever seen, was a 2600lb Brahman. He would let you put 3-4 kids on him at a time, and lead him around with them on his back. The absolute meanest, killer bull I have ever seen, was a bottle raised Jersey. I guess he was about a year and a half old, when he turned man-eater. And for no reason.

 

[Ky hills]

I have seen wild and/or mean cows of about every breed there is, and I have seen Brahmas as gentle as a Jersey milk cow, and Angus cows with a new -born calf that would let you pick it up on day one. The absolute gentlest bull I have ever seen, was a 2600lb Brahman. He would let you put 3-4 kids on him at a time, and lead him around with them on his back. The absolute meanest, killer bull I have ever seen, was a bottle raised Jersey. I guess he was about a year and a half old, when he turned man-eater. And for no reason.

The meanest bull I've had was bottle/nurse cow raised was a 3/4 Jersey 1/4 Holstein bull I kept intact with the notion of breeding him to my nurse cows.
By the time he was year old he was putting on quite a show. Never did use him, sold him instead,
Part of the Jersey bull problem is genetics and the biggest part of it is that when any bull calf of any breed is raised on a bottle, they have no fear or very little fear of people. Also had a bottle raised Charolais bull that was aggressive by yearling age too.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

I'd say that's true, Herefords are like any other breed some are extremely docile, some are at the total end of the spectrum and others anywhere you in between.
It is my belief that disposition is a multifaceted situation. Some individual cattle are just genetically prone to be more wild or aggressive than others.
Management has an effect too, if cattle are used to seeing people and having a fairly positive experience when people are present then they generally are easier handled than when only dealt with on rare occasions or dealt with roughly.
Environment plays a role too. If cattle have to contend with predators then they are more cautious and on edge.
Back to Herefords, I've had some really calm ones and some real skittish ones too. One bull I used was kinda flighty, but manageable, some of his daughters were crazy, Have one right now that we have to hide out of her sight before she will go through a gate, while the rest of the cattle will walk right through with me standing at the gate after opening it.

And first impressions can be huge. Like was the first Angus, Hereford, Simmental, Charolais etc. that a person saw a good representative of that particular breeds conformation and or temperament.

 

[Warren Allison]

The meanest bull I've had was bottle/nurse cow raised was a 3/4 Jersey 1/4 Holstein bull I kept intact with the notion of breeding him to my nurse cows.
By the time he was year old he was putting on quite a show. Never did use him, sold him instead,
Part of the Jersey bull problem is genetics and the biggest part of it is that when any bull calf of any breed is raised on a bottle, they have no fear or very little fear of people. Also had a bottle raised Charolais bull that was aggressive by yearling age too.

That makes sense. This bull, the man that owned him, kept him in a pasture that his favorite fishing pond was in. He had very few people try to sneak in and fish, and those who did try it, didn't ever try it a 2nd time! I was one of them, when I was about 12 years old!

 

[Caustic Burno]

Herefords - bar none! as far as over-all "breed" reputation.

I raised registered for years and 99% are calm.
When you get a nut they absolutely insane worse than any Brimmer I have ever owned.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Buddy of mine had some black cows he had to corral with a 20 guage!!
Glad I wasn't there to see it. But I was there the day before when he ran em thru a 5 wire barb fence that WAS tight beforehand.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

Wonder how much CAB would dock the carcass because of the 20 gauge shot ?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Wonder how much CAB would dock the carcass because of the 20 gauge shot ?

Buckshot is the NUMBER ONE foreign objects found in beef carcasses!!!!

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Buckshot or birdshot?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Buckshot or birdshot?

You are correct - BIRDSHOT.
What is the difference?? I guess I should know, but I don't.

 

[mwj]

Shot size and semantics. There is no bird shot that I am aware of. We now also have the choice of lead or steel shot to sting them with.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Buckshot is big BBs that will kill a cow at 100+ yards with correct shot placement. And even poor shot placement will go thru a good bit of meat and hit internals.

Birdshot is small BBs that might go thru hide and into meat a short distance but typically won't kill an animal or make its way to internals.

In a 12g #9 birdshot has somewhere around 575 small bbs. #00 Buckshot only has 9 bbs.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Comments made about "herding" cattle with shot makes me understand the BB's found in the carcasses.

 

[Silver]

Comments made about "herding" cattle with shot makes me understand the BB's found in the carcasses.

It also brings to mind the saying about dogs: There are no bad dogs, only bad owners.
Turns out it applies to cattle as well.

 

[CJ John]

I had a single hereford with horns one time in a herd of polled herefords. And she would absolutely clear her way into the tank through the herd by using her horns as weapons. Finally one day I caught "Horns" at the wrong place at the right time and got her in the trailer. As I hauled her down the drive, I could have sworn that I heard lots of cows in the herd "clapping" as I departed !!