Cattle Breed Question

[pburchett]

I am looking for some help in selecting some gentle temperament cattle. Currently I have 2 Angus/Limousine bulls that are about 15 & 16 months old, and one is about to be hamburger. When I bought them (400lbs) they looked like the perfect little Angus bulls, but shortly after that they begin to show their Limousine characteristics. At 500 lbs I had them castrated and that helped their temperament a lot, but they have still been cantankerous. The vet said that was the Limousine side in them.

With one bull soon going to the slaughter house I thought it was a good time to introduce some more friends into the field to keep the other one in till it was his turn to meet the butcher. I was looking for about 4 or 5 weaned youngsters (400 lbs) to raise as beef and resale.

Currently I have plenty of pasture grass as I have only cut the stems off the field twice this year. As the neighbors were cutting their hay I would trim the stems from mine with the bush hog as high as I could get it, so I have blade grass at least knee high and plenty of square bales and grain. Along with the grass I have plenty of water, a 3-strand barbed wire fence with one strand of VERY HOTT electric, but I think I will add another strand of electric. Shelter and shade in the form of a shed and trees are available from the rain, wind, and snow.

With a full time job teaching and two children I want a very gentle breed if not a lazy bunch of cows. The children never enter the field without dad, but I still do not want a bunch of crazy cows getting out or causing any trouble.

Which of the following would be the best? Jersey, Holstein, Angus, Hereford, or Guernsey. I definitely need polled or naturally hornless cattle. Would heifers be gentler than bulls?

Any help, advice or experienced stories would be greatly appreciated.

 

[hillsdown]

What is your purpose for these cattle.. Are you going to eat them or are they just pasture ornaments ?

 

[MO_cows]

Welcome, pburchett. Most of the breeds on your "short list" were dairy cattle. I don't see how a full time job and a family is going to leave you enough time to milk cows twice a day.

There are docile cattle of any breed. The overall disposition of the herd they come from, and how much and how well they have been handled is probably more important than a specific breed.

 

[pburchett]

These will be the pasture ornament type of cows, one will be selected to be a freezer ornament and the rest can just eat grass till big enough to sell. I do not plan on breeding or milking anything.

 

[Txwalt]

Most of the folks that post on here are in bed by 8:30. Atleast they know how to turn a computer on. ;-) Seriously though most folks post in the morning and through the afternoon. I would not get dairy cattle since you said you wanted to raise them for beef. I would recommend finding someone close to you and try buying from them. Buying all my cows/heifers from my neighbor was the best decision I ever made. He has helped me out immensly. Lots of gentle cattle out there. Whatever you buy, you might want to coral them and bucket train them before you turn them loose. My cows come if I rattle a feed sack. Its annoying when I'm putting out seed but thats the price you pay. :lol: Lots of opinion on this forum so good luck weeding through it.

Walt

 

[farmwriter]

I commend you for looking for docile cattle since you have children. As a daughter who grew up around horses and didn't really care for them, it REALLY got to me when I had to deal with some glue-in-the-making that would have preferred to kick my head in! But I digress.

It amazes me that everybody in the world thinks their cattle are gentle, and clearly that ain't so. Go to the pasture where the cattle graze, not the corrall or holding pen where the salesman pens em up before you get there. And if you can be there when the salesman cuts out the cows you're interested to see, even better. You'll get to see how those cattle are used to being handled and how they react to it.

That's the best advice I can give you for seeing what they'll be like at home. As previously posted, there's gentle and crazy in all breeds. Best wishes! :tiphat:

 

[Txwalt]

It amazes me that everybody in the world thinks their cattle are gentle:

Everyone seems to think there breed of cattle is gentle.

Walt

 

[TheBullLady]

Generally if you buy from someone that has a smaller herd, the cattle tend to be quieter. Find a small local breeder that handles his cattle regularly, and you'll probably find what you're looking for.

 

[dun]

What the other said plus think STEERS. Generally calmer then heifers/cows and a lot calmer then any bull

 

[SRBeef]

I've been told that there is as much difference between animals within a breed as there is across breeds for many traits.

As said above, I think your best bet is to buy them from a local person who has a small herd, works closely with them so they are used to people around and can understand your need and will sell you some good natured individual animals.

The key may be animals that have had a lot of contact with people, especially as in a rotational grazing system. Animals off of the range that have seen people just occasionally and usually get jabbed or cut when they do are not likely to ever be very calm around people.

Personally I think Herefords tend to have a better temperament than some of the other breeds. I did buy one older cow when I was getting started that must have been abused earlier or something and was sort of crazy and made the rest of the herd crazy when she got worked up. Not only that but her calves were just like her. So it must be heritable. Once I got rid of her and her calves the herd is much different.

You can help gentle them more by regular "treats" of a sweet calf feed - just a couple pounds maybe once a week or so to get them coming towards you when you come, not scattering to the furthest point in the pasture. Good luck.

Jim

 

[alisonb]

Why not get a couple of real youngsters,band them and bottle feed them for a couple of months....They should fit into your setup quite fine,having enough grazing etc to finish them off.And it will not be necessary to go through the whole 'taming' thing.I would suggest you get beef animals not dairy,as they are going to the freezer.The temperment of the animal has a lot to do with the way it is handled.
Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Agree - buy local from a small breeder that handles his cattle - buy BEEF breed - and buy STEERS (castrasted bulls). Females will start cycling before you harvest them.

 

[JRGidaho`]

I agree with the general recommendations everyone else has made.
Buy some steers, not cows. The beefiest looking one you can find.
The real key to disposition is how the cattle are handled, not the breed.

I worked a bit with a bull breeder in Queensland AU a number of years ago. It was bull sale season and they do it a little differently there. Each morning at daylight we would gather in three herds of bulls off pasture and put them in separate corral pens. One herd of purbred Brahman and two herds of composite bulls differing in the relative predominance of Brahman. In the US Brahman have an overall reputation of being wild and mean cattle. Each herd started with 150 to 200 bulls but obviously reduced in numbers as sales were made. These were all private treaty sales.

A buyer would wander through the herd picking bulls he liked. They would then sort off the bull from the others on foot. Just kind of walk him away from the group Bud Williams style. We would turn them around do whatever the buyer wanted to see. If he decided to take that one, the bull would get walked over to a side pen and then we would go find another. Again these were coming two-yr old Brahman and Brahman cross bulls brought off a several hundred acre paddock every day. None ever ran, jumped, snorted, or anything. They were all as docile as they could be just because of the way they were handled. Alf told me I was the only American who had ever been there who could handle his bulls right.

Try to find cattle that can be handled that way and you'll be right with your kids.

 

[Australian]

Most Brahmans are quiet. But the pick of quiet breeds is undoubtably the South Devon. They are gentle giants.
Colin