cow pollinater
Well-known member
If it effects their MATERNAL performance directly, then how can they perform well enough to stay in your herd? I understand how it effects the feedlot performance of the calf, but that is not the same as maternal performance. It is a giant leap from gentle calves perform better in a feedlot to gentle cows are better mothers.NWMoAngus":1qjjpjln said:Think I used the term "temperament". My 50 years of experience indicates temperament impacts mothering ability directly. Although I have seen mean or flighty cows perform/produce well enough to stay in the herd, their disposition is often passed on to their offspring where it impacts feed lot performance.
I culled my worst cows this year because I was tired of not being able to walk away from my truck or horse on my own property but it had nothing to do with their ability to raise a calf as they were dang good at it! In fact that's why they stayed as long as they did and if cull prices weren't so good and I wasn't dealing with a historic drought they'd still be up there. There was not one cow in that bunch that ever missed but they were absolute head-hunters. :shock: I ran out of failures to cull and dipped into dispositions.
I like gentle cows as much as everyone else... I'm just saying that I see no evidence that they're better mothers. Some of them are and some of them aren't and the same holds true for the wild ones.