Attitude is definitely passed on from generation to generation. As dun said, cows that have been handled badly will be flighty. They have long memories. But, it's not too hard to pick out the ones that come by their disposition through genetics. Some of the best advice we've ever received was "COD" = cull on disposition.
Do to the drought, we cut way back last year on our cow herd. We did keep one cow out of a line with questionable disposition. It was probably a mistake, but at least the disposition isn't mean, just a bit flightly. One thing that definitely came down through genetics is the tendency to stick her head through a fence whenever pressured. It's funny, because the granddam to this cow stuck her head through the J leg of a panel one day and we had to cut the leg to get her free. This trait has shown up in everyone of her offspring. Why do we keep her? She throws very nice calves, but we keep them strictly for meat and do not put them up for sale. If any of her offspring were mean, we would cull them right away and no longer breed that line.
COD
> Attitude (disposition) is one of
> the most critical elemnts when
> dealing with cattle on foot. If
> the attitude is passed on to the
> offspring depends a lot on why
> they have the attitude in the
> first place. Cows that have been
> hooraed and cowboyed will have a
> dispostion problem that very well
> may not be passed on to the
> calves. If the cows have been
> handled quietly and calmly and the
> are nuts, they are an accident
> waiting to happen. Most any cow
> when put in a different
> circumstance then what they are
> used to will behave a little
> batty. If that shows itself as
> aggresive behavior, eat em or ship
> em. One real lunatic in a herd can
> cause them all to be just a little
> bit goofy. Also, the bull you use
> will have some bearing on the
> calves disposition. But a real nut
> case cow that panics when you get
> around them will affect their
> calves if for no other reason then
> they see momma being a nut. Whe
> the calves are weaned and
> seperated from the cows frequently
> the disposition changes. But, if
> you are afraid of them, get rid of
> them, period. There are too many
> good cows out there that can do
> what you want and not cause
> headaches. Even a polled 1200 cow
> that goes nuts can bang you up
> pretty bad if she can toss you
> then pound you. Voice of
> experience. She only did it once,
> never had shown any signs of it
> before. She got a wild her up her
> .... and took me on. She did make
> excellent hamburger.
> dun
