Disposition.

[gabbyellepaige]

Do Sires and Dams pass on there disposition to there calves?
Or do the calves get personalities of there own?
What breeds seem to have good and bad dispositions in your opinion?

 

[randiliana]

All of the above.

Some of it is Genetics, some they learn from mom, and some they develop themselves as a result of their life experiences.

Some breeds are quieter, some higher strung.

Of the breeds that I have handled, Here's how I would rank them. Quietest to wildest
Hereford
Shorthorn
Gelbveih
Simmental
Charolais
Angus
Limo

Of course, you have individuals in every breed that are quiet and wild.

 

[Angus Cowman]

All of the above.

Some of it is Genetics, some they learn from mom, and some they develop themselves as a result of their life experiences.

Some breeds are quieter, some higher strung.

Of the breeds that I have handled, Here's how I would rank them. Quietest to wildest
Hereford
Shorthorn
Gelbveih
Simmental
Charolais
Angus
Limo

Of course, you have individuals in every breed that are quiet and wild.

I would rank them a little different than Randi but alot also depends on the environment the cattle are in also

I have gathered herefords out in the panhandle of Ok that would put any breed to shame as far as being wild and I have seen angus so gentle they wouldn't get out of the way alot is genetics and ALOT is Evironment
I raised Charlois for several yr and they were pretty dang HOT when they figured out they were in the pens
There is ill tempered cattle in ALL breeds and anyone that says there isn't is full of BS
Culling for disposition should be on the top of everyones cull sheet but what one person may feel is tolerable may be extremely wild in anothers opinion
I probably have some cows that alot of people on here couldn't handle but they work fine for me
I won't tolerate a fence crawler or a cow that charges for no reason had one of them that got shipped this yr

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Disposition means different things to different people. I won't fool with one that heads for the back forty when she sees me. Won't have one that is trying to tear the corral down when we work them. If i want my cows some where besides where the are at i just blow the truck horn and start driving where i want to go, when i get there granny will be right behind me and everbody else behind her.

 

[Ryder]

All of the above.

Some of it is Genetics, some they learn from mom, and some they develop themselves as a result of their life experiences.

Some breeds are quieter, some higher strung.

Of the breeds that I have handled, Here's how I would rank them. Quietest to wildest
Hereford
Shorthorn
Gelbveih
Simmental
Charolais
Angus
Limo

Of course, you have individuals in every breed that are quiet and wild.

Brimmers and brimmer crosses. If they get spooked and have no way to escape it can turn into a disagreeable state of affairs.

 

[frankly]

Hereford cattle are good disposition cattle!

 

[Angus Cowman]

Hereford cattle are good disposition cattle!

Not entirely
No breed will fall under a blanket staement such as this

 

[novatech]

Brimmers and brimmer crosses. If they get spooked and have no way to escape it can turn into a disagreeable state of affairs.

I had to push most of mine out of the way unless they just had a calf. Most of what I have seen as to Brahman spooking is due to improper handling or a lack of culling out the genetic nuts.

 

[plumber_greg]

I had a customer of mine that bought some really wild and plain mean Charolis cows pretty cheap, because of their disposition. Bought the calmest char bulls I ever saw. Didn't know they could be that calm and tame. Kept the heifers out of them and in 7 years never did improve the way they acted. When Max was killed in an accident they sent the cattle to 2 sale barns and couldn't get them in the ring. Finally sold them to a killer. That is an example of trying to improve disposition be genetics. Should have killed the original cows. gs

 

[AngusLimoX]

Read a study that put disposition at 40% heritable.
They also were developing scientific methods to measure it, one of which was recording how much white cattle showed in their eyes while in a headgate.
Disposition is finally getting the recognition it should.

Environment is an obvious factor for those of us who have very little contact with them while they are on range or pasture for a good part of the year. When I bring them up in the winter it will take a few weeks before they really settle in the yard and get used to me around them.

I've run Angus, Limis and GV. GV were the quietest and a draw between the other 2.

 

[Julian]

I had a customer of mine that bought some really wild and plain mean Charolis cows pretty cheap, because of their disposition. Bought the calmest char bulls I ever saw. Didn't know they could be that calm and tame. Kept the heifers out of them and in 7 years never did improve the way they acted. When Max was killed in an accident they sent the cattle to 2 sale barns and couldn't get them in the ring. Finally sold them to a killer. That is an example of trying to improve disposition be genetics. Should have killed the original cows. gs

Disposition is not overlooked in our cowherd as we work our cattle on foot. Since "hot shots" are not permitted here we think it is only fair that the bad dispositions are not tollerated. The first time any of our cattle "blow snot" on us they will be heading towards a cooler climate (the food chain.) When we work our cattle we take the approach that we are playing chess with them. We move to one spot to make them want to move to another. Things are kept nice and quiet that way and the whole process runs smooth. This would be difficult for us to do if we had hot headed cattle.

 

[pdfangus]

ranking breeds for disposition is not fair to any breed.

if any of us take the list presented above we could rerank it and still be correct.

angus have the rep of being hot. 25 years of selection and I had a herd of pets. I just sold a bull and the guy liked two things. the calves the bull sired and the fact that I was scratching the bull when he walked up to look at him. not sure he looked at the bull...we called the bull into a catch pen and away from the cows with a feed pan and loaded him right up.

the ranking comes on personal experience.....
I could never rank charolais high on dispostion cause in my youth my daddy had some that would kill you if pressed.

I had a gurnsey cow charge me once and nearly got me with the horns. she stuck em in the board fence as I went over it. gurnseys are not noted for evil disposition.

I have been treed by hereford cows who most think are among the calmest. with most I would agree but not all.

the gelbvighs (SP?) I have been around are pretty hot (and mostly hard calving)

when I was on the bull test committtee and working intake on the bulls there was usually a black bull or two that was hot but they were not all angus and there were usually a hundred or more that were no problem that were angus. but the one hot one would always be referred to as a black angus and he drew the attention. We would not take a bull of any breed that was outright on the prod when he came in.

I have worked cattle that I needed a good horse to keep up with.....
I have worked chinina crosses that the horse could not run as fast as or jump as high as they could.

All in all the environment they are raised in has as much impact as anything. selection for disposition is the second biggest factor. calm handling is third. breed is on down the list.

 

[robert]

management and genetics, if you don't tolerate bad and/or aggressive behaviours then you are less likely to see that. Ever notice how hot headed owners have hot headed cattle? Coincidence? Disposition is highly heritable, in most species, the local newspaper will show you generations of bar brawlers

Selection for disposition is subjective depending on what your personal tolerance and situation is, in our herd we have zero tolerance for aggressive or excitable cattle, I have young children and many of my customers (and myself for that matter) are getting older, we might think we've still got wheels if the need arises but from experience I know I'm not as fast as I was or would like to think I am.

Whatever happens, be consistent with your criteria, too often the excuse cow (you know, ol' 86 who always raises the best calf but won't let you get within 200 yards of it or anyone else calf for 2 weeks) will put you somewhere where her combined receipts for her years of production wouldn't cover the bill.

Ranking breeds is again subjective based on personal experience so I have no intention of going down that road.

 

[CKC1586]

management and genetics, if you don't tolerate bad and/or aggressive behaviours then you are less likely to see that. Ever notice how hot headed owners have hot headed cattle? Coincidence? Disposition is highly heritable, in most species, the local newspaper will show you generations of bar brawlers

Selection for disposition is subjective depending on what your personal tolerance and situation is, in our herd we have zero tolerance for aggressive or excitable cattle, I have young children and many of my customers (and myself for that matter) are getting older, we might think we've still got wheels if the need arises but from experience I know I'm not as fast as I was or would like to think I am.

Whatever happens, be consistent with your criteria, too often the excuse cow (you know, ol' 86 who always raises the best calf but won't let you get within 200 yards of it or anyone else calf for 2 weeks) will put you somewhere where her combined receipts for her years of production wouldn't cover the bill.

Ranking breeds is again subjective based on personal experience so I have no intention of going down that road.

Good info, had to think about the hot headed owners/cattle.... makes sense.

 

[cattleman99]

Growing up Dad used to buy 150-200 feeders and fatten them every winter back in the late 70's and 80's. He would sit in at the local auction mart and buy all the cattle with minor problems, mostly horns, at a small discount, bring them home clean them up and feed them out. We had a hodge podge of everthing every year. Herefords, Shorthorns, Charolais, Simmentals, Angus, Red Angus, etc. If it was raised in Canada we likely fed at least a couple of them over the years. I can attest every breed has it's issues with disposition and none are immune as my brother and I did most of the work on them when Dad was busy calving. The only breed we tried and then never bought again were Chianina's. We had 8 one year and you just simply couldn't work them and couldn't go into the pens alone. They came from at least 3 different places as well so it's hard to pin that on environment.

 

[alacattleman]

i rasied F1's in the 80"s, and early 90s, brahman crossed with hereford and simmental. my gentle brahman cows.... now im talking pasture gentle where they were quite , didnt make a difference with the calves the majority had a fuse lit

 

[pdfangus]

i rasied F1's in the 80"s, and early 90s, brahman crossed with hereford and simmental. my gentle brahman cows.... now im talking pasture gentle where they were quite , didnt make a difference with the calves the majority had a fuse lit

that has been my experience as well. we don' have a lot of straight brahma up here but the brahman blood crossed with the british was warm and crossed with continetals was hot.

used to get a few hundred feeders out of Carolina every year to feed out and some of them were real "watch him boys!" type.

the beefmasters I have dealt with have been the exception with near normal to calm dispositions. Might have been jsut a good cut of cows that I have been around. not many eared cattle here as the market really discounts the calves.

 

[bigbull338]

a cows calmness is based on several things.the breed the way they are treated.the way they are handled when getting them up.as well as the way they are handled in the pens.both the bull an cow affects the calves gentleness.my beefmasters are all gentle an easy to handle.an we try to work them quiet an easy.

 

[alacattleman]

i rasied F1's in the 80"s, and early 90s, brahman crossed with hereford and simmental. my gentle brahman cows.... now im talking pasture gentle where they were quite , didnt make a difference with the calves the majority had a fuse lit

that has been my experience as well. we don' have a lot of straight brahma up here but the brahman blood crossed with the british was warm and crossed with continetals was hot.

used to get a few hundred feeders out of Carolina every year to feed out and some of them were real "watch him boys!" type.

the beefmasters I have dealt with have been the exception with near normal to calm dispositions. Might have been jsut a good cut of cows that I have been around. not many eared cattle here as the market really discounts the calves.

beefmasters for the most part have a great disposition almost like the hereford at times,, but from what ive seen, its has to be from the super strick breeding done with em during their development

 

[bigbull338]

yes the top breeders cull the wild or crazy cows very hard.as a beefmaster breeder i wont buy a wild beefmaster cow or bull.my cows an bulls are gentle but i still keep an eye on them.