The vet and I were Bsing about this very subject a week or so ago. He days that the tamest cows he ever worked were a bunch of Herefords, the wildest craziest bunch of cows he ever worked were also Herefords.
Disposition.
- Thread starter gabbyellepaige
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alacattleman
Well-known member
the thing i noticed in my calf ropin' day's i wouldnt buy hereford.. because they would quit running after awhile no fight to em at all and to make a good run, the calf needs a little sass ,,, the toughest longer lasting was angus and epecially the heifers brahman calves were to dam squirrely a fresh bunch of brahman calve was always a circus act :cowboy: ..... this is not meant to run hereford cattle down i like em
That's what we do but 1 time in a hundred it just won;t work as smoothly as you would expect. At spring workup we had to run the cows across the lane into the working pen. Opened the gate and all of the calves and all but 4 cows made a beeline into the working pen. One ran down to the bottom of the pasture away from the gate and the other 3 hid in the trees. We messed around for half an hour trying to get them to go across. By then some of the others were coming back. One of those "circle" days. The vet showed up and walked down into the orginal pasture, we had about given up, and all of them came across the lane into the pen like the always did. He wasn;t within a 100 yds of them but they decided it was finally time. That's when my wife said again, "Tell me again why we enjoy doing this"bigbull338":3qi8eop7 said:
DOC HARRIS
Well-known member
This excellent tread and subject material is an example of how valuable "CattleToday" is to the Beef Breeding community! Although ALL of these posts on this thread are invaluable in their own right, the two by "pdfangus" and "robert" are the most significant, In My Opinion.
Handling ANY animal which is five to 20 times stronger than you are, and weighs five to 20 times MORE than you do is a dangerous activity in itself. Knowledge and experience in managing these creatures is imperative if one expects to be successful at the job and make a PROFIT - and at the same time retain your LIFE and health!
In my early beef cattle handling experiences, bad disposition was just expected as part of the job, and nobody thought much about it insofar as reducing the problems - short of a 30-06 being introduced into the management protocols! Now, of course, cooler heads prevail, and higher firepower is quicker and more permanant! :lol2: :???: I am kidding , of course!
Everone has their own ideas about managing fractious animals, but by utilizing every technic from common sense to observing breeding traits will result in a more safe environment in working your herd for yourself, as well as your famaily and POTENTIAL customers.
DOC HARRIS
Handling ANY animal which is five to 20 times stronger than you are, and weighs five to 20 times MORE than you do is a dangerous activity in itself. Knowledge and experience in managing these creatures is imperative if one expects to be successful at the job and make a PROFIT - and at the same time retain your LIFE and health!
In my early beef cattle handling experiences, bad disposition was just expected as part of the job, and nobody thought much about it insofar as reducing the problems - short of a 30-06 being introduced into the management protocols! Now, of course, cooler heads prevail, and higher firepower is quicker and more permanant! :lol2: :???: I am kidding , of course!
Everone has their own ideas about managing fractious animals, but by utilizing every technic from common sense to observing breeding traits will result in a more safe environment in working your herd for yourself, as well as your famaily and POTENTIAL customers.
DOC HARRIS
alacattleman
Well-known member
you could pm macon, and get him to delete the less significantDOC HARRIS":12tv5f5v said:
pdfangus
Well-known member
THANKS FOR THE NICE COMMENT DOC HARRIS.....
I WOULD SEND YOU A QUARTER IF I HAD ONE....
TIMES IS TIGHT AT THE POOR FARM... 8)
I WOULD SEND YOU A QUARTER IF I HAD ONE....
TIMES IS TIGHT AT THE POOR FARM... 8)
OP
OP
gabbyellepaige
Well-known member
okk so is what you all are saying is that different breeds dont have more of a calmer side
than any other breed would, that all cattle are individual therefore having varying dispositions?
Another question, if a cow is a pain in the butt per say and you work with them every day for along time and they've gotten better but sometimes theyre still a pain.
Are they always gonna be like that?
Is there a way to calm them down to where they're just calmer happier cows?
than any other breed would, that all cattle are individual therefore having varying dispositions?
Another question, if a cow is a pain in the butt per say and you work with them every day for along time and they've gotten better but sometimes theyre still a pain.
Are they always gonna be like that?
Is there a way to calm them down to where they're just calmer happier cows?
AngusLimoX
Well-known member
Randilianas post answered the OP's question. The rest has largely been BS.
Angus Cowman
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Including yours!!AngusLimoX":1ai117wp said:
AngusLimoX
Well-known member
That was the point, some of the swifter folks already got it.Angus Cowman":32ct63gn said:
Ryder
Well-known member
Now that we have got that question settledgabbyellepaige":232pmxui said:
and we now all know which breeds have what characteristics of behavior :nod: -what shall we talk about next? :kid:novatech
Well-known member
I would like you to go back a read many of your previous posts and let us know how you would rank them.AngusLimoX":1d1f6j3q said:
AngusLimoX
Well-known member
novatech":145r8msf said:
Fill your boots!!
spear B
Active member
The wildest and suspicious cows I got have white faces, I have always thought its the hereford in them .
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
It's not so much breeds as lines within a breed-take for instance EXT-Emulation 31 was a unstable SOB and he more than passsed it on-individually EXT's can be ok but you get enough of them around a there are 5-10% are pretty much unmanageable-we run rodeo cattl;e too so have lots to compare too. We rifle culled a handfull at calving then shipped around a 100 and dumped 500 straws of semen-haven't regretted it for a minute.
I think it's close to 100% inherited, but you've got to handle them frequently and gently to boot. If the only time the cattle ever see you it's chute work or something awful they are not going to be tame. Bringing them food only counts for so much. On our farm we cull the ones that won't let you walk up.
If I'm working to care for something I want it glad to see me coming, otherwise it can go live somewhere else.
If I'm working to care for something I want it glad to see me coming, otherwise it can go live somewhere else.
Red Bull Breeder
Well-known member
I don't work for cows they work for me.
AngusLimoX
Well-known member
Betty":g6m2dgt8 said:
Sooo, it's 100% inherited but environment is the determiner??
Which is it. And are you being subjective? Because that is not allowed.
Just kidding.Here's what I know from my own herd -
Had a real nice grandma cow, kept all her calves, bred her AI a bunch, all were smart and good minded, except one-I had bred old grandma cow to Lucy's Boy, an Angus sire. Great calf, had it halter broke before it was weaned. That calf was MEAN, like "take you" mean. Kept her, because she was fancy. 100% of her calves were the kind that if they are cornered in a pen, they might try to take you before they saw an opening that led to the chute. Not wall climbers, they would come AT you. Had 9 calves from her, and everyone I would think, "now I'm going to start this one young, this is a beauty", but I ended up selling every single one. They were dangerous to the family.
So, I think it's 90% inherited. But an otherwise real trusting calf can be wrecked by a scary experience. For example, I was "talking" to a calf over a gate, and
right at that moment when we were eyeball to eyeball she snagged her ear tag in a twine string that was hanging on the pen, backed up fast and slit the ear open, I was right on the other side of a gate, not a foot away, I'm sure that calf thought I did that. She was hard to halter break.
Chute work, all together as a group -- that doesn't seem to phase them, mine don't seem to hold that against me (except dehorning). It's the individual alone hurt that seems to make them wary, IMO.
The really mean ones are rare anymore. But if they feel like that, I don't think you can "train" it way. You just have to sell them. I sold mine. She was AMC to boot.
Had a real nice grandma cow, kept all her calves, bred her AI a bunch, all were smart and good minded, except one-I had bred old grandma cow to Lucy's Boy, an Angus sire. Great calf, had it halter broke before it was weaned. That calf was MEAN, like "take you" mean. Kept her, because she was fancy. 100% of her calves were the kind that if they are cornered in a pen, they might try to take you before they saw an opening that led to the chute. Not wall climbers, they would come AT you. Had 9 calves from her, and everyone I would think, "now I'm going to start this one young, this is a beauty", but I ended up selling every single one. They were dangerous to the family.
So, I think it's 90% inherited. But an otherwise real trusting calf can be wrecked by a scary experience. For example, I was "talking" to a calf over a gate, and
right at that moment when we were eyeball to eyeball she snagged her ear tag in a twine string that was hanging on the pen, backed up fast and slit the ear open, I was right on the other side of a gate, not a foot away, I'm sure that calf thought I did that. She was hard to halter break.
Chute work, all together as a group -- that doesn't seem to phase them, mine don't seem to hold that against me (except dehorning). It's the individual alone hurt that seems to make them wary, IMO.
The really mean ones are rare anymore. But if they feel like that, I don't think you can "train" it way. You just have to sell them. I sold mine. She was AMC to boot.
