Pain in the A$$ pair

[RunninB]

Have a question about a pair that I have. Two years ago I asked the boards about a first time momma cow that I have. At the time she was being very protective of her calf to the point of being aggressive. I received mixed answers to that question. Forward two years to the present and I still have said momma. She has calmed down a lot and is no longer aggressive. My problem with her is that she is just a pain in my a$$. She hesitates to go in the pen. When I do feed them it's always in the pens but she is very reluctant to go in until I have left or she will gather the calves that are around her and take them all down into the creek and I won't see them for a while. She has a 7 month old black heifer with her and is bred back to a Registered Hereford Bull. (Short bred). She is a real good momma but I'm just tired of dealing with her crap. Getting to my question, I rarely take anything to the sale barn. I do pretty much all of my calf sales on the internet and social media. If I'm upfront about her issues is it kosher to sell her on CL or FB or should I just haul her to the sale barn and not even worry about.

Tell me what you think.

 

[wbvs58]

Yes, just take her to the sale barn.

Ken

 

[Rafter S]

I don't see anything wrong with selling her any kind of way if you're up front about why you're selling her, but I suspect most people who'd buy off Craigslist wouldn't want to put up with her either.

If you take her to the auction barn tell them to palpate her and don't say anything about why you're selling her. It's not like she has a structural or reproductive issue.

 

[MRRherefords]

We are selling one similar to that and we were up front with the person who is buying her about our reason for selling her. She is flighty and always keeps her calf out of the chute, does a heck of a job with her calves but is a pain in the butt. The buyer said he understood, and still wanted her because he liked her.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Sell her however you want, if a buyer wants her the way she is it's there problem. She'd be a good cow for someone that's a cow man, she has no place around here. That will be a good day for you and your herd when you get rid of her. Nothing screws a herd up worse than a crazy flighty cow.

 

[ddd75]

those traits are desirable for some people.. especially those who don't check cattle very often.

I'd be that cow would run off a coyote and protect all the calves.

I would of bought her for my last farm.

 

[Craig Miller]

When she is "gathering the calves and taking them to the creek", she is teaching them to be flighty with her. That's bad for you if you want to keep any of those calves and it's not a trait you like.

 

[farmerjan]

Take her to the sale barn and just get rid of her. As stated, she is teaching calves to not come in, they will in turn teach their calves not to come in. No matter how good of a cow she is, she is exactly what you said... a pain in the A$$. Over the years we have slowly been weeding out those that we have like that. It is nice to go to a field, call them, and have them all come in with their calves. I don't get upset when a new momma doesn't bring her brand new baby in, but by a couple of weeks old, they need to be coming in.
There are too many animals around to be dealing with cows that won't get with the program. I wouldn't bother to try to explain it to a private buyer. Anything bought at the sale barn is buyer beware. You've gotten a couple of calves out of her so she has paid her way. Did you keep any of her calves or did they all turn out like her?

 

[BRYANT]

I vote take her to sale rather than the other ways you talked about. People that buy from a sale, like me, knows that there may be a reason that they are there and I would not look at you as a cheat if I bought her from a sale BUT if you sold her to me with that problem off the farm and did not tell me then that would be the last time I bought one off of you.

 

[Ky hills]

Being protective of a newborn calf is one thing, but being a continual problem to your management is another. I would take her to market and not retain her calf. I have had some cows like that in the past and they just mess up everything, they can make your whole calf crop hard to deal with.

 

[BRYANT]

I would take her to market and not retain her calf. quote]
why would he not want to keep the calf if it is a calf he likes and the cow is a good mother, breeds back like he likes and so on. Sounds like he likes the cow other than her disposition.

 

[RunninB]

She has been a great mother and she breeds back easily but I've just had enough of her. Her calf is the one who pissed me off yesterday and that's what prompted my decision to sell her. Her first calf she was real aggressive but with the current one I haven't seen any of that at all. She just doesn't want to comply with anything and has a mind of her own. I put her on CL with a description of her issues. I would never "dump" a problem animal on someone without full disclosure. I didn't even take a cow in that was having digestive issue to the sale barn. She ended up on the rail. If this one wasn't bred she would be too. I have a lot of friends that love the Grass Fed ground meat.

 

[Ky hills]

I would take her to market and not retain her calf. quote]
why would he not want to keep the calf if it is a calf he likes and the cow is a good mother, breeds back like he likes and so on. Sounds like he likes the cow other than her disposition.

I was just stating what I would do based on my experience with a few over the years, in a lot of cases the calf learns that behavior from the cow, if she is nervous and cautious the calf will follow her and likely continue that behavior. He knows his cattle far better than I and if he likes the calf then by all means give it a chance, she could settle down nicely after weaning. For me though I would probably sell the calf too, as she could be a bad influence on the other calves as well.
This year, I have some late born calves that were born after grass came on good, and they haven't been used to coming up. When I would feed once or twice a week through the summer they wouldn't come up, so they are very noticeably more skittish than the rest of the calves. Some have settled down after being weaned for a few weeks, but a few are still skittish, in each of those their mothers are more on the nervous side, and the more so ones have been culled.

 

[angus9259]

I think the same thing I prolly thought last time you asked. Life's too short for problem cows.

 

[BRYANT]

cows offspring are kind of funny I had a gray Brahman cow that I have talked about on here before that is crazy she will get you if you corner her. I have said I would sell her but I know she will try to kill every one at the sale and try to tear the place down and by doing so will not bring much. she always breeds back fast and raises a nice calf and her calf every year will bring more than she would so I always said she would stay around till she killed over or quit having calves. she as been very low maintenance just run in a big pasture and raise calves and a lot of her calves are dog gentle I have a heifer now out of her that will follow you around and almost is a nuisance. I am planning on keeping this heifer its a true F1 and will be the last one out of this idiot cow, she got hit by lightning this year. I got another Brahman cross cow that is gentle and easy to handle that her last 2 calves will bounce off the side of the corral and fight like a bull dog. Last years heifer was a very nice heifer but she took a trip she was so mean. I even left her in the lot and fed her trying to calm her to keep but she would not calm. She would stand on the opposite side of the corral and shake she was so fired up. What I am saying is you can't always judge the calf by the cow
just my 2 cents , you do what you think is right for you I fall in that group that a wild cow does not bother me much.

 

[TCRanch]

I just sold a very nice bred almost 3 year old cow, private treaty, because while she raised a very nice calf she was just too skittish and I was always on guard with her. Full disclosure to the buyer. Both calves she raised were heifers and I didn't keep the 1st one, probably won't keep the 2nd I weaned in Oct - just makes me leery of how she may turn out. That said, I had a purebred bull that was dangerously aggressive & sold him after only having him one year. And I kept one of the heifers he sired that to this day is just the sweetest thing. I'm big on EPD docility for my bulls but it seems the maternal docility traits are more dominant. THAT said, I also had a calf named Nacho (not-'cho-mama!) because it was the polar opposite of its high-strung dam (buh-bye!). Bottom line: life is too short to deal with PITA cows/calves and you can't gauge docility or other admirable traits based solely on EPD's or lineage, it's a case-by-case and when in doubt, sell 'em.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

I had a cow like that, a number of years ago. She always raised one of the nicest calves each year. But after a while, I didn't care how great her calves were, they weren't nearly enough to offset her PITA factor. She'd run off with all the calves, like yours. I didn't have time to keep fooling with that BS.

Sell her!!!

 

[SchenkAngusFarm]

I'd take her to the sale barn. Problems cows are problem cows. The problems will only get worse and I don't think anyone will want her for their farm imo.

 

[BRYANT]

I'd take her to the sale barn. Problems cows are problem cows. The problems will only get worse and I don't think anyone will want her for their farm imo.

I might would if she is cheap enough and can wean a big calf with low maintenance. Turn her in a place with good corral and forget about her, mess with her once or twice a year.

 

[greybeard]

Them's the kind you want to shoot or die on their own and consider yourself better off for it.
Wheels!!