Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Brimmer knows who owns them. I can pen mine do anything I want. The grandkids have to stay at the house. I had one clear a six foot fence in the pen like a deer over kids cutting up.
That makes sense. I was the only help we usually had so I got given a lot of leeway and responsibilities young, but then again those cattle saw me around from the time I was a toddler forward, and every generation we ever raised after. Maybe the heifer route is the way, I sure don't shine to having a bunch of big grey brahma mamas anyway.I assume those are your kids in your avatar. You can't just go buy a Brahmans or F1s off the street and think you will go out there with a herd of kids and pack of dogs and work cows. It will be a train wreck. You will have to make sure the cattle have been exposed to both.
My son couldn't hardly be on foot in a pasture until he was 14 or 15. We were cutting hay strings and he got a little far from me when is was 11 or 12. I looked up and a big brimmer cow had stepped out of the brush with a new born in tow not too far from him. She was not liking what she saw. I hollered for him to freeze and I started calling her to get her attention on me and not him. I was able to ease up to him and I basically put him him in line behind me and we walked together as I talked to her. It was pretty tense for both of us.
A friend of mine has several young boys and I'm always telling him they can't be out with the cows or work cows with us and he always tries to push it or doesn't pay attention. It makes me a nervous wreck. One got off the buggy in the pasture one time and I saw a cow perk up... then I saw the boy. I ran over and grabbed him and spun as I kicked at her head and hollered. Thought for sure she was about to smoke me but luckily she didn't. She was just a cross bred.
Those cows don't need guard dogs or livestock dogs to move them. They need need positive reinforcement, a calm handler, and good facilities.
I have stories and stories about dogs, kids, and cows.
If you go that route I would start with like weaned heifers and pen them up by the dogs and kids and stuff and let them acclimate with a good solid fence between them.
Having some Hereford cows and AI-ing out to Brahman bulls would probably work out also.
Dogs and kids are a risk with all cattle. It's an environmental deal if they have not been around them. With Brahman or Brahman Xs, it's more so.
This is also true. I've only ever had to pull a calf or two so I don't know that I'd rate as good at it.Heifers bring their own set of problems...
You should have little to no calving problems out of Brahman X unless you get real crazy with bulls. Especially running a Black Angus bull back on them. F1s can spit those black calves out like watermelon seeds.Heifers bring their own set of problems...
Most any good mama cow will smoke a dog that messes with her calf, brimmer crosses and longhorn will usually smoke one with or without a calf. I had a longhorn that would run a long way just for the opportunity to smoke a dog.Hey, I have one more question on this topic. I have two dogs, one herding/guarding breed puppy who I hope to make a good livestock dog out of, and one absolute mutt of a shepherd mix who is loyal to the last ounce of his being but has about the grace and forbearance of a drunken disco dancer when it comes to being around livestock. Horses don't much care for him, cattle find him slightly annoying at best, goats abhor him, chickens run from him and there's about a 75% chance he will try to play with calves. Is there anything that I can do to prevent a protective mama cow from a breed like this from mashing his head in? We had a good herd/watch dog or two before but they were much more agreeable to animals.
Vice Versa or just buy Brafords.This is also true. I've only ever had to pull a calf or two so I don't know that I'd rate as good at it.
What would you do in my shoes for this? Brahma bull on Hereford cows? Vice versa? Attentive care on heifers? Just say to heck with it and buy some brafords somebody else bred up?
This is the way I handle cattle on horses, just like @TCRanch. The key is to be quite and easy with them. With MY cattle I never drove a truck or 4 wheeler etc in the pasture to just check on them etc. If I am in an enclosure with cattle, it is on horseback. When I have cattle on a homeplace or a place I am keeping horses, I saddle up every day I can, and just ride out to them and ease among them, often just sitti8ng my horse among them for a while. This is part of the horse's training, but the cattle benefit from it too. Watch a cutting competition, when the rider is easing through the herd to filter out the one he wants to cut. That is how you handle cows with horses. Now, if need be, I have 2 that can run down any wild-ass cow there is in just a short time. They can head and heel a 2500lb bull and hold him like he is stuck in concrete. And either one can drag a bull that size onto a trailer like he weighed 100 lbs.Not denying the usefulness of them, I like horses as stated and have owned some good ones, a few bad ones too. I'm just spoiled growing up being able to mostly work our stuff without them. I've needed horses more to get other horses someplace than cattle. My uncle used to buy horses by the trailer load and uh... some of the folks weren't so honest about the temperaments of their animals. Nothing like a fresh load of a dozen crazies holing up in the thick stuff.
I got a F-1 Brahman/Jersey new mom that just warned the Mule fifty yards from a black dot. I will learn the sex in couple days.
I had a jersey x brahma that calved out of the first cows I ever had, and that may have been the best mama I ever had. She was as gentle as a dog with anyone or anything she knew but the pleasantries stopped the minute somebody or something funky came around. She produced heavy on milk too.I got a F-1 Brahman/Jersey new mom that just warned the Mule fifty yards from a black dot. I will learn the sex in couple days.View attachment 14768
You should look up Satus Stockdogs on Facebook.. those are some seriously amazing dogs that know what they're doing, of course the handler has to know what they're doing too!This is the way I handle cattle on horses, just like @TCRanch. The key is to be quite and easy with them. With MY cattle I never drove a truck or 4 wheeler etc in the pasture to just check on them etc. If I am in an enclosure with cattle, it is on horseback. When I have cattle on a homeplace or a place I am keeping horses, I saddle up every day I can, and just ride out to them and ease among them, often just sitti8ng my horse among them for a while. This is part of the horse's training, but the cattle benefit from it too. Watch a cutting competition, when the rider is easing through the herd to filter out the one he wants to cut. That is how you handle cows with horses. Now, if need be, I have 2 that can run down any wild-ass cow there is in just a short time. They can head and heel a 2500lb bull and hold him like he is stuck in concrete. And either one can drag a bull that size onto a trailer like he weighed 100 lbs.
I DO NOT want a damned dog anywhere near me, my horses, or the cattle! If someone calls me about catching cattle for them, the first thing I ask is if they have been trying to get them with 4wheelers/ATVs and/or dogs. If they have, I tell them I won't be able to get around to them, and refer them to someone else who uses tranq guns, etc.
Granted, if I hadn't have had horses all my life, I would never have fooled with any cattle. I never used horses to work cattle, or had cattle as the main source of revenue. I had cattle to train horses which has always been my source of revenue. I realize a lot of people do not have the time, or know-how, to use horses on their cattle. But, if you have the right kind of horses, and know how to use them, then there is nothing more satisfying than working cattle on a fine horse. Even Brahmas.
It's a bull.I got a F-1 Brahman/Jersey new mom that just warned the Mule fifty yards from a black dot. I will learn the sex in couple days.View attachment 14768
That's my bet as well, she brought him up by the house yesterday evening right at dark.It's a bull.