Show Cattle Temperament Concerns

I am experiencing more people when seeking information on a calf. One of the first things they ask about is temperament. So, this prompts 2 questions in my mind. Is anyone else seeing this as a trend in marketing show calves and what popular bulls are out there that are throwing those easy going laid back calves? I know that occasionally you will have a nut out of any of them. Heck! I got a brother that's nuts and I see it every day. I was just wondering what your thoughts were.

I always ask about temperament because my kids are younger-and because my experience from showing when I was a kid tells me that sometimes a calf just can't be broke- no matter how good of a show calf it is, and no matter how much time you put into it. Most of the time, there are cues that you can pick up on when you're looking at the cattle that may give you an indication that this one's going to require more work than another. As a parent of younger kids, I always appreciate it when a breeder says to me that- this calf over here is not one you will be interested in because it's just plain wild, or doesn't have a good temperament, or something along those lines.

I do think attitude is an important and I of the 1st questions I'm asked.

My MABs with 1 exception have been the most laid back, easiest to break.  1 MAB walked off the trailer and into the barn to lay next to the calves tied up under fans and never really did fight. My BIMs have been on the other end with a few exceptions.  HWs can get a little hot but usually will settle down.  Looks to be the same for what's in the pasture.  MABs will stand up stretch and look.  The BIMs are on the move until they get far enough away.

As a parent of an 8 yr old the first question I ask when looking to buy a calf is about disposition. It does not matter how great the calf is if she can't handle it or is afraid of it. She is raising a No Worries steer this year and he has probably one of the best dispositions I have ever seen. He was very easy to break and is extremely friendly. Sometimes he can be a little annoying because, he does not leave anyone alone and if had his way he would live in the house with us. All of our Ali and Ali sons calves have always had good dispositions. The worst disposition calf was a Walks Alone out of one of a really quiet easy going cow. The calf was a complete nut.

We had two Walks Alone calves last year.  The steer was a complete pup and just very easy to handle.  The heifer was never mean, but just spooky.  Would get scared and panic and just run.  She is doing great as a cow and I can catch her with a halter in the pasture.  Just don't take her to town.  We have an Unstoppable heifer that has been very gentle since she was a baby calf.  Her little sister born a month ago is the same way.  Have two Smokin Bob calves and they will probably be pretty easy going.  The Believe in Me heifers we have are yearlings and not going to be shown, but they were easy enough to gentle down.  I could see where they might be a little more spooky like the Walks Alone heifer.  I think we will be using some more Unstoppable on the clean fronted cows.  They seem pretty sound and just have a nice friendly disposition.

The BIM heifer I have is definitely one of the more spooky, jittery calves I have worked with. Stressy almost, have a hard time getting her to consistently eat and it usually takes two people to lead her for about the first ten minutes at a show because she is so jumpy. Though she has an abundance of hair, bone and muscle. Just probably wouldn't get another and she has about no chance of becoming a cow here.

I have a wide variety of young people that I work with that show with me. I learned my lesson very quick. We bought a calf on paper and pictures that was destined to be a super star. My fault. I never personally walked with the calf and watched him in person. I trusted the buyer. They said...."he is a real sleeper"..."his brother was Grand here and here and here". We got him home and he was full of it. I thought well he has been on a trailer for 12 hours and we will give him two weeks to settle and just be a calf. Every day he backed to the corner of the pen. We attempted to enter the pen with our other dead broke show calf and he would climb the wall literally. SO at 30 days I thought we have attempt a halter. We have sat on buckets for 30 days have not pushed just sat there. So two young men 20's haltered him. He flipped and attempted to run them down. He had never been dehorned so he had 2" inch straight horns that he learned very quickly how to use. So I said leave the halter on and we will go back to zero. sat on the bucket, started a "natural supplements" by one of the major manufactures that was to "calm" the cattle if fed every day. Every day we watched to make sure he got his dose. Left him for another 30 days. Use a show stick to get the halter off. Day70 I said lets try this again. Every pipe gate that was hung wasn't after the haltering. Tried to get him to the wash rack as he had worked him self up. Usually cool water will calm them. NOPE- he tried to gore us and managed to get one nephew in the corner and proceeded to kick repeatedly. So at 90 days the same calf looked and acted the same way he did when he arrived. Right to the corner of the pen, pawing and feed supplement on board. I took one more look at him and one more look at a growing youth that was to show him and said this is not going to work. Injury and potential fatal outcome wasn't worth it. We did everything in the book you should do with this calf. Our poor show calf in the pen thought he was an absolute nut. We tried working them together and he wasn't having it. Following week loaded him up to the stock yard he went. We had more money time and energy and GATES in that calf than any other we had ever worked with in my 40 years in cattle. I am sure there are people who would say ...did you try this...what about that....yeap we took anyone's advice we could. 3 months. nothing.

When I select herd bulls the first thing we look at is temperament then we go from there. I will not stand for any bull that is aggressive I can not work with. Compared to farms out west we are a postage stamp and work in tighter quarters. Older I get the higher my deductible is and premiums are the more I will take docile over "champion this" "Champion that".

Few sires we have had some rank ones out of- HW, Walks Alone, Heat Seeker and Who Made Who. The base for allot of today's hot club sires. I don't know that docile factor is necessarily scrutinized as hard with club calves.

Our Shorthorns to date have been the most docile. We have a had a couple Maine's that were hot but never deadly. One Char that lasted a week after running into the concrete wall in an attempt to run us down.  No issues with our Simmental sires.

As both a feeding operation and cow calf guy temparment is huge. Docile cattle don't only make the job more enjoyable but they gain better in the feed pens when they don't run willy nilly every time you check pens. Over the years of feeding cattle Maine's and Short horns have consistently been the calmest. Have had many a wild chars and limo's not to discriminate just my own experience. Suh cattle have all been dog gentle that I have seen and dealt with. Seen a couple really calm Sugar Rush calves today out of pb Maine cows well looking at bulls.

I have never seen a young kid get turned off by showing a quiet calm calf but seen too many kids with a hot "good" calf that had no interest in getting another calf the next year. Docility is the most underrated trait IMO.

Thank you for your responses! I have always believed that honesty in the best policy and having full disclosure when selling calves is also best. But I have observed over the last few years that temperament is a lot higher on most peoples list than it once was. Also, I am 56 years old and am not up to the challenge of a  rank one as much as I use to be. This year we had families pick calves that were more docile over better more high strung calves. One of the posters listed some sires but I am still looking for suggestions on sires that traditionally throw those more laid back calves.

Good post!

RFSC said:

Thank you for your responses! I have always believed that honesty in the best policy and having full disclosure when selling calves is also best. But I have observed over the last few years that temperament is a lot higher on most peoples list than it once was. Also, I am 56 years old and am not up to the challenge of a  rank one as much as I use to be. This year we had families pick calves that were more docile over better more high strung calves. One of the posters listed some sires but I am still looking for suggestions on sires that traditionally throw those more laid back calves.

Click to expand...

http://www.steerplanet.com/bb/the-big-show/club-sires-for-disposition/

Past thread on it. Decent list of clubby sires with good temperament.

A young lady that was a favorite for grand in our county placed 3rd overall because of the heifers attitude. The judge talked to her in the ring, told the crowd it was a nice looking heifer but he couldn't get a good look at things like hip and neck because the shower couldn't get her set up. We talked to the young lady's father after the show, he was upset the judge was so "long winded" he said. They had the heifer in the ring too long. But he let it slip it was a monopoly heifer they dropped a chunk on and was suppose to go to Houston with but they couldn't ever get it broke to lead after months of trying. Temperament is a huge concern even for senior showman(says the person that AI'ed to B.I.M)

Temparment can vary with gentics but it is the very first thing I cull for.  Safety, enjoyment over winning is priority structure I follow.