I've got a couple of comments on this one:
There's nothing unusual about someone having to use cake to call cattle into a trap to get them to a lot. There's no reason that should have been a warning flag. Some of our wilder cows come into the lot easier than our "gentle" ones, some just don't like being separated and messed with. Cattle that are raised in herds under normal range conditions in this part of the world aren't treated as pets.
We sell a lot of our calves right off the cow. However, it's probably been about 4 years since I let someone pick them up until I've had them weaned at least a week. I like for them to leave them a couple of weeks to let them get over being weaned and for vaccines we give at weaning to take full effect. I don't think it was a big problem waiting only three days, but as a breeder I prefer longer. More of a health issue than a "gentleness" issue.
I doubt the breeder intentionally sold you a wild heifer. He had probably never messed with the calves on an individual basis to know it. We would never know we had a wild one (except for the rare case) unless it involves one of the ones we wean and put a lot of time into for selling as show calves. As I mentioned, we sell some that are pretty much broken out, but more that have never been touched.
The honest truth is there are a lot of reputable breeders that won't take calves back in a situation like that. More people have the policy of "when they get on the trailer - they are yours" than don't. A few suggestions/things to consider:
If you paid a "lot" of money for this heifer - several times market price - then you have a valid complaint. If you are talking $1,000 to $3,000 heifer, most breeders aren't going to be real understanding. You still have a heifer that can potentially productive as a momma. Too wild for a little kid show heifer and too wild for a momma cow are two very different things.
If you really want your money back or another heifer, load the heifer up show up on his doorstep. If he sees the heifer has been taken care of, isn't injured, hasn't lost weight, etc. I would at least think he'd make a trade with you. That's how I'd probably handle this situation as a breeder. If the breeder knows the folks you hired to break them, get them to call the breeder on your behalf and offer an independent opinion.
I've got little kids showing and you just have to be real careful on what you get for them. I would not buy one that is already that big that hasn't been messed with. On my boys calves, I start on them when they are 3-4 months old. And "gentleness" has to be a real big criteria on the ones we keep for them.
The biggest suggestion I have for you is don't let your kids mess with new calves until they are halter broken. First of all, a kid isn't really big enough to do much in the way of halter breaking until they are way up into junior high at the earliest. Secondly, a calf - especially one this big with a wild tendency - sees a kid their size as a target, not something to respect. I'm all for making kids do as much of the work as possible, but in my opinion its a mistake to let a kid get in a situation that an unbroken calf can get to them or otherwise learn they can do what they want.
Finally, (and I hope I don't get myself in trouble on this one) if this is an "eared" heifer, this kind of stuff just happens with them. When you get them broke, they can be the gentlest ones there are. But getting them broke can be "interesting". Go get you a gentle british breed or Maine heifer.
There's nothing unusual about someone having to use cake to call cattle into a trap to get them to a lot. There's no reason that should have been a warning flag. Some of our wilder cows come into the lot easier than our "gentle" ones, some just don't like being separated and messed with. Cattle that are raised in herds under normal range conditions in this part of the world aren't treated as pets.
We sell a lot of our calves right off the cow. However, it's probably been about 4 years since I let someone pick them up until I've had them weaned at least a week. I like for them to leave them a couple of weeks to let them get over being weaned and for vaccines we give at weaning to take full effect. I don't think it was a big problem waiting only three days, but as a breeder I prefer longer. More of a health issue than a "gentleness" issue.
I doubt the breeder intentionally sold you a wild heifer. He had probably never messed with the calves on an individual basis to know it. We would never know we had a wild one (except for the rare case) unless it involves one of the ones we wean and put a lot of time into for selling as show calves. As I mentioned, we sell some that are pretty much broken out, but more that have never been touched.
The honest truth is there are a lot of reputable breeders that won't take calves back in a situation like that. More people have the policy of "when they get on the trailer - they are yours" than don't. A few suggestions/things to consider:
If you paid a "lot" of money for this heifer - several times market price - then you have a valid complaint. If you are talking $1,000 to $3,000 heifer, most breeders aren't going to be real understanding. You still have a heifer that can potentially productive as a momma. Too wild for a little kid show heifer and too wild for a momma cow are two very different things.
If you really want your money back or another heifer, load the heifer up show up on his doorstep. If he sees the heifer has been taken care of, isn't injured, hasn't lost weight, etc. I would at least think he'd make a trade with you. That's how I'd probably handle this situation as a breeder. If the breeder knows the folks you hired to break them, get them to call the breeder on your behalf and offer an independent opinion.
I've got little kids showing and you just have to be real careful on what you get for them. I would not buy one that is already that big that hasn't been messed with. On my boys calves, I start on them when they are 3-4 months old. And "gentleness" has to be a real big criteria on the ones we keep for them.
The biggest suggestion I have for you is don't let your kids mess with new calves until they are halter broken. First of all, a kid isn't really big enough to do much in the way of halter breaking until they are way up into junior high at the earliest. Secondly, a calf - especially one this big with a wild tendency - sees a kid their size as a target, not something to respect. I'm all for making kids do as much of the work as possible, but in my opinion its a mistake to let a kid get in a situation that an unbroken calf can get to them or otherwise learn they can do what they want.
Finally, (and I hope I don't get myself in trouble on this one) if this is an "eared" heifer, this kind of stuff just happens with them. When you get them broke, they can be the gentlest ones there are. But getting them broke can be "interesting". Go get you a gentle british breed or Maine heifer.
