HELP!!!

[Rustynail]

I am sorry, but life is too short to put up with a heifer with a nasty attitude.  I you need to consider how she will act when she calves.  Personally I am getting too fat to get over the fence fast enough.  My Northern Improvements have been about the easiest cows I have ever been around.  Also calves learn these types of behaviors.  I don't know how or why , but we had a cow who I think gave detailed instructions to her calves on being &^%&^%&. 

 

[renegade]

I love my herefords!  I heard that maines can be a little on the snotty side, I guess thats why my shorty/maine steer is a little bit of a butt when i comes to clipping the head and blowing him out- no matter how many times i do it he still acts a little "scared".  One of the families that raises shorthorns around here has some nasty animals and others have sweethearts.  I have never liked the attitudes I have seen on black angus -period- but I have seen the reds be a lot more docile. A lot of it comes down to what everyone has said so far.  Good luck on finding a good heifer!

 

[CAB]

My advice would be to buy a calf from someone that spends alot of time with their cattle. I see mine 2 times a day. If the cows are running out on range conditions verses some that are in a smaller area & see people regularly, the ones that see people are going to be way easier to deal with. We'll have a calf or 2 that we can walk up to out in the pasture each summer & scratch. Anyway walk around the cattle and watch what the cattle do. Good Luck!!

 

[kanshow]

Get in the pen and walk around them, you can tell a lot when you do that. 

 

[Jill]

The Maine breed is known for being quiet, but like everyone else has said, you can get a bad one from any breed.  I would suggest you look for a good temperment and then worry about the breed, most breeder have more than 1 breed and can tell you the temperments of the animals they have for sale.

 

[4Ts4H]

Why give up on her if she is real GOOD?  We have an angus heifer this year that we tied up for the first time at 600 lbs.  She was tied three days that first week for two hours a time.  She spent the WHOLE time pulling back on the halter to the point of cutting of her air supply.  I mean she pulled!!!  Then due to the nasty IA winter, we didn't get back to her for 5 weeks, all this time she was left w/ the rope halter dragging to sore up her nose a bit.  When chased her around the pen (200 x 200 ft) a couple of times and realized that we needed to get her through the chute if we were going to get on the end of that rope.  Once in the chute we put on a second halter so we could pass her out of the chute and keep ahold.  After another 2 hours of her backing around the pen and us using every possible tie point to wrap a halter, we decided to give up for the day.

We then decided to shrink the pen down to 60 x 60 (she was with 3 other heifers and 2 steers).  For the next two months we would lock them into stalls every Saturday and get them tied and put one or more of the kids beside her for about 4 hours.  They would stand outside a gate and reach through and scratch her back occansionally.

Two weeks ago when we went to tie them, I backed her into a corner, grabbed the rope ready for a rodeo, and to my dismay she followed me into the barn w/ very little fight.  Now that we have gotten our hands on her repeatedly, she can't wait to get worked on.  We have to clip her this weekend, just to be safe we will be giving her about a half dose of show calm.

One other trick that has worked for the kicking that has worked for us is tying a plastic bag to their tail when you turn them out.  Eventually they just get tired of kicking with nothing to gain!

 

[red]

I've found that the sassy ones usually do well in the show ring. you need that attitude. Now, if's she's just flat out mean or hard to handle that's a different thing. Get rid of her then.

Red

 

[Bawndoh]

Most people I know send the sassy ones to the auction barn!!  They dont get a chance in H-E-double hockey sticks! 
Like everyone else said, you will find hot heads (sassy) cattle in every single breed.  Around here I have heard of everything from Maines, Saler, Charolais, Limo, and some Simmys.  I dont think it is breed specific, and I have seen puppy dogs from all of those breeds.  My sister has 100+ cows, and her son has grown up around them.  Imagine a 3 year old walking through a pen of 40 yearling heifers.  I was panicking watching him walk directly, and I mean DIRECTLY behind them brushing up against their bellies and legs.  I was freaking out, but each and every one of the heifers was a total sweetheart.  I think a lot of it has to do with imprinting as well...just like foals.  Notise most bottle fed calves are annoying and wont leave you alone even when they get to be 1+ years old.  Just spending a lot of time around your cattle, and walking through the pens will really help get them used to people.  Animals tend to find children freaky...i guess cause they are miniature adults and are usually rowdy.  If you want....as SAFELY as possible, get a couple of kids to walk around with you sometimes.  But dont be like my sister  (lol), unless you know forsure the animals are ok with the kids!!!!  Make sure the kids are at your reach at all times so you could grab them or their hand if something ever does happen. 
I have probably made it sound like I put kids in danger but come on everyone...use common sense here.  If the animal is phsyco, lock the kids in the house.

 

[kanshow]

Is this heifer bred yet?  That can sometimes make a difference in personality - not often but maybe...

If the heifer is that good, I'd probably be more inclined to breed her & dump her out rather than try to show her.    I just can't see getting someone hurt. 

 

[HeiferShower14]

Thanks for all your help!! Well shes not realy really sassy but she is about a couple times a day. The problem with her is that she KICKS for no reason at u?? I tie her up to pick her pen and i walk around her and she just kicks. Somtimes when you put your hand on her shes kicks TO?! ITs been making me really mad the fallowing weeks and days. I might try the plastic bag and no shes not pregnant yet. The breeder said that she would be an absoulte sweet heart.... not exactly  (lol)

 

[kanshow]

We had a heifer like that and the only thing she got better at was her aim. 

 

[Show Heifer]

I'd love to see disposition EPDs.   ;D

we can't get accurately reported data that is measurable on a set of scales.  how on earth would there be any reliability in such an EPD?

The limi breed has a disposition EPD. They educate their members on a grading system on how to rank their cattle. I have found it to be very accurate, but I still use my eyeballs to "grade" the animal and herd myself.  The apple (or calf) never falls to far from the tree (or herd)!!!

 

[4Ts4H]

I should have mentioned this in my last reply...Last year we had a steer much the same.  The kicking stopped immediately after a hoof trimming.  The trimmer said that he had a touch of rot and needed a lot of timming.  Treating the rot accompanied by the soar tendons from the trimming took the urge to kick right out of him!!!

 

[red]

I've heard that if you hand plastic milk jug on them it helps w/ the kicking. I've been lucky, only had one kicker out of all our show heifers/steers.

Red

 

[SKF]

The kickers that we have had I always tied them up and brushed their back legs with a broom until the got tired of kicking and that has always seemed to put an end to it.