It is often strange how temperment is passed on to offspring. I truly believe that some sires affect almost every calf they sire. Some make the calves really stubborn, and every one will pull on their rope for days when first tied up. Others will sire calves that break to the halter very quickly. The Irish Shorthorn bull we imported, IDS Duke of Dublin, sired exceptionally quiet calves. We took 14 Duke calves to Denver and displayed them in front of the Exchange Bldg, in the Denver yards, and most of the calves had never had a halter on for more than 2 days when we left home. You could lead them anywhere's with no problems.
Duke himself was extremely quiet. I would drive into the pasture and open my truck window, and he would stick his head in and lay it on my lap. When breeding season was over I just drove into the pasture and opened the trailer gate, and he would come across the pasture and walk in the trailer. He did this every time we wanted to bring him home from pasture.
I have also seen the temperment almost act in reverse of the sire's disposition. When the European ( exotic) breeds were in their early hay- days, I made several trips to the big studs near Calgary ( Western Breeders - now Alta Genetics, ABS, Prairie Breeders, Universal, and Independent. I was always amazed by the fact that in those days they actually had some bulls you could go into the pens with. Almost always, they allowed us to go into all the Chianina bull's pens. Most of the Simmentals had locks on their gates. They also allowed people to go in with some of the Maine bulls. I often think about this, and wonder how their liability insurance would stand up today if the studs allowed people that kind of access to the bulls in stud.
Although it was never publicized much, there were several employees killed by some of the bulls. I think the Simmental bull, Abricot , was responsible for killing two workers at Western Breeders. I watched Abricot being taken to be collected once. He had two rings in his nose, with heavy logging chain hanging from each. They had a long pole that was used to catch the chains hanging from his nose. Once caught, he was tied to a small tractor with a cab on it. Once this was done , the gate of his pen was opened and he was taken to the collection room. He was tied to the tractor at all times when being collected and they had rigged up this apparatus so that he could mount while attached. I had several Abricot offspring and the ones I had were quiet animals that were quite normal ti work with. There were many others that had attitude problems.
I also worked part time at Bar 5 Simmental in Manitoba. Lacombe Achilles, was as quiet a bull as you would ever find, however, almost all his calves were bonkers. You were always on guard, when you were working with Achilles offspring, as you never knew when they would explode. When they did explode they went balistic, not just part way. Bar 5 Mr. Dutch was the complete opposite. We fed him by dumping feed over a 8 foot fence by climbing a step ladder . Everything that could be wrecked in his pen was totally destroyed. One guy who worked at Bar 5 thought he could slip into Dutch's pen and quickly get something. Dutch got him down and smashed him up pretty good before he was able to roll under a fence. Bar 5 used to lease a tract of land for pasture, and I remember that Dutch put a duck hunter up a tree and kept him there for 3 days one fall.
I guess there are exceptions to any rule, however, in most cases I do believe that there is a stong genetic link to temperment and environment can have just as much affect in regards to what temperment any animal has. Personally, I probably cull harder on temperment than most other traits. I do not want to have to work with cattle that could injure or even kill someone. I have shipped some pretty good bulls for just looking at me the wrong way a second time. I have done the same thing with cows that are hard to handle at calving time, or when being worked. I feel that there are enough good, quiet cattle on the planet for me to stock my farm.
