What is the definition of "Maternal" when pertaining to cows?

[JTM]

I was listening to a speaker the other night talking about the different ways that people define maternal when it comes to a cow. If you say that your breed of cattle are "maternal" or "that cow is really maternal" what do you mean? What traits or attributes are needed to be considered maternal?

 

[JTM]

O.k., I'll start. I think one of the things that I think of when I hear maternal or talk about it is how the cow reacts to her calf when she calves. Does she immediately go to cleaning the calf off, talking to it, and how aggressive is she at doing that? I think a cow that is to be called maternal should stick with that calf, licking it until it is clean, gets up and nurses. What are some other thoughts? <cowboy>

 

[knabe]

to me, maternal means dimorphic.


females don't have males secondary sexual characteristics, they have female ones.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

Maternal (cattle)to me are non-terminal.low BW possibly harddoing cattle,that have great epds,are not very showy,and arent very thick. O0

 

[Limiman12]

Have a life calf, take care of it, raise it respectably and repeat.......  The ability to do that for ten to twelve years is what makes a cow maternal.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

Have a life calf, take care of it, raise it respectably and repeat.......  The ability to do that for ten to twelve years is what makes a cow maternal.///There are alot of cattle that dont have the popular breeding-or are carriers etc-that doe just that O0

 

[AAOK]

A Cow that looks like a Cow, breeds back on time, every time, can calve a 100lb calf unassisted, averages 600lb calves at six months, and has tons of thick straight Hair!

 

[FriedgesCharolais]

I have thought a lot about this topic since I saw it. I guess I look at maternal more of an adjective to describe features of a cow/heifer. Maternal to me would be a good set of feet and legs that would allow her to move freely, with a nice neck tying into a smooth shoulder with a ton of rib shape and good uddered (if she is a cow) and a nice big square hip. But I would agree with all of you describing maternal as a behavior of the animal too.

 

[Buck]

FERTILITY!!! All of the characteristics that have been discussed thus far have a strong correlation to it.

 

[ZNT]

Maternal is.....
Breeds easily
Calves without assist
Bonds with calf
Produces ample amount of milk for environment
Calves every year
Longevity