# Meanest breed?



## InvalidID

Just curious what ya'll think is the meanest breed? I've heard some real horror stories about Jersey's and Holsteins. What about you guys?


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## tinknal

Spanish fighting bulls, they are bred for it. 

As for common domestic breeds I would say Limousines.


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## sammyd

I've never seen anything mean as a breed...it is more an individual thing.
Been around Holsteins most of my life and only ever seen one actually hurt anybody, and that was because she had just freshened and was "protecting" her calf.


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## arcticow

Some in every breed seem born bad to the bone... but there's a big difference in "crazy & will run over you if pressed" and "wants to hurt you if possible".


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## SFM in KY

As tinknal said, Spanish fighting bulls ... don't know the name for the breed, but they are bred for aggression.

I've heard a couple of cowboys say that one of the most difficult breed of cattle they ever tried to manage were the Santa Gertrudis. Can't remember now who had them but someone brought some in to crossbreed and the cowboys remarked on how quick they were to get on the fight. Ranchers where I lived had mostly Hereford, Angus, Charolais, Limousin and Simmental but the Santa Gertrudis were the ones they mentioned.


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## spinandslide

As has been said..depends on the individual more then the breed..I wont even look at dairy bulls..heard to many horror stories about how genuinely mean they are.

course..some people have a bad experience with a type and then label the whole breed. I have brangus..love 'em..bunch of older cowboys tsked tsked me about getting into those "crazy brimmers"..turns out they'd delt with afew that they tried to "cowboy" and you CANNOT cowboy a brangus..they do not take kindly to that treatment and either sull up or go on the defensive.


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## Fowler

I raised black angus, and they chased me through the field when I needed to tend to my sheep. I hated it when they came up from the valley. I would have to chase them back down and they would charge....LOL sure it's funny now.


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## boiledfrog

I'd have to say the republicans. They get plum nasty in a herd. Then again, if that democrat type cow doesn't get their feed they get downright ornery!


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## mozarkian

Cattle is like most every thing else-- the wild ones have either not been handled or been handled badly.


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## oregon woodsmok

If you look at the older literature (pre- AI ) the jersey bull was considered the most dangerous animal on the farm, with lots of deaths to their credit.

If you go to the rodeo, the bulls who try to kill the cowboys all seem to be black colored Brangus. Most of the bulls want to buck the cowboy off and head for the exit gate.

Actually, those fighting bulls aren't supposed to be bad when they are in their pasture and in their herd. Not that I plan to go out and pet one.

Any bull can be dangerous and even more dangerous is a cow with a brand new calf.


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## eggzackly

When we were kids a nearby neighbor had a beautiful herd of brahmas, and they were absolutely NOT to be trifled with not the bulls, the cows, the yearlings, nothing. No one ever took a shortcut through their fields, no matter how tired or thirsty, nor how hot, or if it was raining. NOTHING could make us cut through their pastures, whether we could see them or not.


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## mamagoose

I've seen crazies in many breeds. The herd of Limousines DH's dad had as a whole were crazy scared to be around people. One jumped over a 5-foot high steel pipe barnyard. Polled Herefords tend to be more docile, but I was washing a heifer who didn't like me (the feeling was mutual) she pinned me and kept butting me like she intended to kill me. I was rescued. There was another PH heifer we could never halter break, she just didn't like people. My brother has mostly Polled Shorthorns, some crossbred, and they all seem calm. We have a mix of temperaments in our Highlands. A couple were pets as babies and still like affection as 4-year olds, but that horn radius is quite tricky. Our older Red Poll cow will keep her distance if at all possible, but her daughter we handled a lot is loveable. Working with them as calves from weaning (any breed) makes all the difference in dealing with them at 1000 plus pounds! Any breed bull can hurt you quick.


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## cur huntin' kid

I have seen cow a cow that hated women and children, I could pet her and rub all over her but if the owners wife or kids came anywhere near her she had a fit and would try to butt them and if she wasn't tied she more then likely went after them. She was a brown swiss /jersey cross. I have NEVER heard a good thing about a jersey bull, heard they are the worst as far as dairy cattle go. Never dealt with any truely mean beef cattle even the bulls were fine if you didn't get them worked up.


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## Countrygent51

From an online report about cattle-related farm fatalities:

The following case summaries illustrate the most common circumstances of the cases identified for this report.

Case 1. In August 2005, a woman in Missouri aged 65 years was removing a dead, newborn calf from a pasture when a cow knocked her down, stomped her, and butted her while she was lying on the ground. The coroner reportedly stated that death resulted from blunt force trauma to the woman's head and chest. No autopsy was performed. 

Case 2. In November 2005, a man in Iowa aged 65 years was helping his son sort beef cattle for loading onto a truck. He was attempting to guide one of the animals toward the truck when it turned into him, crushing him against the barn door. According to witnesses, he stopped breathing immediately. The medical examiner's report stated that death was caused by blunt force trauma to the man's chest. 

Case 3. In April 2006, a man in Iowa aged 63 years was herding cattle into his dairy barn for milking when a bull came into the barn and repeatedly butted him, pinned him against a fence, and stomped him. According to the attending physician's death record, the man sustained multiple rib fractures, lacerated pulmonary arteries, and head injuries. The man's family said that the bull was known to be dangerous and had been threatening in the past.

Case 4. In August 2007, a man in Iowa aged 45 years who was working alone in a pasture was attacked by a bull that had been bottle-fed and raised by the family but, according to family members, had become more aggressive recently. The attack was not witnessed, but the man was able to call his wife for assistance on his cell phone before he died and told her he had been attacked. According to the state medical examiner's autopsy report, he died of blunt force injuries to the chest.

Reported by: WT Sanderson, PhD, MD Madsen, MBA, Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health and the Injury Prevention Research Center, College of Public Health, Dept of Occupational and Environmental Health, Univ of Iowa, Iowa City.


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## Countrygent51

From the same report, a summary table:
"Fatalities Caused by Cattle in Four States, 2003-2008" Center for Disease Control, July 31, 2009 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5829a2.htm#tab1


TABLE 1. Characteristics of cattle-caused fatalities --- Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, 2003--2008*&#8224;

Month and year
State
Decedent
Sex
Age (yrs)
Animal involved
Incident

Mar 2003
IA
Cattle farmer
Male
77
Beef cattle
Struck by gate when cattle charged while being herded

Oct 2004
IA
Cattle farmer
Male
48
Beef cattle
Pinned against barn wall while working with cattle

Nov 2004
IA
Dairy farmer
Male
77
Dairy bull
Attacked from behind by bull when feeding dairy cows

Sep 2005
IA
Veterinarian
Male
64
Beef bull
Attacked by bull when vaccinating and applying insecticide on cattle

Nov 2005
IA
Cattle farmer
Male
65
Beef cattle
Crushed against barn door when sorting cattle

Apr 2006
IA
Dairy farmer
Male
65
Dairy bull
Attacked by bull when herding cows for milking

Apr 2006
IA
Dairy farmer
Male
63
Dairy bull
Attacked by bull while moving cows into milking parlor

Aug 2007
IA
Cattle farmer
Male
45
Beef bull
Attacked by bull when alone in pasture

Apr 2003
KS
Cattle farmer
Male
86
Beef calves
Knocked steel gate on top of himself while loading calves onto a trailer

Jul 2005
KS
Cattle farmer
Male
74
Beef bull
Trampled by bull being moved from one pasture to another

Mar 2003
MO
Cattle farmer
Male
71
Beef cows
Found fatally injured in pen with two cows and newborn calf

Feb 2005
MO
Cattle farmer
Male
62
Beef cow
Kicked in head by cow

Aug 2005
MO
Cattle farmer
Female
65
Beef cow
Attacked by cow when removing dead calf from pasture

Dec 2005
MO
Cattle farmer
Male
53
Beef bull
Mauled by aggressive bull in pasture while retrieving cows

Jan 2006
MO
Dairy farmer
Male
39
Dairy bull
Mauled and crushed against barn wall by bull while feeding cows

Sep 2007
MO
Cattle farmer
Male
75
Beef bull
Gored while loading bull into trailer

Jan 2008
MO
Cattle farmer
Male
72
Beef bull
Rammed by bull while feeding cattle

Mar 2003
NE
Cattle farmer
Male
38
Beef cow
Injected with Micotil from syringe in his pocket when cow pushed him down

Mar 2007
NE
Cattle farmer
Male
47
Beef cow
Crushed in pen when attacked by cow with calf

May 2008
NE
Cattle farmer
Male
81
Beef cow
Attacked by cow while working in pen

Jun 2008
NE
ChildÂ§
Male
8
Beef cattle
Crushed while moving cattle through squeeze chute

* Based on cases identified through the Iowa Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (IA FACE) (operated by the University of Iowa on behalf of the Iowa Department of Public Health) and the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH) (part of the University of Iowa's College of Public Health). IA FACE collects basic information on all traumatic occupational fatalities in Iowa as identified primarily through multisource surveillance (by IA FACE staff and professional colleagues across the state) of the media, including newspapers, radio, television, and the internet. Once alerted to a potential occupational death, IA FACE requests reports from investigating authorities such as the local police and sheriff's departments, emergency medical services, and medical examiner. GPCAH surveillance is based solely on reports from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska newspapers and other periodicals. Additional information about IA FACE is available at http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/face. Information on GPCAH is available at http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/gpcah.

&#8224; Cases were defined as occupational fatalities caused by cattle that occurred in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, or Nebraska during 2003--2008. Fatalities that occurred when motor vehicles crashed into cattle on roadways (such as while cattle were being herded with an all-terrain vehicle or pickup truck in a pasture) were excluded.

Â§ Child was killed while helping on the family farm.


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## tinknal

mozarkian said:


> Cattle is like most every thing else-- the wild ones have either not been handled or been handled badly.


Hogwash. Genetics can result in a multitude of different dispositions.


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## mozarkian

Genetics may play a role, but how they are handled, and if they are handled will decide which ones are gonna be trouble.


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## Allen W

mozarkian said:


> Genetics may play a role, but how they are handled, and if they are handled will decide which ones are gonna be trouble.


The heifer that got dad down was born crazy. She was never handled any different then the others.


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## tnokie

I was talking to the guys at the sale barn and they hate to see charlois (spelling?) come thru! They say most of them are wild as all get out when confined to small spaces.


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## tinknal

tnokie said:


> I was talking to the guys at the sale barn and they hate to see charlois (spelling?) come thru! They say most of them are wild as all get out when confined to small spaces.


Yep, and they can jump like a danged white tail deer.


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## bruce2288

I worked with brahmas in Australia. 3 week old calves when cornered in a yard would paw dirt and charge. It was a funny thing to see. We never took horses into the cattle yards with the cows, they would charge. This mans bulls were the gentlest cattle. You could walk up grab them by the neck and lead them.


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## greengrow

In general Dairy bulls are mean and cows Ok, and the reverse in beef types.

Worked a 200 purebred Limo herd not too many issues, had more problems with freshed calves Salers, and espesially Char. Many of the Char cows would come over their own calf and the quad to get at me. 

The more time you spend with cows the better behaved they will be, but you can never trust them, and you need room. Many times when people are hurt by a gate or trampled etc the cows were not trying to be bad, just they are a lot bigger than us.

I always use a stick when walking thru or working cows. They then assume that it is part of me, not "O he has a stick then today is a bad day"


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