Quietest breeds of cattle and sheep

[Neddy flanders]

Which suckler cows would not get out of a sensible three strand barbed wire fence. Ever.

Which could you walk up to and stroke or usher quietly into a pen for dosing etc. None of this chasing them around the county. Yes I know it's about how they've been brought up etc, and Jerseys prob better than Limmys. Any other ideas.

 

[GTB]

Hereford cattle without a doubt. Any breed of sheep can be tamed with feed surely but Suffolks would have to be up there as laziest?

 

[Cowgirl]

Traditional Herefords.

 

[jemski]

Dorsets

 

[crofteress]

If you think you can pick cattle by the breed for temperament traits then you may well get a few surprises down the road. It really doesn't work like that. The very quietest cows you can find can be the ones that will surprise you. A jumpy cow might be the one that likes the crush and goes straight in, a lazy quiet cow could be a stubborn bitch .It really really doesn't work like that. I would say it more depends on the breed of the person .

 

[borderterribles]

I'm not sure that temperament can be defined by breed alone. When I had Simmy sucklers, they were quiet to handle, but the ones that I looked at, with a view to buy, generally weren't at all quiet. Some years later when we had Herefords, ( which we'd changed to for reasons of temperament), I went to Shrewsbury Auction to a Hereford dispersal. The cows were borderline mental, so I guess it's down to either strains within a breed, or nurture rather than nature.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Always find blues pretty quiet

 

[GTB]

Wild man, wild cattle but there is a big difference between a Hereford X and a limo X

 

[beefandsleep]

Quiet cows will still test fences but if it's quiet temperament you want then you won't beat herefords.

 

[spin cycle]

bought some char x cheviots that were wild as hell....yr later i can barely get the mule though them

 

[borderterribles]

Dorsets

When we had Poll Dorsets, we used to refer to them as Can't be Ar*ed Sheep, because they were so docile!

 

[Nithsdale]

Hereford cattle without a doubt. Any breed of sheep can be tamed with feed surely but Suffolks would have to be up there as laziest?

The tups are ok, but them Suffolk (cross) lambs i have running are as wild as sin when they are in the pens!! Completely nuts compared to the Texel and Lleyn lambs

 

[Weasel]

Which suckler cows would not get out of a sensible three strand barbed wire fence. Ever.

Which could you walk up to and stroke or usher quietly into a pen for dosing etc. None of this chasing them around the county. Yes I know it's about how they've been brought up etc, and Jerseys prob better than Limmys. Any other ideas.

Dead ones haha

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Good old Angus are about as tame as they get. Hereford just a teeny bit more flighty by direct comparison?
Took 3 and 4 days respectively to get my new calves eating out of my hand off 6500ac of hill. So they'd be my pick.
Want tame sheep? Drysdale!

 

[GTB]

Good old Angus are about as tame as they get. Hereford just a teeny bit more flighty by direct comparison?
Took 3 and 4 days respectively to get my new calves eating out of my hand off 6500ac of hill. So they'd be my pick.
Want tame sheep? Drysdale!

In my limited experience the Herefords are quite a bit quieter than angus. In fact our first bunch of angus X heifers (out of Herefords) were so flighty when we tb tested recently that we've put buying another angus bull on hold for now just to see how they pan out. Very nice looking heifers though.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

I've not experienced pure Hereford but am led to believe they are quiet. But the Blue x dairy cows I have are way quieter than the Hereford x dairy I used to work with for someone else. Far less likely to have 'temperament issues' at calving too.

Another nobody's mentioned is Stabiliser - I can walk up to many of mine in the field. However they are far more 'maternal' around calving.

 

[topground]

Tie up spring calving heifers for the winter and you will have quiet cows, even Limi crosses, a Vet told me years ago and it works.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I've not experienced pure Hereford but am led to believe they are quiet. But the Blue x dairy cows I have are way quieter than the Hereford x dairy I used to work with for someone else. Far less likely to have 'temperament issues' at calving too.

Another nobody's mentioned is Stabiliser - I can walk up to many of mine in the field. However they are far more 'maternal' around calving.

The blue x friesan takes some beating for quietness

 

[jemski]

When we had Poll Dorsets, we used to refer to them as Can't be Ar*ed Sheep, because they were so docile!

I call them lazy bitches!

 

[Wishful Thinker]

All about your management, buy them young treat them well and any breed will get on to your way of thinking.