Speaking of strange predators

[kstaven]

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Deep dark dirty secret is that they introduced beef lines years ago to try to get them to flesh out better and faster, and then line bred to stabilize that trait. It worked, but it also locked in some bad characteristics. Feed conversion isn't as good as the precross and milk production is down over the original true dexter. Yet these cows still qualify at this point in history to be "registered dexters".

 

[cjeanean]

that's messed up, I always thought cows were sweet and gentle and the bulls were always mean....

 

[joebryant]

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Yeah, me too.

 

[kodiakchicken]

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I agree 100% on that statement - especially with miniature livestock! I cannot list the number of Shetland ponies I have been around that are so mean you don't dare turn your back on them! And everyone thinks they are so cute and perfect for kids. I'd rather have my daughter riding bulls at the rodeo than take on a Shetland.

 

[Cara]

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I agree 100% on that statement - especially with miniature livestock! I cannot list the number of Shetland ponies I have been around that are so mean you don't dare turn your back on them! And everyone thinks they are so cute and perfect for kids. I'd rather have my daughter riding bulls at the rodeo than take on a Shetland.

LOL We had that same conversation; my husband outright refuses to buy our kids (when we have them!) a pony. They'll have old gentle horses to ride.

The same goes for dogs too, and short men LOL We have a bantam rooster my husband named after a guy that used to work here because they are so similar in personality.

 

[nnbreeder]

Shoot give me a pen full of bulls over cows any day of the week! I've been put over the fence by many more cows, whether they had calves or not, then by bulls. Even Bodacious, one of the top rodeo bulls, was a lover unless he was in the chute. Heck little kids had their pictures took while on his back! But if a cowboy drew his card he just might as well give his info to the emercency crews cause most left in the back of an ambulance.

 

[ninjapoodles]

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I agree 100% on that statement - especially with miniature livestock! I cannot list the number of Shetland ponies I have been around that are so mean you don't dare turn your back on them! And everyone thinks they are so cute and perfect for kids. I'd rather have my daughter riding bulls at the rodeo than take on a Shetland.

See, and I've never met a "bad" Shetland. Bella's pony that we just lost was the absolute perfect child's mount. And the farm that she came from had dozens just like her. All you have to do is watch any Shetland show or the nat'l Congress and see TINY children handling these wonderful ponies like lapdogs. The ones I've known have been loving and kind. I think a lot of the bad rap that ponies get is because they've been roughly (not intentionally, usually, but just out of a lack of finesse) handled by numerous riders, and then passed along to one new owner after another once they're outgrown.

I think the person who talked about livestock (and pets, for that matter) being bred to meet an artificially created demand, and "breeders" sacrificing quality and temperament for more $$$ hit the nail on the head! Find the breeders who are concerned with the preservation of foundation stock, and you'll find your quality animals.

 

[Cara]

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The same goes for the bulls here. When I first saw them I was terrified, but they really are usually a lot more docile and quite lazy. They can catch you out as they can move very quickly despite their size, but cows are usually a lot quicker to anger.

 

[ninjapoodles]

I should add that my miniature poodles are 100% as wonderful as my standards. Are there some crappy ones out there, being bred to meet a demand for cheap pets? Sure. But the good ones are in NO way diminished in quality from the large ones, and in fact have far fewer health worries and a larger gene pool.

Sorry for the hijacking...I guess it just always pains me to hear sweeping generalizations about any breed of animal, based on observations of poorly bred and/or mistreated individuals. Ask me how many tiny children my "flighty" Arabians have carried.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Wow, that's amazing and terrible!

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Tastes like chicken?