R.A. x Fleck cross?

[burnt]

I am planning to look at a group of 2/3 yr. old Red Angus/Fleck cross pairs tomorrow. They have red Jan. calves beside them.

Any input as to your experiences with this cross as mommas? Pros and cons. Milk? Temperament? The plan would be to cross them with our black bulls.


Kind of a mixed up time right now. I don't like what I am encountering with the rebuilding of a barn - regulated to death in this part of the country. Hard to justify the cost of rebuilding with a small herd.

Our herd got a lot smaller over the winter with culling opens and bad udders and we lost a few cows to accidents and hip troubles plus we have a couple more that showed heat recently

So it's a matter of rebuilding both a herd and a barn or giving it all up and raising a few calves for our own use and small retail customer base . . .

 

[Grassfarmer]

Our experience with this cross has been fairly good. Bought 15 heifer calves that reared 100% for their first 3 years which is a pretty good record for any breed or cross. Since then we've shipped about half - nearly always for being open but for half to get to 9 years old is fairly good in my experience for anything that is half continental. They just have too much milk, and a little too much size for our system and this affects their fertility. They generally have good temperament and do rear great calves if your system suits them. I think I would prefer the old fashioned baldie over this cross if I were running a crossbred herd - better longevity, more flesh and less milk plus you would get a calf easier to fatten off grass.

 

[per]

Lots of experience with this cross. My whole herd was Fleckvieh X Angus for many years. They fatten on grass just fine as long as you stay away from the Swiss types. We moved to all Angus bulls 5 years ago so are slowly moving to predominate Angus. Still calving out D,E,F,and G series cows that are mostly Sim so longevity doesn't seem to be an issue nor is disposition. The calves seem to stay too long in the cow and are too much work for me. I like that the Angus land on their feet and are looking for lunch. Our Flecks land laying down and need a nap before lunch.

 

[Northern Rancher]

A Fleck/RA cow will produce more calf and be easier on herself doing it than alot of straightbred Angus cows. Not as easy fleshing as a baldie but still pretty good. We just culled a 16 year old that came up open after raising twins-not many warm blanklets over the years for her.

 

[gcreekrch]

RA/Sim to me is the most appealing crossbred in the mix. I am more inclined to prefer 3/8 or 1/4 Sim blood as they are a little smaller framed and don't produce so much milk as to be a problem. If you are planning on crossing them with BA be prepared to get some grey calves. We've even had an occasional rat-tail result.

Without looking at the cows I would guess you will be very happy with them.

 

[Soapweed]

About fifteen years ago, I bought two well-muscled beefy red baldy Fleckvieh bulls at a sale for $850 each. I used these bulls on our Red Angus/Gelbvieh cows for several years, with great results. I think you will like them. The only problem I foresee is that by using black bulls on your Fleckvieh cross cows, occasional grey calves might happen. If you would use a red bull on these cows instead, the calves would turn out red.

 

[JBC]

I used RA bulls on Fleck cows in the early 90's to knock the spots off. Best heifers we have ever raised. We used RA bulls for several years before trying other breeds. Most of the cowherd is solid red now and for the last 2 years we have gone back to red baldy simmis. These calves are as good as the first cross years ago and a whole lot better than anything in between. You should really like them.



JBC