I have the chance to buy a 3/4 Red angus 1/4 Simmental bull. What are opinions on this cross? We have some red angus and love then and I believe the simmi would add some frame. Let me know what ya'll think.
Red Angus/Simmental cross
- Thread starter 4Diamond
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rancherfred
Well-known member
I have been doing some crossbreeding on my red angus cattle for several years now. A couple things I have found from my own experience. It will affect your herd's disposition. Most I have talked to say that it is just the herd I got the bulls out of. The only problem is that I have been experiencing some disposition problem with AI sired calves as well. That leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the disposition of the entire breed is not as good as red angus is. The problems that we have had is when you begin to work with them they have a tendency to have a much shorter fuse than the red angus do. Furthermore, they don't get over being mad.
I had a group of steers that I was shipping. There were several AI sired bulls in the group that I had pinched when they didn't grow out the way that I wanted them to. I had 85 head in the group and got them all in real gentle and easy. Before I could close the gates on them they turned around a came back out over top of me, led by one of the sim cross steers. We worked for quite a while and finally got them back in only to have three make it out again before we could get the gates closed on them. I spent a couple hours trying to work them back to the corral and could never get them in. I finally gave up and went back about 5 days later. When I drove in with my ATV they started shaking their heads and threatening me when I was still a couple hundred yards off.
They don't have to be that way because not all of them act that way. However, I have seen to many of them act that way to say it is just a sire line, it is across multiple sires. I have had better luck with the Red Caesar sired cattle than with Top Gun or Dominance. Dominance sired calves are probably the worst I have had for disposition. I have also ran into some problems with Red Label calves. I have had pretty good experience with Beefmaker sired calves.
I can't complain much about anything else, but the disposition will be something I cull on very hard. I have been pretty happy with confirmation and other production measures.
I had a group of steers that I was shipping. There were several AI sired bulls in the group that I had pinched when they didn't grow out the way that I wanted them to. I had 85 head in the group and got them all in real gentle and easy. Before I could close the gates on them they turned around a came back out over top of me, led by one of the sim cross steers. We worked for quite a while and finally got them back in only to have three make it out again before we could get the gates closed on them. I spent a couple hours trying to work them back to the corral and could never get them in. I finally gave up and went back about 5 days later. When I drove in with my ATV they started shaking their heads and threatening me when I was still a couple hundred yards off.
They don't have to be that way because not all of them act that way. However, I have seen to many of them act that way to say it is just a sire line, it is across multiple sires. I have had better luck with the Red Caesar sired cattle than with Top Gun or Dominance. Dominance sired calves are probably the worst I have had for disposition. I have also ran into some problems with Red Label calves. I have had pretty good experience with Beefmaker sired calves.
I can't complain much about anything else, but the disposition will be something I cull on very hard. I have been pretty happy with confirmation and other production measures.
Soapweed
Well-known member
At one time I had a real nice red colored herd besides our black Angus. Regretfully, I dispersed the red cows a year or two before they became popular. :? 
:wink:
I always bred the red cows to red bulls, and the black cows to black bulls. Red on red will always produce red offspring, but black on black can occasionally produce a red-colored throwback. When I was buying red bulls for our red cows, I had a chance to buy some half Red Angus-half Simmental nice looking red bulls worth the money. Greg Arendt from Valentine Livestock tried to convince me to go all Red Angus and forget the Simmental. In retrospect, I wish I had listened to him. The good big Red Angus are always very saleable, but too much Simmental can sure bring down the price per pound.
:wink: I always bred the red cows to red bulls, and the black cows to black bulls. Red on red will always produce red offspring, but black on black can occasionally produce a red-colored throwback. When I was buying red bulls for our red cows, I had a chance to buy some half Red Angus-half Simmental nice looking red bulls worth the money. Greg Arendt from Valentine Livestock tried to convince me to go all Red Angus and forget the Simmental. In retrospect, I wish I had listened to him. The good big Red Angus are always very saleable, but too much Simmental can sure bring down the price per pound.
Been there done that. In my experience the Sim crossed with any angus (red or black) did not take our Missouri native fescue very well. All of my sim crossed cows are Hi headed and hard keepers. Thank goodness I don't have many left. Honestly you could not run fast enough to give me a Sim crossed anything. Just my opinion, in my enviroment, where we routinely cross fescue with cedar trees!
loomixguy
Well-known member
IMHO, even one drop of Simmental blood would be too much.
High Plains
Well-known member
I have Sim-Angus (black) cows and get along great with them. A blanket statement about disposition just doesn't seem to capture the picture for the whole breed. They're probably not as docile as say, a Hereford, but I get along fine and they're better than a couple of Angus cows I recently bought. It's a matter of the prior handling in this case. US MARC has some halfblood Red Angus - Simmental cows and I think the cowboys down there will tell you they are the best producers that they have. Calves are really good. That quarter-blood Simmi bull isn't going to hurt your program one bit. Not enough there to matter anyway, but what Simmental does come through in the calves is likely to bring good things your way.
By the way, I also really like straightbred Angus and Red Angus so I'm not just barn blind on the deal. If you like the bull then you should have no fear. :shock: Thank me later.
By the way, I also really like straightbred Angus and Red Angus so I'm not just barn blind on the deal. If you like the bull then you should have no fear. :shock: Thank me later.
In this neck of the woods the Simmies sell just as well as Angus, the only place there is no comparison is in the dollars per head. We calve a lot of each and I would never claim the Angus to be the more docile of the two. I've always figured the only time Simmental breeding does a cow harm is when she doesn't have any :wink:
3Rancher
Active member
I agree with Silver. Simm will help add some muscle to those angus cattle