Why did you choose your breed?

[rynophiliac]

I would like to hear from other ranchers as to why they are using a particular breed cattle. We have mostly angus and angus cross and are considering introducing another breed to gain some hybrid vigor with our calves. We are in a northern AZ high desert ranch with lots of water and good feed. A bit mountainous but not too bad. Looking into the pros and cons of each breed including hereford, charrolais, or??? It's all about increasing the health of the herd and profits. What breed are you running and why did you choose that particular breed?

 

[Big Swede]

When I was introduced to this site 5 or 6 years ago my first post was similar to yours rynophiliac. I was considering cross breeding my angus herd to get some hybrid vigor. I had tried Hereford a few years earlier and was unimpressed with the results. I even bought a couple Charolais but chickened out before turnout time. It has taken a long time to get my Angus herd where it is now with selection and culling. These cows are so maintainence free now I would hate to screw up the progress I had made. So in the end I decided to not cross with anything and have stayed the course. I know I am giving up some fertility and longevity as well as weaning weight but with hybrid vigor comes bigger cows, potential calving difficulty, disposition issues, and udder quality. Calving season here is a hands off proposition so I can't afford problems caused by me. Good luck with your decision.
:wink: 8)

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I run mainly Angus and some baldy cows , I did buy a few Herefords from a pretty good herd but they took a couple years to "Acclimatize". I raise a few PB and use the bulls on the commercial herd. I have used a couple Hereford bulls in the past and last year I tried a couple Welsh Black bulls. I got some good baldy calves but both bulls had to go for various reasons. Hoping the Welsh Black put a little more "ruggedness"back in the Angus.
I think there is possibly just about as much difference within breeds and between breeds.
Nice thing about raising cattle you can pretty much raise whatever makes you happy.

 

[rynophiliac]

Big Swede,

I'm glad you posted. That was the last thing I expected to hear. The grass is always greener on the other side! lol. With our last ranch we ran corriente mainly because we only had two wells on the entire ranch and the corrientes were the only breed that would run for miles to find feed then come back to get water. We had one small pasture with a small herd of charrolais. They also did well but they didn't seem to sell for top dollar at the market like other beef breeds did. We probably could have run brangus but we never did try it then we sold the place.

Our new ranch has plenty of water throughout and we purchased a nice set of angus cross cows with the place. The previous owner has done a great job improving the herd the last 5 years he has owned it and we have just introduced a few low BW angus bulls from express ranches to further improve the herd but I always wonder about the what if. The most important thing to me is a gentle, easy going cattle and no calving difficulties. I'd still like to hear from some others that have had success with cross breeding though.

 

[jeff in ca]

I have always been one to buck the wind. I bought a load of Shorthorn cows a year and a half ago. Why? Because I when I was looking for cattle to buy these came up and I got them from a reputable breeder and the price was right. I am in the business for the long haul and I know these cattle will make me money in the long run. On my second calf crop with these cows and one the biggest calves I have is out of one the smallest cows in the herd.
Good cattle come in all colors and breeds. The best cattle are the ones that run on your pasture and bring home a calf every year. I plan to buy a Simmental bull for a clean up. We will A Iing to black bull on everything but a few Shorts to keep for replacements.

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[3 M L & C]

Well whaterver you choose one thing to keep in mind is uniformity even in coat color. When anyone around has one of those smokey char cross calves at the sale barn they cut them out and buy them for diddly squat. So by the time you have two or three you lost all the money gained by the bigger calves.

 

[Soapweed]

Big Swede raises some valid points, and I agree with him totally about sticking with straight Angus. They are good cattle with few problems, and the best thing is they are very saleable. I have messed with several other breeds through the years but have decided to stick with the black Angus. The more cattle you can sort into uniform lots, the easier they are to market. It's also much easier keeping replacement heifers if they are all of the same breed.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Faster horses]

I'm of the same thought as Big Swede and Soapweed. If you breed straight angus, nowdays you can get as much or more for the heifer calves (as replacements) as you can for the steers.

We have found Angus are pretty much maintenance free when you provide them with proper nutrition.

We never had Red Angus, but to me that breed requires some serious thought, IF you can find some for sale. They are my favorite. When we changed breeds back in 1979, I wanted Red Angus, but they were few and
far between. A friend of ours is crossing Red Angus on Black Angus/Simm
cows and liking the results. He does get an occasional red one, however.

Good luck with whatever you do. If you calve out, remember, a little live calf is worth more than a big dead one. :?

 

[Shortgrass]

I like the feed efficiency of Charolais. No eye or sunburned bag problems. I have had lots of people who don't raise them tell me of the calving difficulties they have, but I pulled more Red Angus cross calves last year than straight Chars in the previous three years. I've also been told how wild Chars are, but I like the disposition on mine. The wildest cow I ever had on the place was Herford, but that don't make Herfords a wild breed. There are traits that can and ought to be selected for within any breed. There are lots of good cattle out there; what do you like? I like my Chars but I will add that I have gone to an all Red Angus bull battery. I like them, too. The RA cross calves outweighed my straight Char calves 17 pounds. Pounds I like, and these white cows have delivered in that category. The cross even better.

 

[4Diamond]

I run angus in a spring calving herd, but if the money holds out I plan to start a small red angus fall calving herd. My dad has every color of cow under the sun and the red angus bulls do a fantastic job of making a more uniform color and consistent calf crop. Tired with the black angus but we were not happy with the results..

 

[bllcattle]

Very interesting little thread. In this industry you always must raise what works for you and what will perform in your envirnoment. Must be profitable most of all. Funny in eastern montana how many true dyed black outfits are starting to not except the black holsteins that has taken over the angus breed. More opens every year, less pounds weighed every year, no longeivty left in these cows, less salvage value on there culls and more problems then what grandfather had with herefords. So many have been crossbreeding with about anything trying to fix many of these issues. Also angus breeder selection, trying to find a true angus again. Angus is still king but lots and lots of cattleman see through the black color... Just go set in any sales ring and see these cull cows coming in out of rough country and tell me they are range cattle.

 

[WyomingRancher]

I like the feed efficiency of Charolais. No eye or sunburned bag problems. I have had lots of people who don't raise them tell me of the calving difficulties they have, but I pulled more Red Angus cross calves last year than straight Chars in the previous three years. I've also been told how wild Chars are, but I like the disposition on mine. The wildest cow I ever had on the place was Herford, but that don't make Herfords a wild breed. There are traits that can and ought to be selected for within any breed. There are lots of good cattle out there; what do you like? I like my Chars but I will add that I have gone to an all Red Angus bull battery. I like them, too. The RA cross calves outweighed my straight Char calves 17 pounds. Pounds I like, and these white cows have delivered in that category. The cross even better.

I bet those are outstanding calves, please post some pics when you get the chance .

 

[rynophiliac]

Red angus is one breed I don't know a lot about. Why would one use red angus rather than black angus?

 

[Faster horses]

Red angus is one breed I don't know a lot about. Why would one use red angus rather than black angus?

I would say disposition for one. They might tolerate heat better for another.
I just like the way they look. I'm not knocking Black Angus as I have a
huge respect for that breed and that is what we raised for many years;
straight bred Black Angus and they served us very well.

I like red baldies and black baldies. I just don't like what happens after that
first cross. I know there are many others here that don't feel that way. To each his own, of course. I'm not trying to have a conflict with what anyone
believes. This is my own opinion FWIW. I like cows that work for you; not
cause you more work. :wink:

Shoot, I like shorthorn cows. Would I want to own a herd of them? Probably not.

 

[LazyWP]

I'm not sure how many of these cows I have here are full blood Red Angus, but they aren't doing much to impress me with the breed!! Maybe its my attitude that stinks, but these cows are a whole bunch harder to handle then the old high percentage Limmy cows were. I am sure its just this bunch of cows, but....

 

[Soapweed]

When I was a kid growing up, my guess is that the ratio of cattle breeds in this area was 75% Hereford, 25% Angus, and just a minute smattering of Shorthorns. The other breeds had not made an appearance at that time in Cherry County, Nebraska.

My grandmother's brother gave his opinion to me, in probably about 1960. He said, "If you sell calves, probably Angus would be the way to go. Angus calves are easier fleshing and weigh more at weaning time than does a Hereford. If you sell yearlings, go with Herefords. They seem to catch up with Angus calves during the winter and outgain the Angus during the summer. Hereford yearling steers weigh more than Angus yearling steers on average." Those were the wise words of an oldtimer, and who was I to dispute what he had to say.

Another friend who was a generation older than me had lots of observations and experience from working on different ranches in different parts of the American West. His opinion was that Angus cows make the best mothers, but he qualified that statement by saying that when range conditions became bad, the Angus cow would stick with her calf and they would both die. A Hereford cow, he said, wasn't that good of a mother, and when things got tough by way of drought or blizzard, the Hereford cow would abandon her calf to save herself. That sounds unheroic on the cow's part, but at least the factory would still be alive and functional.

All I know is what I have observed from listening to lots of old cowboy stories through the years.

 

[andybob]

I needed a breed that required minimal attention, as I had a time consuming military commitment. Using a breed with calving ease, docility, good heat tolerance and a high resistance to parasites and tick/fly bourn diseases. I was able to buy my first Tuli heifers and four bulls direct from the government breeding program, they had not been intended to be a commercial breed, but rather a pure improved Sanga breed for distribution to local tribal communities to improve their stock without compromising their hardiness and ability to thrive on poor,bulky forage.

 

[Faster horses]

When I was a kid growing up, my guess is that the ratio of cattle breeds in this area was 75% Hereford, 25% Angus, and just a minute smattering of Shorthorns. The other breeds had not made an appearance at that time in Cherry County, Nebraska.

My grandmother's brother gave his opinion to me, in probably about 1960. He said, "If you sell calves, probably Angus would be the way to go. Angus calves are easier fleshing and weigh more at weaning time than does a Hereford. If you sell yearlings, go with Herefords. They seem to catch up with Angus calves during the winter and outgain the Angus during the summer. Hereford yearling steers weigh more than Angus yearling steers on average." Those were the wise words of an oldtimer, and who was I to dispute what he had to say.

Another friend who was a generation older than me had lots of observations and experience from working on different ranches in different parts of the American West. His opinion was that Angus cows make the best mothers, but he qualified that statement by saying that when range conditions became bad, the Angus cow would stick with her calf and they would both die. A Hereford cow, he said, wasn't that good of a mother, and when things got tough by way of drought or blizzard, the Hereford cow would abandon her calf to save herself. That sounds unheroic on the cow's part, but at least the factory would still be alive and functional.

All I know is what I have observed from listening to lots of old cowboy stories through the years.

It was the same way in Wyoming, Soap. We started with Herefords, maybe a couple of roan cows.

The advice we were given went like this, "once you go black, you'll never go back." :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Bar M]

I use Char bulls on red and yes even black cows. And I will say with the Char bulls and any other breed there will be calving issues disposition and any other reason the you can think of to cull. The biggest thing is what makes you money. There will be people who prefer one breed over the other just pickups four-wheelers equip. the list goes on and on. But in my eyes there is nothing prettier then a set of char x calves lined up at the bunk.

 

[rynophiliac]

Bar M, why did you choose Charolais bulls? Because of the calves growth? Have you tried any other bulls to compare them to?