Whats your favorite breed and why?
 

Mine is Highland.
Self sufficiency.
Hearty.
Healthy.
Heard protective.
Small.
Cant even think of a negative.
Second would be Kerry.
Same basic reasons accept less protective.

JERSEY
Hardy
Wonderful milk
Delicious meat
Great attitudes
Easy to handle
Good Marketability
Easy calving
Beautiful

This is not to say that other breeds aren't good, but Jerseys are my favorite.

Jerseys, because they're beautiful. And I like thick, rich cream.

Dexter

I don't have much land, so I need smaller cattle in order to have a few. I could only have a couple of larger ones.

I like their gentleness, too.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

Of the breeds I have owned, I like black Angus. They are gentle and easy to handle, real laid back. At least mine were. Don't know if that's a breed characteristic or if it depends on bloodlines.

I sure would like to get hold of a Normandie for milking, though. I like what I've read about them.

Jersey or Red Holstien.

Why?? Red because that is what I grew up with and Jersey cuz they are SOOOOO cute! But they could all use some better udders!

It would be hard to narrow it down to just one breed! But Guar are at the top of the list!

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...anch/GuarO.jpg

Here is one of our zebu heifers playing with the dog:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...ferwbailey.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...erwbailey2.jpg

www.spectrumranch.net

I like brahman cross. There good hardy cattle and handle the heat well.

I like Dexter. I like the size for a small family farm, they produce great tasting milk, they are docile and just darn pretty. We are beginning a journey of wanting to produce family cows that the average, or even below average income joe can afford one.

Guernsey
 

SO easy to work with. Pleasing to see. Wish their genetics had progressed to a commercial cow faster. Family tradition. My mom grew up on a Guernsey and Jersey dairy. I like Swiss too. I have to work with Holsteins as that is what is around here. There are good and bad in every breed.

I like my Dexters, but I would like to look into the Kerry cattle. Just can't afford them or find them....

Ayrshire. Cuz They're ornery like me,LOL.

SpectrumRanch - What are origins of Guar? USA population? Primary purpose?

BTW my brother worked with Zebu while in Africa serving in the Peace Corp.

Black angus, due to their marketing advantages.

I guess it depends on what your wanting the animal for. For an all-rounder on a small farm, in my opinion you can't beat the Jersey. Placid and easy to handle, good milk and cream producers, good foragers, hardier than people give them credit for, don't pug up wet country so badly and produce excellent meat and sufficient of it to feed the average family.

If it's straight beef , then the Angus takes top honours with Hereford and Simmental following.

It all comes down to personal choice and experience coupled to some degree with the type of country one lives in.

Cheers,
Ronnie

Right now my favorite is Senepol
Cause I like red cattle
Cause they're heat tolerant and tick resistant
Cause they are a dual purpose breed for both beef and milking
Cause they have short hair...and
Cause they are a little off the main track...but not so different as to be impractical.

But I also like the Red Pol and Red Angus...so maybe some kind of cross would be in order?

We have Brown Swiss , Jerseys, Ayrshires and some mixes- I go with the Jerseys, easy to handle, easy to milk, great personailty.

well blue8ewe im with you on this one!
i love the highland cattle, you can beef them out or milk them!(if thay are calm )
i have raisd them for years and still love them.

Gelbvieh-Angus-Herford cross. Beef cow with good mothering, milking, calving ease, fast growing calves with high weaning weight, high yearling wt. and good feedlot performance.

BROWN SWISS I don't know why. I guess because they are big, fuzzy, and for the most part real sweet if raised with love, if not they can be a handful.

My favorite...
 

I apparently have the ONLY mean Jersey in Texas, so she is NOT my favorite.

Here's my favorite!
Highlands X Galloway

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/koepke/ai1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/koepke/Aileas.jpg

Dexters Dexters Dexters!
 

Dexters are my favorite.

How can you resist this boy? Sayin' Merry Chirstmas!

http://www.geocities.com/dexter_cattle/g/hottyxmas.jpg

Dexter semen available

Now:

Black Angus
Hereford
good to great meat critters plus fl black Baldies. Not hard to work with well must if the time

and hoping to like Dexters for dairy, getting one in the spring.

Jerseys, because their milk is more marketable to folks who like fresh milk. The cream is what most of my customers are after. They're also pretty gentle!

We've had several breeds (and mongrels) here at Wolf Cairn Moor, and *we've looked into many others, but we have kept and will keep Jerseys. They're not as flashy or as hyped up as many others breeds, but from every angle we can figure they are the best choice for us. Size, temperment, milk production, cream production, ease of breeding/calving, ease of finding a breeder, cost of feeding, and the list could go on longer than anyone is interested in reading such a list.





*I've looked into many others (I'm a sucker for flash and hype when it comes to livestock), and wasted copious sums of money on nonsense breeds, and nonsense cattle; Herself said from the beginning Jerseys were best for us.

That is, quite possibly, the cutest bovine I have ever seen.

Can I have him?

Shorthorn
Docile
Maternal
Milk well
Great for crossbreeding
Easy calving
And I love the colors.

Jersey

Personality, milk quality, and temperment.

Angus, AngusX, Red Angus, Red AngusX... (cross being w/ white-faces)
Easy to bucket train
Docile (most of the time)
Do well on grass
Colour :)

My favorite breed is the Dexter. These little cows are dual purpose and loaded with personality. Our Dexters are very intelligent. My little milk cow gave enough milk for her calf and for the house without overwhelming us.

Favorite breed
 

Affordable ones, who raise good calves.

I think mine is the Jersey cow. If they are the cows with the big beautiful eyes, they are my favorite!
May God Bless You!
Belle

How about the one in my freezer.

I want to find a miniture or lowline Brangus in South texas. I need something smaller that isn't so hard on fences. Neighbor has a couple of miniture hereford steers and they are really cute.

No real favorite here, but I find that raising week old bottle calves challenging, stressfull, and rewarding. No matter the breed, they sure are all cute when they are small.

Dexters...for all the practical reasons. They are triple purpose when you add draft power in. They are great for small holdings. They are gentle and personable. Give just the right amount of milk with rich cream and plenty of protien for the cheese makers. AND I must say the calves are absolutely the cutest thing you'll ever see...

Holsteins :baby04:

Their inquizitive nature
Their high milk production
Their dual purpose... they taste good! :)

Belle, on average how much milk will your Jersey cow give per day? thanks

I stated earlier in this thread that my favorite breed is Jersey, and that's very true. However, my favorite two cows of all time had no Jersey blood in them as far as I know: My very first milk cow was some sort of brindle Guernsey cross, Susie. That cow had personality you couldn't believe! If I slept too long, she'd bellow outside my window until I got up to milk her. My other favorite was a Brown-Swiss/Holstein cross, a big black girl I raised from three days old. She had the calmest disposition of any cow I've owned, bar none. One time she was bloated, and she stood and let Cliff put the tube down her without a protest... and without being tied up.

We have a mix of all grass fed cattle which we process @ 900 - 1000#:

Blk Angus -gentle to work with, produce the best ratio of meat per
weight and the flavor of meat is outstanding.
Red Angus - same as Blk
Hereford - great taste in older culled brooders, good mothering abilities but
harass other animals with their horns.
Holstein - gentle to work with and produce great tasty meat but less meat
when compared to Angus.
Jersey - Same as Holstein, make wonderful nurse cows and provide lovely
table milk.
Charolais - Same as Angus.

One characteristic of all breeds is a troublesome calf. They love to separate
themselves from the herd to find greener grass in the field you don't want
them. :cowboy:

I'm sorry Grandma's Crew, ...but how can anyone accept semen from a bull dressed up like that? ....somehow it just feels wrong. I don't know, kinda like I'm stealing from Santa, or something.....