Red Polled Cattle for the Homestead?

DJ in WA · #21 04/08/11, 11:04 PM

I'm thinking it's hard to generalize about the milk and beef production of a certain breed. Wouldn't take too many generations to turn a herd of angus into dairy cattle, or holsteins into beefers. Just depends on what someone is selecting for.

trbizwiz · #22 04/09/11, 11:51 AM

They still are great milkers, but nowhere near Holstein. I can tell you from first hand experience they can go through winter on no grain and less than one bail of hay with proper forage management. Mine will start calving in the next day or two and in a few months I can verify how well they breed back.

Jovid · #23 05/09/11, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plain vision

Drew, i guess the Red Poll is supposed to be very tender and then another site i came across said their meat was like the Limousin.

They are one of the most tender meat breeds. It is NOT like Limousin

Jovid · #24 05/09/11, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHinCA

Don't have any current info on Red Polls, but know they aren't new. I have an 85 year old relative on my dad's side who still talks about the Dairy her dad had and his Red Poll cattle. That must have been in the 1930's in Oregon.

They came to the United States in the late 1,800s. The American Red Poll Association was started in 1883

trbizwiz · #25 05/09/11, 10:07 AM

Very easy keepers too. Both of my bred heifers delivered completely unassisted last month. One had a 65 lb calf and the other had a 70 lb calf. The sire was a 105 lb calf. I know that was dumb on my part, but I knew the sire came from a grain fed herd, adn I knew I do an all grass diet. I really like the height and structure of the sire so I figured we would give it a go. THe grass diet seems to help have smaller calves. But the are both very healthy and so are the mommas. THey delivered 1 day apart. Both bull calves

The mommas are both in good enough condition to breed back now. They haven't started heat cycles yet, but I will likely breed them this summer. Also I will let the mommas ween their own calves. I have good forage, and they can handle the load.
As a side note, I fed less than half a bale of hay this winter and we had record snow. Also I feed ZERO grain. These cows have the capability of surviving in good condition on a forage only diet. Try that with an angus...

I did have 4 dairy steers in the rotation with my red polls. They also got the all grass diet. They were a little thin coming out of winter, but they are gaining nicely now. I dont think a holstein bred heifer would have made ti through the winter on a grass diet.

fink38 · #26 03/15/14, 08:55 PM

Came across this thread and this may not be helpful. First off try redpollusa.org to find information and breeders. I have 12 Red Poll Cattle as of right now. I have been able to purchase them at reasonable prices from breeders. As with any novelty breed, I have to drive a bit, as there are not any herds right next door. I figure that I need to get them growing and promote them and maybe they will become more common in my area. As for the cattle, they are very docile. They are great milkers as far as beef go, I grafted a Jersey steer onto a mom last year and she raised her calf and the Jersey. That gives me two steers to market, the second essentially cost me $20. I am doing all grass fed and this is the best meat I have EVER had in my 38 years. I am a rookie farmer and was worried that I would mess up the beef. Even not knowing what I was doing really well, a customer of mine called and said it was best he had ever had as well. Consider that he bad mouthed grass fed to the point I didn't want to sell to him. He was insistent on helping us out by buying a side and he raved about it. He already sold an additional quarter for me next year. I could go on and on.....o yeah, I am in Ohio, so message me if still looking