FS cow/calf pair Dexter / Highlander / Holstein

By all means, if it works for you, then go for it:-)

I am fussy about crossing out, but in reality, I have done so myself with a couple of my good mares, to better a mare that I had by crossing to a large, strong stallion that I had an idea would throw a fast, but built like a tank foal, which is what I got from crossing out.

My Brangus Bull...well...he has a couple of Brown Swiss/Brangus bull calves on the ground that are absolutely perfect. SO crossing out isn't a bad thing so much, but as for me, it is a registration and ability to sell down the road type deal.

Best of luck to you, your calf is a really nice looking little guy.

Same old crossbreeding argument over and over again.

I doubt anyone is going to change anyone else's mind on the subject.

I can't wrap my head around your statement about brown swiss and angus being so similar that they compliment each other. They are completely different. One is a leggy dairy breed and the other is a stout beef breed. Nor can I imagine why someone would use a brown swiss chiefly as a brood cow.

Are you sure you don't mean braunvieh? Brown swiss and braunvieh are different breeds with completely different purposes.

I have a registered Dexter that at some point I would like to breed to a mid/mini Jersey. As someone said in the pig forum, you can always eat your mistakes. At this point, after spending most of the summer with the bull, if she isn't pregnant now, I'd breed her to a poodle if it would get her lactating.

At one time a Registered Dexter had some value and producing more Registered Dexters a goal.

Is your intent to produce a less beefy, better milking calf? In the breeding towards smaller Jerseys, has the focus been on dispossession and milking ability or mostly size?

Braunvieh. For whatever reason I am using the wrong term, but that seems to be what everyone down here calls them...brown Swiss. If they are different breeds, people in my sera haven't figured the yet! I'm sorry for mis-speaking, my bull is the Brangus, the cows he grazed with and bred are Braunvieh. They are very similar.

I know when I was researching what Braunvieh cattle were, at least one site called them brown Swiss. I'm sorry for any confusion.

Although my heifer is not a "traditional Dexter" I do agree preserving the breed is important. My goal with that cross would be a better family milk cow. We'll see how much milk she produces and how much I have use for. As far as size and disposition, I couldn't ask for better than what I have.

I know why I am calling them brown Swiss, they originated from Braunvieh and a lot of folks down here intermix the name. Thank you for letting me know. I am a horse person, not a cattle person, but I need to know and understand breeds of cattle if I ever expect to have a herd!

If I could have ordered a bull for my little Cooper, it would have been Walden, Dad full Zebu, hearty heat tolerant and athletic here...mom highland/lowline cross..bulk and temperament. He is awesome, settled Coop at like 15 months, and it may be he settled AB which would really be something - after six tries at AI...but I understand Haypoints, well, point....I am a hobby farmer playing at this I can indulge, serious cow folks should pick and stick am thinking....I have arrangements for my little "cross breeds" when they pop out...bit of a waiting list, actually but with people like me

Gosh, Farmgirl6, he's a nice looking bull. But I've just got to ask, and not to argue or debate, just out of curiosity, where are you that you need to breed more heat tolerance into a half Highland? Fess up. Are you spending your summers in south Texas and winters in Minnesota?
I can just imagine all that DNA running around trying to decide who does what?
Do I dare ask what breed Coop is? How about AB?

I guess my objections against cross breeding goes back to the fact that most folks don't have any idea of what their cross will create. I see Animal Shelters full of "what if "s and, "I don't care who breeds who" Sad, real sad. Many people new to cattle don't know about birth weights, expecting Mother Nature to sort it out. Doesn't usually work out that way. If you aren't an expert in genetics, leave it up to the experts that culled hard for a thousand years to get what you have now. Throwing that away on a whim seems to go against my idea of having dominion over your stock.
For most folks starting out in cattle, money is tight. Many are just one disaster away from losing the whole operation. Selling off a herd member is hard, but sometimes necessary to keep the rest of the operation afloat. Then, when the buyers at the Auction won't bid beyond the stew meat price for a young healthy heifer, it makes for a bitter lesson.
I think in most cases there is already a breed that matches your need. If your goal is to breed cows, get someone knowledgeable to help you pick a good one. Use a quality AI bull and get her bred. If no one is around that can AI, learn to do it yourself. Another marketable skill to add to your list. If that is out of the question, buy the same breed as your neighbor.
If you have a Jersey and you want more beef, breed her to a top notch Jersey. If you get a steer, oh, well it is a whole lot more meat than a couple turkeys. If you get a heifer, raise her up a bit and sell her for quite a bit and buy a Holstein steer for a lot of meat.

Or just breed whatever to whatever on a whim. As long as you are the one trying to milk or eating the resulting meat, I don't care.

I didn't breed Walden, bought him at four months so I profess to no insightful planning, but it was funny, while I was looking for a small bull, I liked the durability and heat tolerance of the Zebu (but not so much how they looked, which is rather silly, I know), the exotic nature, history and coat of the Scottish highlands, and the lowliness, even the bulls, seem to have awesome natures...but you are completely correct, I am very fortunate in how he turned out, he could have been incredibly shaggy, flighty and nervous, ext....I just happened (or the folks who actually bred him) to end up with a full house that make him perfect for my little farm... Cooper is a Dexter/lowline Angus and Annebelle is Jersey, she seems small for a Jersey so might be dexter jersey cross, but very "tipey" if that is even a world old island Jersey and the guy I bought her from said he got her from a dairy so guessing she is all Jersey..who knows...both are going to be little milkers, and as I said, I've lots of silly friends like myself who can indulge in hobby farms so a waiting list for babies! I suppose with cows over horses you can get away with a bit of noodling around, because you can always eat a cow no matter what breed it is, eh? but if you are in it to make money, my random cross breeding and fooling about definitely not the way to do it. I do know a serious fellow who cross breeds zebu and miniature Jerseys on purpose to get a hardy, small homesteading cow that produces just enough milk for an average family and enough beef....

I commend you for being able to home your cows' offspring; that's a good thing!!!