Opinions on What to breed to..
 

I have 4 juicy big gals. They are calving late Oct., early November. They are Brangus, bred to an Angus bull and first time calvers.... I live in central Texas so I like my girls ears and Brahman influence here. 😆😆
I'd like various opinions on what Bull to buy and breed them back to. They have some white in their bags which thrills me... Hoping to have some good milkers. Very gentle girls.
I'm open to buying registered if desired. Please chime in on what you'd breed to and why.
AI is not happening this go around because the man that is coming to weld my shoots and squeeze shoots most likely won't get it done until a month or two after they've calved.
So, this go around is a bull.

I would put a polled hereford bull on them for some black baldies. I have started my herd with some Angus cows, but my next addition will be some brangus girls. Black baldies sell well in Texas, it is typically a Hereford X Angus but when you mix in the Brahman influence, you get what is sometimes called Super Black Baldies. Cattle with ear, white face and black goggle eyes.

That's what I was leaning towards. But a guy came and bought a calf from me today and was telling me to put a reg Brahman bull on them for F1's. I was floored about that. He was very sincere about it though. He's the first THST has suggested that.
So I have one Angus cow as well. Will she be putting out baldie if bred to Hereford? And the Brangus super baldies?

You really don't want to breed them back before 45 days post calving. And if they are first calf heifers around 22-26 months old at calving, they still have growing to do. You could do AI after the chute is repaired, aim for 60-90 days for breeding AI. More choices that way, too!

Yes the angus would produce a BB and the Brangus would be a SBB, They would be basically the same except the brangus baldies would have the ear. I assume he was talking about what people often call tiger stripes as F1s, they make great cows and are popular now as well, you wouldn't go wrong either way, I am just more of a baldie guy personally.

Yes I'll be waiting to breed them back for 45-60 days I just know it's going to take awhile to find a bull. The weather could hamper the construction on my shoots so I don't want to miss a heat especially if these gals are synchronized...

I appreciate you guys input. Thank you.
I piddle with calves and steers and attend the auctions for freezer meat and goats-- I see what those Black cows go for here in Texas. Crazy, just crazy!!
But, best get on the boat while it's still afloat. Lol

Chixarecute, my heifers about to calve were all born March 2012

Lot of Beefmaster cattle in Texas.

I would be talking to neighbors to find the best bull I could come up with to rent o borrow. 4 head not economically advantageous to justify the purchase price and maint cost of a quality bull that or get the chute done and ai them I would look hard at Hereford shorthorn or limousine over those cows

A Lim-flex bull would put some top end on the calves that brangus will sometimes lack. Just find one that is homozygus black. Do that for 2 seasons, then the third year cross them onto a Hereford from the can.

Kycrawler, I have several head... Just wanting to start these Brangus off right. Not real worried about buying a Bull that I need, Ill just resale him. Im more concerned with bldg this quality herd at the moment.
Thanks yall

CIW, what is a hereford from the can? The can?

The can = nitrogen tank for ai if you have 20 or so head to breed by all means buy the best bull you can afford I just couldn't see spending 5-10k on a bull to cover 4 cows

Ok I thought maybe the Can was some sort of association. LOL Yeah, I was leaning towards hereford but this LimFlex is sounding more attractive Im researching now.. Ive always just had hodge podge cows.. These are really some wide top girls though. The pic is 6 mths old Im pleased with their Structure so far. I was lucky I got to pic them. Will post updatepics of calves. Thanks all

Even on hodge podge cows a good bull can make a tremendous difference I bred a group of longhorn/coriente cross roping heifers to a high dollar Angus bull from a neighbor. Most f the calves looked Angus and grew like it too

You are right, they are good wide cattle for their breed. That means that thier calves can carry more muscle up top.
Remember a bull is at least 50% of your herd. The Limousin blood will compliment hiefer's shape and square up the top line. I'll go out on a limb here. I believe you will gain 8 inches in structural length and 50 lbs. at weaning (255 days) over breeding those heifers back to a Brangus bull.
You can also gain heavily in the size of your ribeye.
There is a definite place for Brahmn infleunce in the Southern U.S. But the buyers can't resell that ear and waddle so they don't give quite as much for the calves that show those characteristics.
Its the same with color. You can't eat it, but you can sure sell it to the right buyer.
Decide who you are going to sell to and go toward that end.

Question for Randm; We bred a black angus and an angus-simmental to a registered Herford and got a heifer and a bull calf that were colored and marked like the bull. No papers on the cows-just what we were told they were, one all black and one blk with some white. Actually were hoping for black baldies. Is that unusual?

Thanks CIW I may jump out on that limb.... Very informative stats on calves that i hope to achieve

I will preface this with, I am not an expert on genetics but it may be that the cows are not homozygous black. I think that is the only way to get 100% black baldies every time. I believe the "white-face" gene comes from the bull, which is why the calves are marked like the bull and the body color will come mostly from the cow. Maybe someone with a little more experience with genetics will chime in.

CowPoke what is your intended end use for the calves you are raising, that will play an important role in the selection of a herd bull.

Hi Allen, Ive planned on Keeping some heifers to build my cow herd.... Selling the bull/steer calves to private buyers. I dont really even know how long to keep the bull calves around before selling them. I just plan to band them after they get 3-4 calm days of colostrum and keep their moms healthy.
With my hodge podge cattle, I sell every calf born at around 6 mths no matter the Season and they were all auction bought and bred before I owned them. I honestly just started off with 10 head just for the tax break and ended up wanting some finer commercial cattle to brag about. So here I am today with these Brangus not knowing which direction to head in.

Hi Allen, Keeping some heifers to build my cow herd.... Selling the bull calves to private buyers. I dont really even know how long to keep the bull calves around before selling them. I just plan to band them after they get 3-4 calm days of colostrum and keep their moms healthy.
With my hodge podge cattle, I sell every calf born at around 6 mths no matter the Season and they were all auction bought and bred before I owned them. I honestly just started off with 10 head just for the tax break and ended up wanting some finer commercial cattle to brag about. So here I am today with these Brangus not knowing which direction to head in. Im open to just breeding and selling at auction as well. I honestly am not sure. Thats why I dont have to have a registered bull. I could go either way.

Let me try to make this simple.

In this situation, the calf gets either a red or black gene from each parent.

If the calf got two black genes (homozygous black), of course it will be black, and if got two red genes (homozygous red), of course it will be red. If it gets a red gene from one parent and black from another (making it heterozygous), the calf will be black, as black dominates over red.

Anyway, these red calves had to get a red gene from both parents in order to be red. Which means the black cows have to have a red gene. They also have a black gene, which is why they are black (black dominates). So they are heterozygous (two different genes).

So the black cows had to have a parent somewhere with a red gene. Could be the Simmental or Hereford somewhere in the woodpile.

Yes, a lot of people really like their muscular cows, but fail to realize that makes them eat more. Muscle requires more calories to maintain.

Not saying Longhorn/Corriente are the way to go, but they aren't as bad as people think, since they're easy on feed. Better to add muscle to the cow through the bull's genes than the whole herd of cows that have to be fed all year.

Anyway, when people brag about how big their calves are, I like to ask how much those big cows ate. I guess that ag economics class 30+ years ago ruined me for life.

They're finally doing some research on feed efficiency of cows.

I've always found it interesting that people find Brahman influence important for heat tolerance, and then they start breeding black animals to increase heat stress. Obviously black sells better, so I guess marketing outweighs healthier animals.

Here's a little snippet:

http://nimss.umd.edu/lgu_v2/homepage...?trackID=13556

http://nimss.umd.edu/lgu_v2/homepage...?trackID=11616

http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2...e/CT1033.shtml

DJ, funny you mentioned Longhorn and Corriente, I've got both those too. Lol
The longhorn cross is a steer raising him for the freezer. The Corriente is just a calf I bought, thought she was cute, and since I have more pasture and trees than I need for the cows, I just throw stuff out there to raise and eat the grass. Ill never make any money at this at the rate Im going, but it is fun trying.

My Corriente

I would keep it simple, a brangus bull would keep you with brangus replacements if that's what you want. A hereford or angus bull would make good commercial females from brangus cows and give you a good feeder steer with less ear.

here in Virginia the all black cattle bring a better price at the sales ,I'm sure it won't be differint in your area .I would stick with an angus bull or a black baldy .why have to take a discount price for your sale calves because of color .

Arney, I know, right.. Simple sounds good to me. lol