Breeding?

[JR05]

Ok, made deal with a neighbor to get rid of my bull because he was a "fighting" bull. Was always challenging neighbors' bull. Big bull fight resulted. His was registered, mine not. So I sold mine, with the understanding that neighbor would breed my cows (3). Took him 2 months to come and get 1 cow to breed, didn't want to take all of them so they all would be bred the same time. So basically I'm feeding cows that are not producing. So, my thought is can I AI beef cows with dairy semen to get a dairy cross that will give me milk in the future or are the dairy breeds too big for augus and limosien (?) cows? I currently have 2 milkers so can wait for a calf to be produced with the genetics I want. My beef cows are as tame as my dogs and being able to milk with this trait would be great. Don't know if I have made since but main question is can you AI beef cows with dairy safely?

jr05

[Up North]

If you are willing to breed to Milking Shorthorn, Milking Devon, Jersey, or Ayrshire, then the answer is YES. If you wish to breed to Brown Swiss, Guernsey, or Holstein, (SAFELY YOU SAID) then the answer is NO.

[john in la]

I would agree with Up North except I would include Guernsey on the good list.

[tyusclan]

I would also put the Guernsey on the good list. Also, if the limousin is pure, and not crossed with angus, I would not be afraid to breed the Brown Swiss or Holstein to her. If it is an angus cross, then I would avoid those two breeds.

[JR05]

Thank you for your responses. The cow I want to breed is a Limousin and beef master cross. She is 16 mos old and I wanted to breed her to jersey. The others are pure angus.

jr05

[Ken Scharabok]

In Continental Europe the Limo. is considered to be a dual-purpose breed. Breeding it to a dairy breed essentially raises the percentage of 'dairy' in it. Angus have pretty well been for beef. Breeding an Angus to a dairy bull should result in basically a dual-purpose cow, likely with more beef than dairy characteristics.

IMHO if you want milkers stay with a dairy breed. If you want beef stay with a beef breed. I see no good reason for trying to create your own dual-purpose line even if you think your beef cows would let you milk them.

In my small beef herd I have what appears to be three dairy/beef crosses. One appears to be a Brahman/Holstein cross and she has a quite large bag (and is a quite large cow). One appears to be a Holstein/Angus cross and her bag is really no larger than some of my regular beef cows. One appears to be a Jersey/Angus cross and, while it is a nice bag, certainly no where near what one would expect on a Jersey. From the behavior of the last one I suspect she was milked at one time.

It was once a fairly common practice to use an Angus bull on dairy heifers. Calf was small at birth and typically black with some white (or brown) on the underside. These had a good reputation as feeders. However, I don't believe it was much of a common practice to raise the heifer calves out as milkers.

[dosthouhavemilk]

Have you considered simply breeding them AI to beef bulls?
I know Select Sires carries a line-up of beef bulls.