Black angus

[Rob30]

Has anyone had trouble with the angus cattle. I have heard they can be very aggressive. Most farms here prefer limo, charlais or simmental cattle. However I am interested in black angus for the meat quality, smaller cows, and the name recognition. We sell freezer orders and everyone automatically thinks quality with black angus.

[Philip]

We've never had any trouble with Lowline (small Angus), and the tenderness is always excellent. Angus beef has won the Steak of Origin competition in NZ for the last few years

[Oxankle]

I wonder where these people are getting their information?

I have registered angus cattle and I have to be careful that the cows don't lick my hand off when I give them cubes. I am using AI now, but the herd bull I sold last fall weighed something like 2,500 pounds and liked to be scratched on his brisket. There are big Angus and some smaller framed lines; I prefer a medium frame.

Some of the cows are tame enough to milk, and some of them give enough milk to support two calves. One of my first-calf heifers supported her own calf and a thief all winter until I judged the thief old enough to wear a blab.

I suppose there are wild strains of Angus, but why buy such?
Ox

[agmantoo]

Angus is the breed of choice for me. I have no problem with them. My cattle are easy keepers and bring a premium at the sale barn. Although I enjoy the cattle, they are not a hobby for me as I am a commercial feeder calf producer. My herd survives, actually thrives on fescue grass year around. Do any of these look aggresive?

[DJ in WA]

Agmantoo, what is that reddish cow?

I agree that you can get more or less ornery strains of any breed. As far as the average temperament of Angus, let me raise an issue.

I've read that as a breed becomes more docile, their mothering ability declines. Apparently you can't have everything - have to find a balance. Since Angus are often praised for their mothering ability, seems that might indicate on average being less docile.

BTW, this explains some things about my wife. Great mother, but hard to handle.

[agmantoo]

DJ in WA
The reddish cow is a cross between a Murray Gray and a Black Angus. Murray Grays are out of Australia. I have 2 of these. They are great cows. Their size is ideal. They calve with no problems and stay fat off marginal feed. They look as good coming out of Winter as they do in early Fall. I would like to have more of them but I would want them black. The 3/4 offspring can be either dark brown or black. I understand that there are black Murray Gray's but I have never seen one. I would buy a Murray Gray bull if I could locate one within reasonable distance. PS....the animal near the center of the pic with its butt to the reddish cow is her offspring. These animals have never had any grain!

Angus is like any other breed. There is good and there is bad. In my experience with cattle however, it is often the Black Angus cows that go a little overboard in aggressiveness. Not saying that others can't be bad, as I have seen some awfully agressive Charolais, Limosin, Red Angus, Maine Anjou and pretty much any other breed that I have ever dealt with. Even Herefords, although bad Herefords seem to be few and far between. Just seems like there are more aggressive Angus than any other breed (in my experience). Now having said that Angus is a big part of our herd. You just make a point of picking out quieter animals to purchase, and send the bad ones down the road. Use quiet bulls on the cows, and you shouldn't have many problems.

[Karin L]

I'm more on the "steer" side of things here but the 10 black angus or black angus cross steers that we have this year out of 80 others are down right calm and docile, and are often the first to come up to greet me or are brave enough to come investigate something new that I have for them. The two-dozen Reds are like that too. Sure there's the odd wild ones, but mostly I find the Charolais are the wilder ones, next to a few RWF's. I don't think there's been a year where we've had BA's that have been TOTALLY off-the-wall crazy.
And that's my opinoin.

[fordson major]

rob, one of the last angus breeders in our area just sold his farm. he has nice, quiet brood cows and good gaining calves. he will probably be selling off some stock either private sale or auction. usually momma was only a pain the first 3 months after calving, then they settle down!

[jerzeygurl]

my friendliest milker is angus/jersey cross, never had to train her, she just let us milk her

she insists on getting pets and giving kisses, and loves to be sung too

her father was a sweetie, but loved to jump fences...

[Rob30]

I have heard just about every breed is hyper, from different people. My feed guy was saying he had angus, they were very good tasting, and he could feed 2 for every limo he has. The problem he had was they were very agressive protectors of their calves. To the point he used to put a hay feeder (at birth) around the calf to give shots and castrate.
However we have problems with bear here so protective mothers might be a good thing.
Fordmojor, I won't be buying until early next spring. The plan is to buy 10 or so bred cows to calf in March-April. Then sell the calves in the fall and any cull cows. Buy doing this I am hoping to get a quick return on my investment. Other farmers in the area do this and sell all the cows. So they don't winter any of them, or have to deal with a bull or AI.

[agmantoo]

Rob30
I am a one man operation producing 80 plus calves per year. When the calves are just a few days old I process the calves alone. I use nothing between me and the calf's mother for protection. The usual sequence is the calf will be lying near its mother and I just walk up and put a lasso around its neck. I am not a cowboy and cannot throw a rope with success. After getting the rope on the calf's neck it will usually jump around a bit until it tires. I then place the rope on the ground and put my foot on the rope. I grasp the calf by its front and rear leg on one side and upset the calf to where it falls, then I move my foot on the rope nearer the neck. I apply a band on the males and install an ear tag , left ear for heifers and right ear for steers, and then I release the calf. During this entire episode, the cow has stood by, she may have sniffed , balled, or nosed around but otherwise was rather docile. She may swiftly leave the area with the calf to avoid a repeat but at no time did I feel threatened. My cattle see me every day and they sense I am not a threat. I cannot rub any of the cows and I give the bulls there due respect. The herd and I have an arms length agreement. Neither they nor I ever get any closer than arms length. If I had a cow that threatened me I would send her to the sale when I marketed her calf. Some things are not worth the hassle, a crazy cow is one of them. I welcome anyone that wants to visit to witness the herds' behavior or just to see the operation.

[Abouttime]

I am one who has taken advantage of Agman's offer to visit. It was Feb 06. I was amazed as we walked among the cattle, who as Agman says they have a "hands off" agreement, yet the cattle while cognizant of us, were completely comfortable with me accompaning him. I was surprised how good the fields looked for the time of year and how content the cattle were. Agman is not only generous of his time, but also his knowledge.

[fordson major]

Originally Posted by Abouttime

Agman is not only generous of his time, but also his knowledge.

it shows too in his forum participation! the fellow i was talking about that has retired has a herd like his, peaceable cows (never met a angus bull i did not like!)(trust? not on your life! never trust any bull). at close too 80 the fellow wants too keep on but just can't! his daughter and granddaughter both have herds based on his genetics and have done well both in the show ring and market. lot of aggression in angus here can be traced too the late 70's early 80's when breeders went with larger western animals (thats what was winning in the show ring!) ,some of our brood cows were the old fashioned type, they mothered well but you did not have too vaccinate with two people, one too do the work and one too face down momma with a 2x4! since we got out of cattle and the neighbour out of angus, we have seen a resurgence in coyotes and bear.

[DaleK]

Rob if you do decide you want some really good Black Angus genetics contact Black Bear Angus in Flinton, Neil or Brett Reavie for 411. They started in Hereford for decades and brought in some really good genetics from Alberta to diversify.

[Bret]

You will do well with Angus. They are good mothers. I had one that was too protective and she had a few other undesirable qualities if you will, so she was eventually cut from the team.

I had to carry a day old calf back into the designated field today and her mom did not even pay attention to me. That's what I like when I weigh them right under their nose. Normally they will turn some circles around me.

All cows and bulls need to be respected.

[Oxankle]

Young cows, startled cows, cows whose calves are hurt and bawling are all to be watched, don't care if they are pets.

Like Agman, I weigh and handle my calves at birth and usually toss out a dozen or so cubes to distract mama while I handle the baby. I do not turn my back on them, but I do not make a project of it either. k

My experience with wild cows is limited to brahman, brahman crosses, charollaise and limousin. I got rid of all my limousins just because they were crazy. They would eat out of my hand but stood off like giraffes to do it, sticking their tongues out farther than a man would think a cow could. In the pen for vaccination or spraying they generally tried to climb out of the chute until I got to tapping them on the head with a sorting pole. Just a tap, but they learned not to leap.

When I first got them one of them came within a couple of inches of kicking my face off. I had her head tied between the forks of a tree and was looking at the burned-off horn buds. I had my face close to her ear and looked down to see the front of her hoof near the end of my nose.
Ox

[JulieLou42]

Ford Major, you got bears and coyotes, I'd suggest you get yourself some Pyrenees Mountain Dogs...they'll keep them away. We have those and wolves, cougars, bobcats, and badgers up our way to contend with also. We hear the coyotes 'singing' every night; they're less than half mile from us. Those Pyrs will keep deer out of your gardens, too, but will need fencing against to keep them out.

I noticed yesterday that our largest sheep herder in the area, maybe 500 head, has acquired two of these dogs this year. I guess after reading the stories of what the imported Canada Grey Wolves are doing in our county, he decided it was about time.

Last night, something sounding as large as a horse tromped by our bedroom window just after midnight, setting the dogs off barking for about two hours. Coulda been moose or elk. Deer are pretty silent.