crosses

brierpatch1974 · #1 12/26/10, 02:30 PM

What type of bull do you guys and gals think would be best to breed to some cows that are 50 percent angus/50 percent hereford? Cows mothers were angus and sire was a hereford. Not sure if that makes any difference.

I really dont know much about cattle as I have goats and a couple of sheep now but I was quite amused listening to two men go at it about this the other day. It seemed one of them wanted to get a Bull that was 50/50 to breed the cows to and the other man wanted to breed them to a Charolais.

Personal thoughts on this and why the issue was causing such a heated debate? Or are these fellas just argueing to be argueing and nothing more?

tinknal · #2 12/26/10, 02:35 PM

Really a whole lot of variability here. A lot depends on what the owner plans on doing with them. Grass fed beef? Marketing as weanlings? How much hay and pasture is available? Calving ease? Replacement heifers with a larger frame? There is just so much going on here that the question is impossible to answer without a lot more information.

francismilker · #3 12/26/10, 03:40 PM

As with tinknal, there's a lot of variables here. My recommendation would be to make sure the offspring is black, black, or black. Did I mention make sure the calves turn out black?

Seems black have and will continue to dominate the market so it would be in your best interest to cater to the market. (if you plan on selling any calves at top dollar.)

rancher1913 · #4 12/26/10, 04:24 PM

with black baldies like that you want to go with an angus bull so the ofspring are greater than 50 percent angus. goes along with francismilker and the black thing.

myersfarm · #5 12/26/10, 05:12 PM

agree with above...but no matter what they do NO HEREFORD BULL OR A HEREFORD CROSS.... if you put a 50/50 on a 50/50 you will get some hereford colors out of them..yes black is domante but you will still get some hereford calfs...not the best sellers

haypoint · #6 12/26/10, 06:23 PM

Angus and Hereford have fairly small calves. Charolais have fairly large calves. Black cows are more valuable.
No question, no debate, get an Angus bull.

southerngurl · #7 12/26/10, 07:18 PM

FWIW, I have a hereford angus cross cow. We've bred her twice to an angus bull. The first one was a bull and very tasty and grew like crazy. The second a heifer, also growing very well and gorgeous. Bull was red, heifer is black.

agmantoo · #8 12/26/10, 07:32 PM

brierpatch1974

You never stated where these cattle are located nor did you describe the quality of the pastures and the forage type. Will they be grain fed or grass only? Are the calves to be sold or finished on the farm? Are the calves to be retained or are they terminal? There is more to breed selection than imagined.

DaleK · #9 12/26/10, 07:39 PM

What agmantoo said. I realize black cattle are what the market is looking for in a good part of the US, I think you're in the southeast ish so that might fit. Around here, light-coloured cattle (heavy Charolais or Blonde influence mostly) top the market most of the time, black or red come in slightly behind, and anything that looks remotely Hereford will bring 50-60% of what most other breeds will.

MO_cows · #10 12/26/10, 08:56 PM

If the resulting calves are going to be marketed at the sale barn, they will likely do better if they are black. Gonna keep any heifers from this calf crop? If so, my suggestion would be a black Balancer bull, which is Angus/Gelbvieh composite. Or if this is a terminal cross, a Charolais with some calving ease. Going right back to Angus would be giving up hybrid vigor or heterosis.

Liberty's Ledge · #11 12/26/10, 09:30 PM

I pretty much agree withe whole black is more marketable thing, however if you are finishing the critters on your farm and are only looking for a fair eating critter in the end, I would try a brown swiss. You get a decent sized calf with some really nice beef qualities as well as great milking potential if you ended up with heifers to keep for yourself. We raise for milk and meat and it's pretty hard to tell the difference once it's in the pan. I think it's really all about the application. The Brown Swiss bulls are pretty gentle as well, that's always a good quality for the handler (me). Just my two cents.

tinknal · #12 12/27/10, 06:13 AM

There was a neighboring ranch where I lived in MT. They bred Angus/Brown Swiss crosses. These were range cattle. Those cows made milk like crazy and come weaning time the calves were bigger than the cows.

FEF · #13 12/27/10, 08:57 PM

I'd suggest a good Angus bull. You'll have 3/4 Angus 1/4 Hereford. In my area Herefords are not looked upon with affection at the sale barns. If you're feeding them yourself, you'll probably get better growth with the Angus. And unless you use an extreme Angus bull, chances of calving difficulty will be almost a non issue with Angus.