Santa Gertrudis,

anyone with any experiance with this cattle? I've seen a steer ready for market and he's a BEAUT! How would this breed do as a dairy as well as meat? TIA

[Jena]

I have a friend who raises registered Gerts. She loves them. They are beefy, they can tolerate heat due to their bos indicus background, but she raises them in Canada and they do very well in the cold as well.

I don't think they make a good dairy animal, but as a beefer, they are great. The only drawback is that often cattle that show signs of bos indicus are seriuously docked at the sale barn. This is not true in the southern parts of the country, but just about everywhere else it is. Of course, that means you might be able to pick one up for cheap too

Jena

I love them they have plenty of milk, plenty of moma in there blood 1 or 2 females might take care of all the calfs while the rest graze. I breed them to a red limousin bull, they can grow a 450 pound calf in 4 months. Our farm is in Alabama and on a hot day they will still graze in the sun out of the pond. This is the only females that we buy.

Thanks so much you two. I just admire their look and the owner said he got his steer due to being told they have GREAT meat and are super gentle esp. for a large breed. He IS super gentle and so very handsome. He'll be going to slaughter soon so we'll find out about his meat, but I can't imagen it being anything BUT tasty. Our issue is that we're looking for a multi purpose breed, meat/dairy and have been looking at Dexters, but my husband thinks Dexters are too small (aka whimpy ) How is the flavor of the milk and the butterfat content?

Thanks again and Jena, hope you are mending well, you've been in my thoughts.