Anyone run Brangus where it's cold?

[Rydero]

I'm toying with adding Brangus to the mix in my cow herd. It'd be tempting to just use straight Brangus cows but I could also just buy a Brangus bull to make crosses too. Doesn't seem to be many breeders in the northern states and I haven't found any in Canada yet, just curious if it's a cold hardiness issue in which case crossing them may be the way to go.

Also curious if the cows were half Brangus bred another way (Charolais) if the calves would still have an identifiable Brahman look.

25 -30 years ago there was a Brangus breeder near Seven Persons Alberta. Have no idea if they are still in business. A couple of smaller operators were using those bulls for a time. The cattle never saw an auction ring, they went straight to a small feedlot in southern BC to be finished. I have no idea how they did from there.

You being in Manitobe I would be thinking of crossing with Muskox to keep them warm!

I'll cross them with polar bear, hopefully they hibernate and come out of their den with a calf like the bears do, lol. Save me a lot of hassle making and feeding hay.
The consensus seems to be to keep it confined to a cross which seems reasonable, I figured that may be the case. Easiest way to do a test on marketability and performance would be to just AI a group of cows Brangus see how the calves look and do. Keep some crossed heifers, see what the calves look like and if there's any performance gains. Fairly low cost to try and no fear of freezing a poor bull's junk off.

 

[TN Cattle]

After 10 years of wanting to raise Brangus us up in this part of the country I finally decided to go for it, I bought a Brangus bull and put with my Angus cows, I felt using cows native to this part of the country would be an ideal base to start this program, from what I'm told they'll work out just fine.

 

[Warren Allison]

Not being smart , but even the ignorant folks found out.. You don't use heat tolerant animals in cold climates...

Longhorn and Chianina are both as heat tolerant as Brahmas, and both thrive in cold weather. @Rydero, these people ship Brangus semen and embryos all over the world, and I bet they could answer your questions as well as any Brangus breeder anywhere. And since the Seminole Tribe bought this ranch about 10 years ago, they now produce Ultrablack as well. http://www.salacoavalleybrangus.com/

 

[Rydero]

Longhorn and Chianina are both as heat tolerant as Brahmas, and both thrive in cold weather. @Rydero, these people ship Brangus semen and embryos all over the world, and I bet they could answer your questions as well as any Brangus breeder anywhere. And since the Seminole Tribe bought this ranch about 10 years ago, they now produce Ultrablack as well. http://www.salacoavalleybrangus.com/

Was interested in the possibility over 2 years ago for the growth potential. Pretty established using Charolais now, but thank you anyway.

 

[Dlh]

all the feed lots are in the south. they might do well. don't know till you try. up here they would not have anything but stubs for ears by spring.

 

[TN Cattle]

Like a lot of intelligent people I don't limit myself to only doing what other's have done, we wouldn't be communicating over the internet if everyone did. I am however looking to see if there's any indication it can be done beyond my own reasoning which is why I asked the questions. If you have information to share about what I asked please do. If you just want to discourage me from thinking for myself you'll probably fail like everyone else who's tried but follow my example and keep trying, maybe you'll discover something new, lol.

There's a Brahman herd in Alberta so they can somewhat survive here but he has a insulated bard they can go in and out of. Angus isn't a problem here. Brangus is 5/8 Angus so it's certainly possible they'll be ok here without the barn.

I brought a brangus bull last year and bred my registered Angus cows making some ultrablacks they are doing just fine, I'm running my ultrablacks calves against my angus calves and the ultrablack , if you want to try it go for, I wouldn't take advice from people that don't know your part of the country

Like a lot of intelligent people I don't limit myself to only doing what other's have done, we wouldn't be communicating over the internet if everyone did. I am however looking to see if there's any indication it can be done beyond my own reasoning which is why I asked the questions. If you have information to share about what I asked please do. If you just want to discourage me from thinking for myself you'll probably fail like everyone else who's tried but follow my example and keep trying, maybe you'll discover something new, lol.

There's a Brahman herd in Alberta so they can somewhat survive here but he has a insulated bard they can go in and out of. Angus isn't a problem here. Brangus is 5/8 Angus so it's certainly possible they'll be ok here without the barn.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

Have you considered a Brangus ranch in the Canadian river valley?

 

[MurraysMutts]

We have the "okies" which are a mix of everything. There are some Brangus in there. They're all muts.

As a whole, the entire herd is difficult to deal with and have no idea how to Mother in wet, muddy, cold conditions.

I've been intrigued with Brangus myself but I've been told it just won't work here. Not if you want to keep them in top condition.

Love the description!
Disagree on mothering ability tho, as a "whole"

I know @Rydero has been running charolais now and a constant cold climate is much different than we have here. We got February. And that's it.

And ya better dang sure have wind blocks and some kind of shelter for February

 

[wndwlkr]

Not being smart , but even the ignorant folks found out.. You don't use heat tolerant animals in cold climates...

They handle both cold and heat

 

[Lee VanRoss]

Have you considered a Brangus ranch in the Canadian river valley?

Actually I thought it was a pretty good one,

 

[Caustic Burno]

Beefmaster would be another choice to look at.
Breed was developed in Texas some years back the Lassiter moved the operation to Colorado. It gets a tad nippy there.

 

[andybob]

Like a lot of intelligent people I don't limit myself to only doing what other's have done, we wouldn't be communicating over the internet if everyone did. I am however looking to see if there's any indication it can be done beyond my own reasoning which is why I asked the questions. If you have information to share about what I asked please do. If you just want to discourage me from thinking for myself you'll probably fail like everyone else who's tried but follow my example and keep trying, maybe you'll discover something new, lol.

There's a Brahman herd in Alberta so they can somewhat survive here but he has a insulated bard they can go in and out of. Angus isn't a problem here. Brangus is 5/8 Angus so it's certainly possible they'll be ok here without the barn.

Another composite breed which copes with an Alberta winter - https://sangacattle.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8986914

 

[Travlr]

This is an old thread.

But regardless... anything with excess skin and a poor ability to get a winter coat is a bad idea for cold climates.

 

[Brute 23]

This is an old thread.

But regardless... anything with excess skin and a poor ability to get a winter coat is a bad idea for cold climates.

Not all animals with in the breeds are the same. There are F1 Brafords that are short haired and there are F1 Brafords that will put on long hair in winter. Same with the loose skin. There are very loose Beefmasters and there are some that are real tight.

Not saying they can or can't handle it but there are a lot of variations with in a breed, especially with composites and crosses.

The hair deal is actually some thing we look at down here. An animal that will shed in the summer and put on hair in the winter is a plus. Calves sold in the fall or early spring with a little hair may help the price some.

 

[Rmc]

If you are looking to add some efficiency in a herd in the north. My suggestion would be to add some of the breeds that are feed efficient and developed to survive in the cold , highland , Galloway, ect