AUBRAC Cattle

[French Anne]

Hi!

My name is Anne, I'm a French breeder of Aubrac and Simmental cows.
I created this new topic because some of the US breeders asked me a lot of questions about my Aubrac herd and my way to breed cows.
Here are the main informations :

THE HERD:
- 45 Aubrac cows (There are little herds in France!) plus heifers
- 2 bulls (One was born in my herd, I bought the other)
- Genetic selection with the national UPRA Aubrac.
- Artificial insemination (0-5 cows per year)

THE FEED:
- Winter (from November to April): Only hay, sometimes cereals when hay isn't rich enough.
- Spring, summer, autumn: Only grass from natural meadows. The herd is outside, in the mountain.

THE BUILDINGS:
- Recent building for the herd ( parks with straw), before the cows were attached during winter.

All the cows have their horns, and we pay attention to the type of the cows we select: Long twisted horns, black eyes...

We work only with fullblood Aubrac bulls. A lot of French breeders cross Aubrac cows with Charolais bulls.

We select all our cows on their dairy capacities! Indeed, Aubrac cows are today suckler cows, but before, they were milked to make cheese. Today, we try to milk some of them again to product Laguiole cheese.

That's all for today, I hope you will understand, hope there isn't a lot of mistakes....
If you want more details, ask me, it will be a pleasure to answer!

Anne

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Welcome to Cattle Today!
:welcome:

 

[HDRider]

:welcome:

Please tell us more.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Can you describe the buildings and their purpose? Here in North America, Aubracs spend their winters 100% outside, even the herds in Montana and those far north of the Canadian / US border, so producers here might find it interesting to read a bit about this aspect of your operation.

What does the horn shape tell you? It tells me something about hormonal balance (as I believe hormonal balance is tied to fertility, longevity, and temperament, and possibly palatability of the beef) ... what does it tell you?

How is it decided which ones get AI'd? Is it the same ones each year, or does the association ask you to AI different ones?

Can you post any pictures of your bulls and your best cows? Below are a couple of pictures of my herdsire (Zach; who has been dehorned).

 

[Muddy]

Welcome!!! And post pics of your cattle!

 

[French Anne]

Of course, I'm gonna try to post photos, but I need to learn how to post it before! ^^
Your bull seems good, but I think we have a different type of Aubrac cows!
French ones are more clear for example.
How many cows do you breed?

We must keep our cows inside during winter because we have snow and the temperature is cold.
I will post a photo of my buildings soon!

About horns, some old breeders say that the cows that have horns to the top are more dynamic. And I think that's right. But we pay attention to the horns because during the 90's and now, some breeders who practise genetic selection cross some Aubrac cows with Parthenaise cows, that has more muscle. It destroyed the old type of Aubrac, the right type... So now, we try to keep fullblood Aubrac, and the twisted horns are a sign of a fullblood cow. I will post also a picture of perfect aubrac horns if u want!

 

[Muddy]

Any reason why you keep them inside the barn during winter times? Here, the beef cows are left outside during winters.

 

[msplmtneer]

Howdy and :welcome: to the board :tiphat:

 

[TN Cattle Man]

:welcome: to the Boards!

 

[WalnutCrest]

Of course, I'm gonna try to post photos, but I need to learn how to post it before! ^^
Your bull seems good, but I think we have a different type of Aubrac cows!
French ones are more clear for example.

Our bull was sired by a ET bull imported from France (Armenien x. Croatie, a Varsovie daughter) and is out of the fullblood cows raised here (all of whom were imported as embryos from the French testing station). There is no DM in the US herd. He's just very densely made and thick.

How many cows do you breed?

Counting all of the fullbloods and recips for embryos, right now we're at 50 or so.

We must keep our cows inside during winter because we have snow and the temperature is cold.

I promise, it's colder and more snow in Sasketchewan -- home to the largest fullblood herd in North America -- where those cows are outside all winter long. I can only assume this is still done this way in France because it's always been done this way ...

I will post a photo of my buildings soon!

Looking forward to it. I'm particularly interested in your drainage systems and how you section off the calves from their mothers except for nursing.

About horns, some old breeders say that the cows that have horns to the top are more dynamic. And I think that's right. But we pay attention to the horns because during the 90's and now, some breeders who practise genetic selection cross some Aubrac cows with Parthenaise cows, that has more muscle. It destroyed the old type of Aubrac, the right type... So now, we try to keep fullblood Aubrac, and the twisted horns are a sign of a fullblood cow. I will post also a picture of perfect aubrac horns if u want!

I agree with you about the need to maintain true breed type. Attached is a photo of our oldest cow (this picture is a couple of years old). Her name is Upra. How would her horns look to you; she's about 10-11 in that picture.

 

[Kenany Farm]

has anyone tried to cross an Aubrac bull on red or black Angus cows?

 

[Ol' 243]

Subscribed

 

[WalnutCrest]

has anyone tried to cross an Aubrac bull on red or black Angus cows?

Yes.

The 3rd (?) largest Aubrac herd in the USA is owned by a family that also raises pedigreed black angus. They're in SW Montana. I also know a guy who crossed them with BA; he's in NC. His main complaint (which sounds a little silly) is the Aubracs made the ribeyes too big (he had restaurant order buyers that wouldn't pay a premium for larger ribeyes since the restaurants were complaining they were too big). There are others ...

 

[R V]

:welcome: I am likewise interested in seeing your pictures - including the horns on an ideal cow.
Thanks!

 

[boondocks]

:welcome:
Love to see folks and their cattle from all over the world. One of the best things about this website!

 

[French Anne]

My cows in the building this winter

This is the first winter They spend in this New building we built Last year.
Before They were attached like a lot of Aubrac Cows in France. I Will post à photo of the formers buildings.

Sorry for the quality of the photos, m'y celphone is bas for it.

 

[Nesikep]

Wow... And people tell me my cows are spoiled! Very nice facilities and the cows look very happy there.

I love cows with (nice) horns, but here we get less money for them if they have horns, so I had to go with the market and I have polled bulls now.. and having just one or two cows with horns doesn't work either.. they get too bossy if there's no one else to put them in their place.

 

[Nesikep]

Just for some contrast.. here's how my cows spend the winter

 

[French Anne]

Our bull was sired by a ET bull imported from France (Armenien x. Croatie, a Varsovie daughter) and is out of the fullblood cows raised here (all of whom were imported as embryos from the French testing station). There is no DM in the US herd. He's just very densely made and thick

Your bull has the Arménien type. In France we also have '' red'' Aubrac like him of course but we select clearer animals if we can.

I promise, it's colder and more snow in Sasketchewan -- home to the largest fullblood herd in North America -- where those cows are outside all winter long. I can only assume this is still done this way in France because it's always been done this way ...

I keep them inside also because if They stay outside They destroy meadows. At which altitude are you? I'm at 850m

About the buildings, cows are on straw. We put clean straw each 3 days.
The calves have their own park, with a little adjustable door. Only the calves can pass. This door is always opened, so they can stay with their mothers or sleep quietly in their "bedroom"
My cows are calving in January, february and March.

I'll explain the working in the formers buildings later.

I agree with you about the need to maintain true breed type. Attached is a photo of our oldest cow (this picture is a couple of years old). Her name is Upra. How would her horns look to you; she's about 10-11 in that picture.

Your cow is wonderful!!
She has a good depth of chest, and a good type!
Here are two of my favorite cows in my herd. Unfortunately, they're not alive anymore, too old...
The first is Moselle, the second is Jouvence. They are two daughters of the bull Gulliver IA.





Nantes, my favorite cow currently in my herd (19 years old) with the village of AUBRAC in the background. (my herd spends the summer next to Aubrac).

 

[French Anne]

Just for some contrast.. here's how my cows spend the winter

Thank's!
Tell me more please!
Are your cows in a large parc? How many are they for which area?
How do you feed them?