Belgian Blues and Shorthorns

[Maineshowgirl]

What do you think of taking some shorthorn cows and breeding them to a Belgian Blue sire? Not just plane old short's some really good cluby mama's an a really good Blue bull. Thought they would make some good steers. So do you think this would be a good cross? Just a thought.

 

[AngusSenorita]

Well Belgian Blues are double muscled which, whether it is a recessive or dominant Gene you are not going to be able to dilute it to produce a desirable product. At least that is the way I see it.

 

[CPL]

Don't Blues have a hard time putting fat on them? I don't think they would make good show steers. Maybe 1/16 Blue blood, but that would take alot of time, work, etc. As far as calving ease, I think alot of them have c-sections.

I would stay away from them, if you are wanting a good calf, take your "good clubby mama's" and breed them to a Hereford Bull ;-) . Seriously though, there's better options then using Belgian Blues.

 

[Moocow11]

well last year we took a angus cow and breed her to a blue bull. the bull was a short stocky thing. all muscel. we breed him to huge cow we had a 98 lb steer calf out of her. and he did really good at the fair last week. i got res on him. but i would have to say it really depends on the cow and the bull

 

[iowahawkeyes]

no

 

[Third Row]

While a hybrid won't have as many issues as a straight BB, almost all of the fullbloods are calved via C-section. Think about that for a second, the worst case calving ease scneario for a club calf is actually the norm for Belgians.

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

Don't know much about the breed but I believe the females are a bigger cause ofthe calvigng problems then the males. Breeding a BB bull on a run of the mill female might slightly increase you calving difficulty. I pretty positive that the BB female is the one that has the problems.

 

[Keren]

I think you are right, that it is the BB female that causes most of the calving problems. I'm also sure that 90% of the calving issues are dissipated when a BB bull is used in a crossbreeding program. The C-sections are primarily with purebred herds.

As a show calf, I think a BB cross could do well, but as was mentioned the biggest issue would be getting the right amount of finish on the calf.

 

[chippie]

We had Belgian Blues and now have Braunviehs. My husband breeds our cattle AI. We bred the Belgian Blue to different breeds of cows and you get a calf that will dress at a high percentage and lean even the crossbreds.

Belgian Blues do not put the cover/finish on that the judges like to see in a show steer. Also they tend to be more drawn up through the flank area. Chances are that you will not get the boxy or rectangular shape that the judges like.

If you are planning on eating the steers, you won't find better tasting beef. Also if the cross would be successful for club calves, you would see more of them.

The only time we had calving problems was when we used an imported bull. The cow had to have a c-section. It was a bull calf and he was double muscled. He had to be put down at 7 months because he had the problem that many double muscled animals have - heart problems. It was really sad. He was a nice guy.