Black Cow????????????

[Frankie]

You guys can speculate all day. ND State can do their studies. Yes, black cattle stand in the water in the summer here. So do red ones, striped ones and yellow ones. For the record, I've never seen a Charloais in the water. I think they're afraid of it.

There have been studies showing black cattle get hotter. But any sensible animal will adjust to graze during the cooler part of the day. We have 100 degree days; our Angus cattle do fine. Years ago, the Texas Brangus and the Texas Angus people got together and started a bull testing program in south Texas. Angus did very well there. If Angus couldn't handle feedlot conditions, feeders wouldn't be paying MORE for them than similar cattle of other colors. The bottom line rules the market place and, bottom line, people are making money off Angus cattle from pasture to plate.

Boy, sounds like the blacks are worse off than I thought! You confirmed they get hotter, so they have to spend less time grazing, therefore less growth and performance. Wow! No wonder they had to market them so hard - the only way to eek out a profit!

I understand the rumen fermentation gives off quite a bit of heat - seems if they're hotter, they'd want to eat less. Somewhere I read centuries ago, they'd put the cow in the house or basement to provide some heat.

Correct me if I'm wrong. The original angus came in red and black. It was a somewhat arbitrary decision to go with the blacks. Or was there a good reason that shade was chosen?

Oh, I wouldn't feel too sorry for those black cows. They do fine in our heat, at least. And considering how many breeds have chosen to turn black, I think you'd really have a hard time convincing most people that it's much of an issue. But if it's the only thing you've got to bash Angus with, get with it.

Yes, it was an arbitrary decision. The man credited with "creating" the Angus breed back in Scotland preferred black over red. Only in the US do the Red Angus have their own herd book. In other countries, they register both colors in the same registry.

 

[Wisteria Farms]

Welcome to the forum.

There are a lot of opinions on color. Mostly I think it is marketing and consumer influence thereof. Mostly I run brangus which are black. I have some brindles, F1 charlais crosses etc. When I have a calf that is colored up, I put it in the freezer for myself.

When you look at the real tests, Murray Greys are number 1. They are not black. I don't own any MGs so this is no sales pitch. But if it is really about quality of meat, why are MGs not the animal the consumer is demanding? (The answer is marketing and advertising)

Backho...
I DO raise Murray Greys and I'm going to print this out and take it to our Nationals in August. You hit the nail RIGHT ON THE HEAD...we have a great product..(by the way, Murray Grey's are no longer 1/2 Shorthorn 1/2 Angus...they have a much much higher percentage of Angus due to the years of breeding up (from only angus). The marketing/advertising/promotion (or lack thereof) is the demise of the breed...DRIVES ME NUTS!!!! Thank you for the compliment...I do love my Murray Greys...