Black vs. Red

[lithuanian farmer]

Hello everybody. I'd like to ask what are pros and cons of Black Angus and Red Angus? Are there any differences between them and which breed is better as a beef?

 

[dun]

Not much difference except maybe disposition. Depending on the family lines one color may have an advantage but in another family line the other color may be better. Few of the Red Angus breeders chased frame like a lot of the black breeders did.

 

[Bestoutwest]

Does one or the other typically have a better disposition?

 

[dun]

Does one or the other typically have a better disposition?

From the horror storys I hear about the balcks being wanderers and being a bit snorty and comparing them to the Red Angus blls I've dealt with I would say reds are more mello. But I haven;t been around any black ngus bulls in years.

 

[KNERSIE]

I have both (although not for very long) and the reds have by far the better disposition.

 

[aprille218]

Depends on the individual animal. We have and have had both for 10+ years. There are nice ones and ones you ship asap. We currently have mostly black angus due to their popularity. Finding good ones with good dispositions for breeding stock was easier for the blacks because of the large amount of sales featuring them in our area.

 

[cowboy43]

If black is crossed with red what color calf is produced?

 

[skeeter swatter]

If black is crossed with red what color calf is produced?

Black, unless the black one has a red gene, than black or red.

 

[Limomike]

I have both (although not for very long) and the reds have by far the better disposition.

Totally agree

 

[u4411clb]

Check the Docility index for Black Angus if you are worried about disposition. I would choose something with a +15 or higher if that is a big issue.

 

[Taurus]

Don't noticed any differences in the disposition of Black and Red Angus. I've shipped out crazy reds and nutty blacks before.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I've never owned a red angus, but I cannot say anything bad about the disposition of any of my black angus cows or bulls.

 

[cow pollinater]

I've been around lots of both colors and percentage wise I'd say the chances of getting a wild one are higher with the reds.

 

[djinwa]

Since black and red angus come from the same gene pool, most differences depend on which direction specific breeders have gone.

The obvious constant difference is color. Sunlight makes black cattle hotter, so they suffer more from heat stress. Heat stress leads to reduced feed intake, reduced fertility, and higher death loss in feedlots during heat waves.

Now many will say it doesn't matter because their cattle haven't died. For some reason people think heat stress is enough of a problem to mix in some Brahman, but not enough to avoid blacks. But animal scientists are well aware of the problem.

http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2007 ... 1033.shtml

http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/home.cfm?trackID=11616

In most areas of the world, cattle destined for slaughter are fattened on grass. In the southern U.S. this requires cattle that are well-adapted to the ambient conditions (high temperature and humidity) and it is usually expected that only Bos indicus or Bos indicus crosses can be sufficiently adapted to such conditions to grow rapidly and efficiently. Since both a light coat color and a short hair length contribute significantly to increased heat tolerance, it is possible that the combination of short hair and lighter coloration will result in an animal with high growth potential under grazing conditions in the southern U.S. without Bos indicus influence.

http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewconte ... ports_1996

Iowa heat wave:

Producers with the nonshaded
lots reported highest death loss in dark-hided
cattle. Thirty out of 36 producers indicated higher death
loss in black cattle and the other six producers
indicated higher death loss with red cattle and had no
black cattle on feed. One producer indicated only 20%
of the cattle in the pen were black, but 80% of the
death loss was black cattle.

 

[Taurus]

Since black and red angus come from the same gene pool, most differences depend on which direction specific breeders have gone.

The obvious constant difference is color. Sunlight makes black cattle hotter, so they suffer more from heat stress. Heat stress leads to reduced feed intake, reduced fertility, and higher death loss in feedlots during heat waves.

Now many will say it doesn't matter because their cattle haven't died. For some reason people think heat stress is enough of a problem to mix in some Brahman, but not enough to avoid blacks. But animal scientists are well aware of the problem.

http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2007 ... 1033.shtml

http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/home.cfm?trackID=11616

In most areas of the world, cattle destined for slaughter are fattened on grass. In the southern U.S. this requires cattle that are well-adapted to the ambient conditions (high temperature and humidity) and it is usually expected that only Bos indicus or Bos indicus crosses can be sufficiently adapted to such conditions to grow rapidly and efficiently. Since both a light coat color and a short hair length contribute significantly to increased heat tolerance, it is possible that the combination of short hair and lighter coloration will result in an animal with high growth potential under grazing conditions in the southern U.S. without Bos indicus influence.

http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewconte ... ports_1996

Iowa heat wave:

Producers with the nonshaded
lots reported highest death loss in dark-hided
cattle. Thirty out of 36 producers indicated higher death
loss in black cattle and the other six producers
indicated higher death loss with red cattle and had no
black cattle on feed. One producer indicated only 20%
of the cattle in the pen were black, but 80% of the
death loss was black cattle.

I hope you realized that she isn't in United States....not mentioned that she has black hided cattle already anyways.

 

[lithuanian farmer]

I've noticed that all Black Angus cross bulls we'd were very calm and quiet, but cows sometimes are abit dangerous and aggressive, for example: a week ago we needed to inject medicines to our cattle and one Black Angus cross cow attacked us, but luckily she's tied with rope. But she also tried to kick to somebody and press everybody to the wall. Also other Angus cows've character and don't want to be caught.

 

[mjnetex]

I have Beefmasters (Foundation influenced) and a few years ago 1/3 of my herd was black. Now I have culled out every single black one, due to disposition. One was not even part Angus, the black color actually came from Holstein six generations back. They were not mean to people but to the other cows, and I won't tolerate that. A couple of them would run around the hay ring knocking away the other cows, though there were plenty of rolls for them all. They have to be nice to each other to stay here!

 

[Taurus]

I have Beefmasters (Foundation influenced) and a few years ago 1/3 of my herd was black. Now I have culled out every single black one, due to disposition. One was not even part Angus, the black color actually came from Holstein six generations back. They were not mean to people but to the other cows, and I won't tolerate that. A couple of them would run around the hay ring knocking away the other cows, though there were plenty of rolls for them all. They have to be nice to each other to stay here!

So.... you got rid of them because they are not being nice to each other? :???:

 

[Taurus]

I've noticed that all Black Angus cross bulls we'd were very calm and quiet, but cows sometimes are abit dangerous and aggressive, for example: a week ago we needed to inject medicines to our cattle and one Black Angus cross cow attacked us, but luckily she's tied with rope. But she also tried to kick to somebody and press everybody to the wall. Also other Angus cows've character and don't want to be caught.

So are every cow of breed, no different from Angus. Worked with holsteins few times and I can tell you that they don't want to be caught and get shots.Got kicked by them too.