braunvieh pros and cons question

[bridgesandspangler]

Hello all who read,

I am an FFA kid looking at braunvieh cattle and i was wondering some of their pros and cons before i decide to ventuer into them. My family has a hereford background so we dont know much about them. So help me out if you can.
Thanks

 

[dun]

All of the problems of Brown Swiss dairy cattle but better carcass and a lot of bone to meat ratio.
For my taste the ears are way to hairy to be able to read ear tags.

dun

 

[ga. prime]

The Cattle Show on RFD tv did a very good program on Braunviehs last week. It got my interest up considerably in the breed. Sorry I have no experience with them at this time to share with you. According to various producers on the show, Braunviehs will thrive from Mexico to Canada, and the best Momma cows in the world are BraunviehXAngus(black or red.) But this is all hearsay.In the next two or threeyears,however, if I don't change my mind, I plan on using a Braunvieh bull on some of my heifers that have reached 3/4 angus or better. So, in 4 or 5 years I will be able to share some real experience with you. Getting educated about cattle is a long, slow process. This probably hasn't helped you any, but check back with me in, say, the year 2011. Hopefully, some of the breeders that were on the Cattle Show will post on this topic. Or some other Braunvieh breeders that weren't on the show.

 

[la4angus]

According to various producers on the show, Braunviehs will thrive from Mexico to Canada, and the best Momma cows in the world are BraunviehXAngus(black or red.) But this is all hearsay.

Would you expect anything less from someone promoting a relative unknown breed.
Just a short few years ago, World Feeder Bermuda grass was touting sort of the same similar claims for the World Feeder Bermuda grass Just a different product, same hype.

 

[dun]

One of the herds I've worked with here has decreased the size of their animals by selecting for smaller cows. Their calving problems are down to a more4 managable 5% and the weaned calves are in the same weight range as our crossbreds. But they are still heavier boned then I like. At the regualr feeder sales they get hit fairly hard because of color. I know the buyers realize that anything that well muscled isn't a Jersey or Brown Swiss, but I think it's like a lot of the docks that go on. They're docked because they can be.
The other herd here still has problems and oversized (to my mind) animals.

dun

 

[la4angus]

but I think it's like a lot of the docks that go on. They're docked because they can be.
dun

And just who is docking these calttle. The person that bought them had the high bid so he/she didn't dock them. Others didn't buy them, so they didn't dock them.
To dock something, first you need to have the high bid and then take money off the top.
If the so called docked animals are such a good deal why doesn't the ones that complain about the situation buy them and make all that easy money for themselves, just because they can.
This sounds like Slick Willy's because I could."

 

[Fleckvieh DPB]

just a question
why breed beef to brown swiss

we milk some swiss cowsin our dairy herd.
i can agree that they can be good mothers.
they look after ther calf quite well after calving.
some dairy breeds dont care so much.

also dun.... why do the dock them?

 

[dun]

but I think it's like a lot of the docks that go on. They're docked because they can be.
dun

And just who is docking these calttle. The person that bought them had the high bid so he/she didn't dock them. Others didn't buy them, so they didn't dock them.
To dock something, first you need to have the high bid and then take money off the top.
If the so called docked animals are such a good deal why doesn't the ones that complain about the situation buy them and make all that easy money for themselves, just because they can.
This sounds like Slick Willy's because I could."

The dock is bringing 5-10 cwt less then similar color that aren't Brahnvieh. And the because they could is exactly the reason I think they do.
When you only have one seller selling 20-30 head, why would they buy them back. In other areas they may be in more demand, around here they're not.

dun

 

[dun]

just a question
why breed beef to brown swiss

we milk some swiss cowsin our dairy herd.
i can agree that they can be good mothers.
they look after ther calf quite well after calving.
some dairy breeds dont care so much.

also dun.... why do the dock them?

The relationship of Brown Swiss to Branvieh is the same as beef Shorthorn to Milking Shorthorn. They started from the same gene pool but were selected for different traits. Brahnvieh for beef production, Brown Swiss for milk production.

dun

 

[la4angus]

The dock is bringing 5-10 cwt less then similar color that aren't Brahnvieh. And the because they could is exactly the reason I think they do.
When you only have one seller selling 20-30 head, why would they buy them back. In other areas they may be in more demand, around here they're not.

dun

If they dock because they could" and there is only one seller selling only 20 to 30 hd to one buyer then the seller needs to bring his cattle to a competitive market. $5.00 to $10.00 cwt could pay a lot of commission.
In this circumstance that is the sellers fault.
No competition = lower prices.

 

[UG]

Hello all who read,

I am an FFA kid looking at braunvieh cattle and i was wondering some of their pros and cons before i decide to ventuer into them. My family has a hereford background so we dont know much about them. So help me out if you can.
Thanks

We've bred a few cows to Braunvieh, via A.I. and really liked the calves. Grew well on the cow and fed out well. Calves were moderate size at birth; we used a Braunvieh bull with a below breed average birth weight EPD. I really liked the looks of the cattle: deep bodied, muscular, and plenty of rib.

Someone made a comment about how the Braunvieh association's show on RFD really talked up the breed. I saw the show and agree; however that is no different than any other breed. The one thing that the Braunvieh breed has going for it that many other breeds don't, is that they have a whole lot of documentation (i.e. MARC data, carcass contests, etc.) that shows that Braunvieh are competitive in today's beef industry. Check out the breed association's website for lots of data.

The one big curse the breed has is their traditional color. I was at a bull test station sale where bulls from several different breeds were being sold. Only one Braunvieh was in the sale but he had great performance data and looked great phenotypically. However, he didn't even get the minimum $1100 bid. I think there were two problems; first of all many of the producers hadn't even heard of Braunvieh and the second problem is that he looked like a muscular Brown Swiss.

Several Braunvieh producers are breeding up from an Angus base to maintain a black hide. I think there is some real potential for the black Braunviehs with serious commercial cattle producers.