> are braunvieh a good cow to cross
> with. do they have calving
> problems. what are there good and
> bad qualities. would they cross
> good in a three way cross with sim
> and beefmasters. if not what would
> complete this three way cross.
Braunvieh offer many positive attributes and would benefit many commercial herds. Braunvieh influenced calves have muscular, lean carcasses similar to Simmental and Gelbvieh, but in general marble better than these breeds. Braunvieh influenced females are also very fertile and milk well (be careful that you don't select Braunvieh influcenced females with too much milk).
In general Braunvieh birth weights are probably a little higher than Simmental and Gelbvieh, so look at the Birth Weight EPDs of the Braunvieh bulls you are considering. I don't know if there are many Braunvieh bulls that I would feel comfortable using on first calf, moderate framed heifers, but I would have no problem using a Braunvieh bull with moderate birth weight EPDs on cows.
The biggest downside I see with Braunvieh is there color. They look like a beefy Brown Swiss. Personally I think they are a beautiful animal, but some feeders and packers are picky about color; especially if they are trying to produce beef for the Certified Angus or Hereford beef programs. However, when Braunvieh are bred to true black (homozygous black) cows, you should only get black calves.
The other color problem with Braunvieh is that when bred to red cattle the resulting progeny will often have a tiger striped appearance. Once again it is a situation where the feeder or packer may not pay a premium for cattle marked this way.