Braunvieh

[cow pollinater]

I had a customer ask me about bruanvieh yesterday. I don't know enough about them to give him any advice beyond what he's read and he's bright enough to know that the breed associations website is not always the most truthful description of the breed. ;-)
Anyone have any experience with them?
Good? Bad? Ugly?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

I seen some once. Not many around here CP so I can't help you. But as soon as Muddy see's this you will have all the info you need.

 

[Muddy]

I seen some once. Not many around here CP so I can't help you. But as soon as Muddy see's this you will have all the info you need.

Nope, I'll let Chippie handle it.

 

[insurman]

La Muneca down in the valley has been marketing them as a cross on the Simbrah. There is also a bull test program in Navasota that sells a bunch of them every year.

http://lamunecacattle.com/simbravieh-cattle.html

 

[chippie]

We have two, both are kids scramble projects.
One is fullblood. She is a great cow. Breeds easily (AI) and has had a calf regularly. She is 10 years old and still going strong. She has been bred to Angus (steer calves beefy and sell well, heifers sell very well) and her current calf is a Charolais x heifer. She is very nice too. She came from Janseen's Tannery Creek Ranch in La Grange TX.

The second one is a purebred (she has some Angus in her background). Same as the first, pops a calf out every year. She is 8 years old. She came from R&D Farms in Kentucky.

Both had their first calves as 2 year olds.

This is the fullblood with one of her calves.

Here is a profile of the calf at one month

I really like the breed. They are quiet and easy to work.

 

[UG]

The Braunvieh breed is one of the best kept secrets in the industry. In general, the females are fertile, good milking cows that raise a big calf, and have the longevity to be productive for many years, in many different environments. Braunviehs are one of the better marbling Continental breeds, so for producers retaining ownership on their calves through the feedlot and selling on a grid, putting Angus bulls on Braunvieh cows, or vice versa is a good combination. And the Braunvieh/Angus cow is right up there, in my opinion, with a Gelbvieh/Angus and Simmental/Angus cow.

The Braunvieh breed has not had the success of some other Continental breeds for a few reasons:
1. Traditionally marked Braunvieh calves are often discounted at the sale barn because buyers assume they are Brown Swiss (dairy) calves.
2. Oftentimes when Braunvieh are crossed with red cattle, the resulting calves will be Tiger-striped, which also results in a discount at the sale barn.
3. Many Braunvieh breeders have resisted breeding their cattle black, like many Simmental, Limousin, and Gelbvieh breeders have done. Though I don't like it, many commercial producers only want black cattle in order to capture higher premiums at the sale barn.
4. It also seems that a higher percentage of Braunvieh cattle are still horned, where as many other Continental breeds have put more emphasis on breeding polled cattle.

We have had a handful of Braunviehs over the years, and still have a couple. If we were strictly a commercial operation, I would strongly consider putting more Braunvieh influence in my herd.

 

[brimmer X]

I have about 16 purebred braunvieh cows and 13 or so 1/2 bloods. Two of the purebloods are over 13 years old and still producing. I bought several bruanvieh cows and a full blood braunvieh bull for a good base of moma cows. The bull was good natured ( was shown) and had a 92lb birth weight. He was used on the Braun cows as well as Charolais and Simbra, and never a calf pulled. He was NOT used on heifers. I have retained most all heifers from the cross as well. The past few years I have used a Hereford bull, and am very pleased with that cross. There is some stripping( not all) in the white face offspring, but that does not bother me here in Arkansas. I now have a black angus heifer bull for breeding the bruanvieh and the cross bred offspring.

I think a fat slicked-off bruanvieh cow is a beautiful animal. They are very fertile, especially the cross bred heifers. I had 2 get bred about 8 to 9 months old, not by choice. So, one should be set up to separate the bull from heifers early on. They produce plenty of milk, and are easy to work. They cross well with most breeds, and I have heard no complaints from Angus users. Most udders are set and hold up well.

Faults: My animals run on mostly bottom land, and some of mine will grow a long toe and require a little trimming. That may just be my animals. Do not notice it as much with the cross bred animals. If selling straight braunvieh at the sale barn, one could take a little hit, associated with the brown swiss. Cross bred would be minimal, especially when using a black hided bull.

I like the Braunvieh breed and the cross bred animals. They are not the norm, around here, so it is heard for people to associate the breed. I am a commercial guy. I got into braunvieh for a base heard of commercail cows,something a little different, and have not been disappointed. I believe the black hided calves will sell the highest for me this year, but I'm a big fan of Charolais and Hereford bulls. If I were starting over, and could not find some good braunvieh cows, I'd have a pasture of Charolais x Hereford cross cows, YWF. I'd then implement CB's thoughts on a black bull.

 

[cow pollinater]

Thanks all. This guy is pretty progressive. He buys the best angus carcass bulls he can get his hands on and sells the calves on the grid. He's heard that braunvieh marble better than most continentals but still add some yield grade. Plus he has some summer pastures leased on a river bed that gets really humid and with our heat that can be a cow killer and he heard they were pretty tolerant of humidity.
I know him well enough to know that if he brought it up I can expect to either be asked to find him semen or he'll ask me to breed some and already have it on hand when I get there but he asked my advice so I figured I should at least ask for second hand info to pass along.
Thanks all.

 

[bigbull338]

well i for 1 disslike that breed.but those bulls do make their calves no qestion about it.neighbor had a bull of that breed next to our cows.he would jump the fence.so we told him move or sell the bull.so he moved him to another pasture away from the cows.

 

[Bigfoot]

Personally, no experience. Really good friend of mine, used some braunviegh Bulls on his cows. Exception growth, and did really well at the sale. I thought he was going to retain ownership, and send them to the feed lot. I think he changed his mind on that. I would have like to have seen the carcass info. He kept several heifers. He says they are pretty wild. They handle cattle rough, when they do work them. Not sure how much of their temperament is from them, and how much is from his crew. Seeing his calves, made me a believer in the breed. I probably wouldn't go out and buy a braunviegh bull, but I would call his calves superior quality.

 

[UG]

Personally, no experience. Really good friend of mine, used some braunviegh Bulls on his cows. Exception growth, and did really well at the sale. I thought he was going to retain ownership, and send them to the feed lot. I think he changed his mind on that. I would have like to have seen the carcass info. He kept several heifers. He says they are pretty wild. They handle cattle rough, when they do work them. Not sure how much of their temperament is from them, and how much is from his crew. Seeing his calves, made me a believer in the breed. I probably wouldn't go out and buy a braunviegh bull, but I would call his calves superior quality.

In our limited experience with Braunvieh, they are relatively quiet cattle. Considering that they were a dual purpose breed in Switzerland, and were often housed inside for the winters, I assume that any wild ones were typically culled. After many generations of selecting for cattle that were calm around people I have assumed that most Braunviehs are relatively quiet. That being said, there are some wild cattle of all breeds.

 

[Bigfoot]

I probably shouldn't have spoke to their disposition. I didn't witness it. I did see some calves that were thick, with big old buts, and wide top lines.

 

[gizmom]

I have never even seen one.

gizmom

 

[cow pollinater]

Disposition is not a concern in this herd good or bad. He's used some nasty stuff over the years to chase carcass. It has paid off for him but some of the cows are pretty miserable to be around. He's set up to handle any kind of cow and has good hired help so there's no difference either way for him.
I'd like to find him some middle ground so that all of his cows act the same as the gentle ones tend to get treated poorly because of how the bad ones treat his help but that isn't my choice to make in this case.

 

[cow pollinater]

Also, nice pair Chippie. Thank you for the pictures. I would love to have a pasture full of cows that look like brown swiss without the milk if I could do it without getting beat up to bad at the sale.

 

[Ojp6]

We got 7 purebred braunvieh heifers that had lost a calf and in the feedyard they just wouldn't get fat. I don't know what it was but they gained alright at first but they just wouldn't finish. I know a few decent sized buyers that won't bid on purebreds to go to the feedyard because they have had the same experience. I've seen them raise a heck of a black calf before. I saw a small thin braunvieh cow come through the sale with a 400 lb calf that was as good of a calf as you see. Some of them may finish well I have very limited experience with them in the feedyard, just thought I would share what I've seen.

 

[Lucky_P]

I've wanted to use some since I saw some clients' Brown Swiss-cross calves back in the '80s. Reading this thread has reinforced my intent to try some in the next year or so.
Wish some of the major bull studs carried some Braunvieh semen... I know ABS had a couple, back in the 1980s... but they also had stuff like Belgian Blue, USMARC Twinners, etc. - probably just not enough demand for it.
Universal and Bovine Elite carry some Braunvieh sires, but a lot of them are 'older' genetics...could be good or bad, I dunno; then there's always purchase direct from breeders - but I don't have a shipper...
I've been receiving the Braunvieh World publication for years at no charge...source of info on breeders, sire lines, etc.
McBee Cattle at Fayette MO has been breeding 'em for quite a while - purebred and crossbred/percentage...was my first encounter with Braunvieh cattle, while I was in grad school at UofMO. Golden Link probably has been breeding 'em as long as any operation I know of in the US.

Local Beefmaster breeders used some Braunvieh bulls several years back - terrific calves, and they kept a lot of the F1 heifers, and said that they made great cows...but told me the bulls were the meanest things they'd ever had on the place - and they run a Jersey bull on their heifers! Bull lot is right by the highway, so I see at least some of what they've got working on a regular basis; looked like they switched to black bulls for a few years, but then brought in another group of young Braunvieh bulls...but recently appear to have gone back to all Beefmaster bulls.

As brimmer-X said...I've seen some brindle cows come out of crosses over red cows.

 

[gizmom]

Chip pie that is a really nice pair

Gizmom

 

[gizmom]

Chip pie that is a really nice pair

Gizmom

 

[Andyva]

I always heard that Brown Swiss was less desirable because it had a carcass with yellow fat, not that there is anything wrong with yellow fat, just that consumers tended to not like it. Does the Braunvieh have yellow fat?