Breed. Consistency

[Cross breeder #1]

What would be the most consistent / consistently good breeds and most consistent animals whitsun these breeds?

 

[CSM]

I would think the breeds with the smallest gene pool maybe Highlands, Dexter, British White, etc. I would think the largest variation within a breed would have to be black angus.
CSM

 

[cmf1]

You'd be better served to look at herds rather than breeds. Breed consistency is a thing of the past. Reputable Herds are where you will find charchteristics that have been bred for over time.
Pick the breed that you like and then the herd that has been working at preserving or achieving those same traits.
Papers will not give you consistency, but like minded breeders can help you get there.

 

[Taurus]

IMO I don't think black Angus have large variation....its either longhorns, holsteins or Angus copies.

 

[3waycross]

Crossbreeder i think you are going to drive yourself nuts conducting all these polls. You are looking for something that doesn't exist and thinking that if you find that perfect breed/cow you will not have any of the problems we all talk about on here. Why not just pick the breed you feel like you can stand to look at for the next 5/10/15/20 years and then buy the best you can afford from one of the more reputable breeders and go to work making your own success.

 

[Massey135]

Angus likely has the most variation. They come in FS 2 all the way to 10. Holstein has the least.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I'd like to run 30 or so Hereford cows with a Black Angus bull and 30 or so Angus cows with a Hereford bulls to make baldies and retain the heifers to add to our existing herd of 80 commercial Angus cows and over them I'd like to rotate Limousin, Charolais, and Simmental bulls for the sale barn.

 

[Taurus]

Angus likely has the most variation. They come in FS 2 all the way to 10. Holstein has the least.

Trust me, holsteins have most variation than Black Angus from my experiences on dairy farm. Also lots of breeds went black and have low birthweights in recent years compared to the old fashion types of same breeds.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

IMO I don't think black Angus have large variation....its either longhorns, holsteins or Angus copies.

how so with longhorn??

 

[Taurus]

IMO I don't think black Angus have large variation....its either longhorns, holsteins or Angus copies.

how so with longhorn??

Colors, family lines, horn lengths and some of them may not be pure longhorns.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

well i know they had alot of variations in color and horn length,,, but had a tighter gene pool because of all those years they ran wild inbreeding,, only the strongest survived... ive never seen a longhorn cow that didnt have great udders and small teats... and i didnt think they were so popular even today with the hobbist that they could be tampered with enough to change that drastic

 

[VanC]

Angus likely has the most variation. They come in FS 2 all the way to 10. Holstein has the least.

Trust me, holsteins have most variation than Black Angus from my experiences on dairy farm. Also lots of breeds went black and have low birthweights in recent years compared to the old fashion types of same breeds.

Not as a beef animal they don't. Any packer will tell you that properly fed Holstein steers will produce a carcass that's much more predictable and consistent than any of the major beef breeds.

 

[Massey135]

Angus likely has the most variation. They come in FS 2 all the way to 10. Holstein has the least.

Trust me, holsteins have most variation than Black Angus from my experiences on dairy farm. Also lots of breeds went black and have low birthweights in recent years compared to the old fashion types of same breeds.

Not as a beef animal they don't. Any packer will tell you that properly fed Holstein steers will produce a carcass that's much more predictable and consistent than any of the major beef breeds.

Yup. Huge % of the breed traces back to 2 bulls.

Heck, where can one find the 'old fashioned' true purebred Angus?

 

[djinwa]

I would think the breeds with the smallest gene pool maybe Highlands, Dexter, British White, etc. I would think the largest variation within a breed would have to be black angus.
CSM

I've messed with Dexters and found some are long and some short legged. Some are more dual purpose dairy animals, and some more for beef. Some are gentle and some are crazy.

I'm messing with British Whites. The herds I've looked at had wide variation in frame size, udder type (some like dairy), udder quality, body type, and disposition.

Lide cmf1 said, it comes down to the breeders. The novelty breeds are more often owned by hobbyist types who don't know what to look for, and do not cull like they should. But that can apply to all the breeds.

 

[inbredredneck]

Angus likely has the most variation. They come in FS 2 all the way to 10. Holstein has the least.

Trust me, holsteins have most variation than Black Angus from my experiences on dairy farm. Also lots of breeds went black and have low birthweights in recent years compared to the old fashion types of same breeds.

Not as a beef animal they don't. Any packer will tell you that properly fed Holstein steers will produce a carcass that's much more predictable and consistent than any of the major beef breeds.

Van, I also have historical proof that holsteins do indeed produce the most consistant carcass among all breeds I've fed.

 

[VanC]

Trust me, holsteins have most variation than Black Angus from my experiences on dairy farm. Also lots of breeds went black and have low birthweights in recent years compared to the old fashion types of same breeds.

Not as a beef animal they don't. Any packer will tell you that properly fed Holstein steers will produce a carcass that's much more predictable and consistent than any of the major beef breeds.

Van, I also have historical proof that holsteins do indeed produce the most consistant carcass among all breeds I've fed.

Along with packers, I should have included anyone that feeds cattle for a living and has fed Holsteins along with traditional beef breeds. Those would be the ones in a position to see the difference.