Breed what you love

[Church View Cattle Co]

Have owned Longhorns for 20 years have did cross breeding a few times during that time. Have used angus. Hereford, black baldy and the last two years Charolais. By far the Charolais cross calves were the best crosses I had. Although they all were good. Haven't pulled a calf in all those 20 years. Have never used beef bulls on heifers though.

 

[Little Joe]

Were the charolais cross better because of weaning size or better at knocking off spots? Have you fed out and butchered any of the half breeds?

 

[Church View Cattle Co]

Weaning size was slightly heavier at roughly 175 day average they weighed 445#s. Knocked the color off almost all the calves. They were a very consistent group. Nice frames on them. This was the first group of char calves I've had . I haven't fed any out. This is my first post and I don't know if it went in the right spot. I'd like to post some pictures of some of the calves if I can figure it out

 

[Little Joe]

Weaning size was slightly heavier at roughly 175 day average they weighed 445#s. Knocked the color off almost all the calves. They were a very consistent group. Nice frames on them. This was the first group of char calves I've had . I haven't fed any out. This is my first post and I don't know if it went in the right spot. I'd like to post some pictures of some of the calves if I can figure it out

I think you have to make so many posts before you're allowed to post pictures.

 

[southalberta]

Are you keeping any of the F1 heifers or are all terminal?

if F1. Have you tried limo bulls to your solid reds? Or red homozygous?

F2 brangus ? (F2 being brangus- red angus)
Personally believe black angus too bastardized.

I have had longhorns since 1992 and last 10 or so years have been cross breeding with the intention of making a "superior beef animal with longevity". Have done that easily. However I have not been able to achieve a consistent calf crop.

My longhorn herd for beef production is extremely particular big framed, big arse, shorter legged. Homo black or homo rec

 

[Church View Cattle Co]

This was my first crop from the char bull. I am contemplating possibly keeping a couple F1 heifers back next year to see how they make brood cows. As far as using angus bulls my experience was and this was with a registered angus bull 1/3 came out solid black 1/3 came out line back and 1/3 came out all painted up. Also I was surprised 1/3 grew horns. I like your idea of breeding an animal that's useful for you. There's truth to using the certain traits of different breeds to get what you want but consistency can be tough.

 

[Little Joe]

This was my first crop from the char bull. I am contemplating possibly keeping a couple F1 heifers back next year to see how they make brood cows. As far as using angus bulls my experience was and this was with a registered angus bull 1/3 came out solid black 1/3 came out line back and 1/3 came out all painted up. Also I was surprised 1/3 grew horns. I like your idea of breeding an animal that's useful for you. There's truth to using the certain traits of different breeds to get what you want but consistency can be tough.

How did the calves turn out when you bred them to hereford?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

This was my first crop from the char bull. I am contemplating possibly keeping a couple F1 heifers back next year to see how they make brood cows. As far as using angus bulls my experience was and this was with a registered angus bull 1/3 came out solid black 1/3 came out line back and 1/3 came out all painted up. Also I was surprised 1/3 grew horns. I like your idea of breeding an animal that's useful for you. There's truth to using the certain traits of different breeds to get what you want but consistency can be tough.

I would like someone explain how a Reg. Angus bull can produce horns and spots. Are the LH genes different from known beef genes?

 

[Ky hills]

I would like someone explain how a Reg. Angus bull can produce horns and spots. Are the LH genes different from known beef genes?

I ain't smart enough to explain it, but can vouch for a registered Angus bull siring a horned calf from a longhorn cow. Had one last year, he was pretty much solid black except for white belly. This year the cow had a horned calf from a polled Hereford bull. Have heard some people say it has to do with an African horn gene that some longhorns have.

 

[Muddy]

I ain't smart enough to explain it, but can vouch for a registered Angus bull siring a horned calf from a longhorn cow. Had one last year, he was pretty much solid black except for white belly. This year the cow had a horned calf from a polled Hereford bull. Have heard some people say it has to do with an African horn gene that some longhorns have.

I've had horned calves out of registered Angus bulls and commercial Angus cows. Heard same thing from other folks that gotten horned calves out of registered Angus bulls as well.

 

[southalberta]

Black angus sire. Purebred longhorn momma horns are not typical longhorn more stunted.
Attached regular longhorn bull after with another longhorn angus hybrid. All of my heifers have been polled all bulls have tiny horns.

 

[Church View Cattle Co]

I would like someone explain how a Reg. Angus bull can produce horns and spots. Are the LH genes different from known beef genes?

 

[Church View Cattle Co]

I would like someone explain how a Reg. Angus bull can produce horns and spots. Are the LH genes different from known beef genes?

I Also always thought that there shouldn't be any horns when crossed with an angus. The bull I used was a papered bull.

 

[Church View Cattle Co]

The hereford calves

How did the calves turn out when you bred them to hereford?

the Hereford calves were pretty solid calves but for selling feeders a lot of color on some of them.

 

[southalberta]

This was my first crop from the char bull. I am contemplating possibly keeping a couple F1 heifers back next year to see how they make brood cows. As far as using angus bulls my experience was and this was with a registered angus bull 1/3 came out solid black 1/3 came out line back and 1/3 came out all painted up. Also I was surprised 1/3 grew horns. I like your idea of breeding an animal that's useful for you. There's truth to using the certain traits of different breeds to get what you want but consistency can be tough.

I am in deep southern Alberta cattle have to walk a lot sometimes. Especially in drier years.

not to mention cull feeder cows right now are pitifully low. Saw 20 or so sell from .12 to .60. All looked healthy and fine they were certainly dry all butterball fat but weather happens to.

just makes sense to me to have a beef animal that can live 15-20 years and be more productive in this environment. Not to mention the cross breed cows raise whopper calves due to longhorn genes upping butterfat in their milk

 

[Little Joe]

View attachment 908
Black angus sire. Purebred longhorn momma horns are not typical longhorn more stunted.
Attached regular longhorn bull after with another longhorn angus hybrid. All of my heifers have been polled all bulls have tiny horns.

My calves are all horned out of black baldy bull and longhorn cows. I have the opposite of you, my steer calves barely have any horn more like a curl in the hair there, the heifers on the other hand have decent size horns. Not gonna be big horns like a longhorn.

 

[southalberta]

My longhorn cows are different than 95% of everyone else's. Have bred a herd to make good beef.

personally don't care about horns regardless.
The horned Hereford are the ones with good genes. As opposed to the polled that will degrade your herd

 

[southalberta]

My calves are all horned out of black baldy bull and longhorn cows. I have the opposite of you, my steer calves barely have any horn more like a curl in the hair there, the heifers on the other hand have decent size horns. Not gonna be big horns like a longhorn.

If your baldy has simmental in it will 100% have horns nearly. Experimented with that also lol

 

[Little Joe]

They were bred to the baldy when I bought them, guy said he was a black hereford. I bred them back to an ultra black, one wasn't bred when I got them so she calved by the ultra black. Can't tell if he's gonna have horns or not.

 

[southalberta]

Touch his head you can tell fast