british white x hereford for a herd sire.

Help Support CattleToday:

We like Herefords and use Hereford bulls and some percentage Hereford Angus bulls. I think that they can work in a lot of programs, however they are somewhat limited though as far as cross breeding. Some crosses turn out great and well accepted while others not so much. Then with BW in the mix that's a lot more color variation on top of what the Hereford contributes. To me the two best suited breeds for sires on a mixed herd are Charolais and Angus. My personal preference is Angus, if replacement heifers are to be retained, and calving ease is a priority.
 
Guess my question always is, when you cross this breed with that breed and that one with this one.....
Ever fed cattle??? Who are you producing this cross for???? Looks like , "I have a breeding program out of control, I'm gonna sell for freezer beef the ones the buyers can tell, and let them gamble on the rest that look ok." JMHO , don't bet the farm on it.
 
plumber_greg said:
Guess my question always is, when you cross this breed with that breed and that one with this one.....
Ever fed cattle??? Who are you producing this cross for???? Looks like , "I have a breeding program out of control, I'm gonna sell for freezer beef the ones the buyers can tell, and let them gamble on the rest that look ok." JMHO , don't bet the farm on it.
Click to expand...
yeah, i don't rely on this to make a living so i'm not bound to certified black hide buyers. i'm producing them for me. as far as the buyers go they're the last people i want to have to sell to since it's their ball and their court. i don't like buyers telling me what they will let me sell them my product for.
 
Ky hills said:
We like Herefords and use Hereford bulls and some percentage Hereford Angus bulls. I think that they can work in a lot of programs, however they are somewhat limited though as far as cross breeding. Some crosses turn out great and well accepted while others not so much. Then with BW in the mix that's a lot more color variation on top of what the Hereford contributes. To me the two best suited breeds for sires on a mixed herd are Charolais and Angus. My personal preference is Angus, if replacement heifers are to be retained, and calving ease is a priority.
Click to expand...
my reason for using that hereford bull is his attitude. i can put my hands on him without any reaction. i'm a one man show and need cows that don't get stupid in a catch pen or a chute.
 
Son of Butch said:
yup, the british white coloring is strong....
calves 1/2 angus 1/2 british white, a lot will be marked like their mommas

1/4 british white 1/4 hereford 1/2 angus will be a lot of black sided calves, with white back stripes and motely faces with an occasional white one and an occasional fully black one.
Click to expand...
that's more or less what i'm expecting.
 
GoWyo said:
Your bull looks like a steer. Totally lacking masculinity for his age. Just calling him as I see him in that photo.
Click to expand...
interesting, at 16 months i thought he should really just be starting to fill out good.
 
georgiabob said:
my reason for using that hereford bull is his attitude. i can put my hands on him without any reaction. i'm a one man show and need cows that don't get stupid in a catch pen or a chute.
Click to expand...
The disposition factor is something we like about Herefords too and a big reason we use them so I am in total agreement there. On average our Herefords are easy to work with. We have several Herefords so we know the trade off for the disposition also comes with a dock at the market. My main concern for your situation is more about the retaining of a bull from a British White cow. That may well yield some decent cattle, but the color is going to vary widely across a mixed herd, more so than a straight Hereford or even a black baldy.
 
Ky hills said:
The disposition factor is something we like about Herefords too and a big reason we use them so I am in total agreement there. On average our Herefords are easy to work with. We have several Herefords so we know the trade off for the disposition also comes with a dock at the market. My main concern for your situation is more about the retaining of a bull from a British White cow. That may well yield some decent cattle, but the color is going to vary widely across a mixed herd, more so than a straight Hereford or even a black baldy.
Click to expand...
my goal isn't to move everything through a sale barn. that's just doing the work for the next guy to make the profits. i'm curious how much chrome will be thrown 3 generations down the line by putting a british white cross in the mix now. if mother cows are only 1/4 british white and they get bred to a black bull or a baldie i would think a fair amount of calves would be baldies or black but i'm guessing.
 
Ky hills said:
The disposition factor is something we like about Herefords too and a big reason we use them so I am in total agreement there. On average our Herefords are easy to work with. We have several Herefords so we know the trade off for the disposition also comes with a dock at the market. My main concern for your situation is more about the retaining of a bull from a British White cow. That may well yield some decent cattle, but the color is going to vary widely across a mixed herd, more so than a straight Hereford or even a black baldy.
Click to expand...
right, i'm not letting sale barn thieves dictate the kind of cows i want. hopefully only a third or less would be run through a sale.
 
MurraysMutts said:
Some animals are slower to develop than others.
But if your goal is big animals in less time, idk if he will do that for you...

Time frame wasnt specified was it?
Click to expand...
he will only be 1/8 of the end product. the goal is to get cows with his disposition and the british white's milking abilities. i'm got a bull calf that stands to be a monster in a couple of years that i'd like to try over the cows out of the cross. fact is, the first cross isn't even made yet and there's no guarantee it will produce a bull calf. this is all just me thinking out loud and listening to opinions.
 
georgiabob said:
my goal isn't to move everything through a sale barn. that's just doing the work for the next guy to make the profits. i'm curious how much chrome will be thrown 3 generations down the line by putting a british white cross in the mix now. if mother cows are only 1/4 british white and they get bred to a black bull or a baldie i would think a fair amount of calves would be baldies or black but i'm guessing.
Click to expand...
That's something I can't answer with any certainty. After several generations it may not be noticeable, but color patterns are sometimes unpredictable and can show up on occasion down the road. We have a Hereford x Shorthorn cow, that had an Angus calf, she is mostly black but does have some white on her back and belly as well as some evidence of having roan markings on her head. Both the cow and heifer had calves by a Hereford bull this time and their calves are nearly identical showing no roan or excess white looking more like red baldies. If I were guessing I would say that after several generations that most calves would not be showing it but would also not be surprised if a few odd marked calves still occurred. It's something that if you have a market for cattle outside of taking to the stockyards then it doesn't matter near as much. We sometimes sell some straight bred Hereford heifers out privately. They are docked at the market, yet some people seek them out specifically. We also most often choose Herefords or red Hereford crosses for feeding out as beef calves, instead of black ones because the black calves do better at the market. We are limited though in what we can sell outside of the traditional stockyards setting, so when we sell there it's always nice to take a group of black calves. It's unfortunate but the dock results in a substantial amount of money left on the table when selling red calves and it costs the same to raise them.
 
Ky hills said:
That's something I can't answer with any certainty. After several generations it may not be noticeable, but color patterns are sometimes unpredictable and can show up on occasion down the road. We have a Hereford x Shorthorn cow, that had an Angus calf, she is mostly black but does have some white on her back and belly as well as some evidence of having roan markings on her head. Both the cow and heifer had calves by a Hereford bull this time and their calves are nearly identical showing no roan or excess white looking more like red baldies. If I were guessing I would say that after several generations that most calves would not be showing it but would also not be surprised if a few odd marked calves still occurred. It's something that if you have a market for cattle outside of taking to the stockyards then it doesn't matter near as much. We sometimes sell some straight bred Hereford heifers out privately. They are docked at the market, yet some people seek them out specifically. We also most often choose Herefords or red Hereford crosses for feeding out as beef calves, instead of black ones because the black calves do better at the market. We are limited though in what we can sell outside of the traditional stockyards setting, so when we sell there it's always nice to take a group of black calves. It's unfortunate but the dock results in a substantial amount of money left on the table when selling red calves and it costs the same to raise them.
Click to expand...
and those calves with a little white on them bring the same price as the solid black when the end consumer is paying for them. it's stupid. i would think shorthorn crosses would throw similar markings. if i had to breed to go to market i'd run a charolais bull for the terminal calf sire i guess. if i end up doing this i'll put the bull over three charolais cross cows to start with and see what i get.
 
I do have a registered White Park cow. Bred 2 times with angus and the calf looked just like momma with white body and black points. Bred 2 times with hereford and calf looks more like a lineback with black body and white stripe and spots. This years hereford cross calf is half and half..
 

Attachments

  • 2021cows5.jpg.jfif.JPG
    2021cows5.jpg.jfif.JPG
    396 KB · Views: 15
  • elsa.jpg
    elsa.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 15
georgiabob said:
and those calves with a little white on them bring the same price as the solid black when the end consumer is paying for them. it's stupid. i would think shorthorn crosses would throw similar markings. if i had to breed to go to market i'd run a charolais bull for the terminal calf sire i guess. if i end up doing this i'll put the bull over three charolais cross cows to start with and see what i get.
Click to expand...
Yes it's ridiculous how things are. If anyone just has a few head and can sell them privately then it truly doesn't matter what the breed or color, and that should certainly be true if selling them for beef. My concern would be where folks like us that are not a large outfit but have more than we can sell privately. We are depending on our cattle as a major part of our income so it would be to our benefit money wise to have black or BWF calves, but we still hold out with some straight bred Herefords.
 
Ky hills said:
Yes it's ridiculous how things are. If anyone just has a few head and can sell them privately then it truly doesn't matter what the breed or color, and that should certainly be true if selling them for beef. My concern would be where folks like us that are not a large outfit but have more than we can sell privately. We are depending on our cattle as a major part of our income so it would be to our benefit money wise to have black or BWF calves, but we still hold out with some straight bred Herefords.
Click to expand...
When i was a kid hereford was the breed everybody wanted. I prefer them over angus and have considered running a small registered herd.
 

Similar threads

D
What happened to white angus?
2
Replies
30
Views
1K
djinwa
D
laek
Breeding in a small herd
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
Bestoutwest
B
G
Raw day for a cow move
Replies
13
Views
654
farmerjan
F
Silver
Beautiful day for a preg test
Replies
1
Views
397
Dave
D
G
A little stockpiled irrigation, a little hay scattered and a little country cattle trading.
Replies
5
Views
414
MurraysMutts
MurraysMutts

Latest posts

Top