Char heifers with senepol calves

[jilleroo]

I'll just try and post this one photo first and see if its successful.....!
Here's a couple of our homebred char heifers with their senepol calves, ready to wean. There's about 200 of
these heifers calved. Many are pure char but there's plenty of charbray ones too. This is the first time we've used the senepol bulls -we've joined our heifers to angus for the last 20 years but find the resulting calves have little heat tolerance. We're hoping
the senelais will be better. The char calves are fine with the heat but not the angus cross. So far the senelais are shaping up well with a very quiet temperament. We won't be keeping any of them, all will go to sale.

 

[dun]

I'll just try and post this one photo first and see if its successful.....!
Here's a couple of our homebred char heifers with their senepol calves, ready to wean. There's about 200 of
these heifers calved. Many are pure char but there's plenty of charbray ones too. This is the first time we've used the senepol bulls -we've joined our heifers to angus for the last 20 years but find the resulting calves have little heat tolerance. We're hoping
the senelais will be better. The char calves are fine with the heat but not the angus cross. So far the senelais are shaping up well with a very quiet temperament. We won't be keeping any of them, all will go to sale.

 

[jilleroo]

Thanks Dun for doing that for me!

 

[Jovid]

I'll just try and post this one photo first and see if its successful.....!
Here's a couple of our homebred char heifers with their senepol calves, ready to wean. There's about 200 of
these heifers calved. Many are pure char but there's plenty of charbray ones too. This is the first time we've used the senepol bulls -we've joined our heifers to angus for the last 20 years but find the resulting calves have little heat tolerance. We're hoping
the senelais will be better. The char calves are fine with the heat but not the angus cross. So far the senelais are shaping up well with a very quiet temperament. We won't be keeping any of them, all will go to sale.

Good looking calves

 

[Baldie Maker]

Why don't you all keep the heifers from this cross? jw Are you a strictly purebred operation maybe?

 

[jilleroo]

Baldiemaker, we really would like to keep a few of these little girls to try but we just can't fit them in! I imagine they'll be good moderate-framed easykeeping cows....it's a shame to send them to the meatworks. But we have plenty of char and charb heifers to choose from and they are our preference - we send many lovely heifers to the feeders every year. (We're a strictly commercial herd but we buy a mob of stud cows occasionally and de-register them.) I'm hoping someone might buy the heifer portion of these senelais to keep on as breeders - but I think I'm dreaming, they'll be on someone's dinner plate quicksmart.

 

[Australian]

Nice calves Jill. I've seen nice Senepol calves out of South Devons. It puts a nice sleek coat on them.

 

[VLS_GUY]

Jill,

If you wanted to keep replacements out of your straight bred Charolais and Charbray cows what breed of bull would you use over them?

 

[Australian]

A nice light red Charbray bull would be the go I'd say.

 

[jilleroo]

Yes, we do keep about 200 of what we think are the best heifers each year for replacements - and they are by char and charb bulls.
We try to only buy generation-bred charbray bulls, not char x brahman. It's hard to find the type of bulls we like. Actually, the type of sleek-coated pure charolais bull we like and some of the charbray bulls we like, don't look that different!! And yes, we do like nice light red or gold bulls, whether char or charb. Will try and get some photos of our charb bulls for folk to eyeball and comment on. (Don't forget we're only a commercial herd and don't like to pay over about $6000 tops - hopefully half that.)
We also keep some outstanding individuals for ourselves or sale but try to avoid the temptation as they're a nuisance around the place.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Cows are doing a great job. Is the big white tank a water tank?

 

[VLS_GUY]

Jill,

I was going to ask you what you think of Belmont Reds but then I remembered the Senepol calves you have meet the breed composition to be register Belmont Reds. Beyond that how well do high grade Simbrah do in your country?
If you want to see some Red Charolais check out the bull sale catalogues below:
http://www.charolaisbanner.com/cat10/hiweigh/index.htm
http://www.charolaisbanner.com/cat10/hiweigh/index.htm

 

[jilleroo]

Yes the white tank is a water tank Jeanne. The water reticulates down polypipe from an artesian bore which is 20 miles from the furtherest point it services on our property. Needless to say, water facility checking is a major activity, summer and winter.
VLS there are not big numbers of simbrah around out here but they're very nice cattle. Don't know why but they and simmental arent popular at all.
We had 80 bought-in simbrah cows for a few years and bred some nice calves out of them by the char.

 

[VLS_GUY]

Jill,

I have herd quite a bit about Red Charolais Bulls coming out of Australia and being used to good purpose in Alberta. What do you think of the Red Bulls in the links provided?

 

[jilleroo]

Sorry VLS, I meant to comment on the weblinks you sent. I enjoyed looking at the bulls, some beauties on there.
Soft and meaty with moderate frame. Some stud char bull vendors say they found some solid resistance towards white bulls last year in favour of red. This is because of some feedlot industry talk about white char steers being harder to fatten - which is probably correct when they are pure or close to pure. I don't know that its the coat colour which causes the problem, more the breeding of the beast.
However, we've just sold a large line of mainly white heavy feeder steers through the auction system and found no resistance because of their colour. (We hear the "colour" talk and then they pay a premium to buy them!!)
We are definitely favouring red bulls to buy, but wont pass over a good white one just because of his colour.
If we had to choose bulls other than char or charb to put over our main herd, we would probably go for Droughtmasters.
Droughtie x char is a cross with huge potential.
We do have some Santa cows also and crossed with the char they can produce an ideal beast - or not....you can get a lanky boney steer that is almost impossible to fatten!
I tried to post some bull photos but the "photo gods" weren't working with me.....

 

[jilleroo]

Update - we sold all the weanable calves a couple of months back and they were hotly contested at auction. I'm happy to say the little heifers all went as future breeders, not to the feeders. They're actually not too far away so we might be able to see how they turn out as cows.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

That's good news for you. Nice to follow thru on your breeding program.