Charolais bull on crossbred cows

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TXBobcat

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I am thinking of running a Charolais bull on some of our crossbred heifers to produce terminal calves and was wanting some feedback on how this might work out.

The heifers are 50% Angus x 50% Longhorn. (Angus sire, Longhorn Dam).

I plan to breed these heifers to a Charolais bull to produce terminal calves that would be 50% Char, 25% Angus, 25% Longhorn.

My main concern would be calving ease, but I think with the Longhorn influence, these heifers should be OK.
 
Before even considering it I would have pelvic measurments done on all of the heifers, then I would want to see a bunch of the particular bulls newborn calves
 
I was planning on buying a young virgin bull, so looking at his progeny would not be a possibility; however, the pelvic measurement is good advice.

I have heard that Longhorns in general have a larger pelvic area than other breeds which contributes to their calving ease. I'm hoping this would be passed on to the 50% Longhorn heifers. I have never had pelvic exams done on any of our cattle; however, we have not had any calving problems with the purebred Longhorns or the Angus x Longhorn crosses.

What's the earliest age the pelvic exam could be done? Just wondering if it could be done when I take the heifers for their OCV at 8-10 months old?
 
i would not breed 1st calf heifers to a char bull,because youll most likely have to pull calves.id put the char on a group of older cows if it where me.
 
Charolais like most of the other breeds have came a long way on the birthweights. Just saying Charolais does not mean u would pull calves. Last year I bred heifers to an easy calving Charolais and bred one group of cows to a high birthweight high growth Angus. Neither had any calves pulled. But the Angus might not have worked on the heifers.
But a blanket statement that if you use a Charolais bull you will most likely pull calves is incorrect.
 
kenny thomas":1ew9tcmn said:
Charolais like most of the other breeds have came a long way on the birthweights. Just saying Charolais does not mean u would pull calves. Last year I bred heifers to an easy calving Charolais and bred one group of cows to a high birthweight high growth Angus. Neither had any calves pulled. But the Angus might not have worked on the heifers.
But a blanket statement that if you use a Charolais bull you will most likely pull calves is incorrect.
I use Charolais bulls. I believe this statement to be spot on. I would be VERY selective of the bull though.
 
kenny thomas":2c2ms0g0 said:
Charolais like most of the other breeds have came a long way on the birthweights. Just saying Charolais does not mean u would pull calves. Last year I bred heifers to an easy calving Charolais and bred one group of cows to a high birthweight high growth Angus. Neither had any calves pulled. But the Angus might not have worked on the heifers.
But a blanket statement that if you use a Charolais bull you will most likely pull calves is incorrect.


They have come a long way to that I agree, back when they were first getting popular I wore out a set of chains pulling calves. That was before we had any idea what an epd was or how to use one. I always like the Char cow better than the bull give lot's of milk and raise a heck of a calf. I would be sure to heed Isom's advice and really research the line before putting on a bunch of heifers for C/E and B/W.
 
deenranch,

Thanks for the PM. I just noticed it and responded.

I'm still debating whether to run a Charolais bull on these cattle or go back with an Angus.
 
I use charolais bulls on all my cows. The charolais bull will give you a good selling calf out of those cows. However, I would not use the charolais bull on the heifers. The way the black angus breed has changed, I would be very careful about what black angus bull I used if you do not want to pull calves, also. Awful hard to find heifer bulls anymore that won't throw some calves to pull. Used to be a 40 pound calf was perfect for a heifer. Now they call 70-75 lb calves a good heifer bull, but you will pull alot of those.
 
I like Char bulls alot , but I wouldn't use them here . I was under the assumsion , that the longhorn ease of calving on the other breeds came from the bull throwing small headed , narrow shoulder calves .At least that is what the guys I know that have used them have said . Everyone else has brought up good and very valid points , I would just be looking for a good heifer bull , pick your color.
 
whats your reason for wanting to breed to a charolais bull ?
in my neck of the woods black calves out sell others even smokies.
just my two cents i'd use a low birth weight angus bull and then after a calf or two i'd look at a terminal bull.
 
cross_7":1mvsxnz6 said:
whats your reason for wanting to breed to a charolais bull ?
in my neck of the woods black calves out sell others even smokies.
just my two cents i'd use a low birth weight angus bull and then after a calf or two i'd look at a terminal bull.
An Angus bull and a Charolais bull on an Angus based cow herd will produce different results, in my experience the Char wins every time. The Angus calves may sell for more per pound, but rarely will they sell for as much. That being bulls of the same price range/quality.....uh, er you get my point.
 
your saying they may bring less per pound but will weigh more(out grow) calves out of a high growth angus bull.
i have my doubts but i've been wrong before.

them smokie calves sure make good sausage though
smokies1.jpg
 
cross_7":2n19cri5 said:
your saying they may bring less per pound but will weigh more(out grow) calves out of a high growth angus bull.
i have my doubts but i've been wrong before.

them smokie calves sure make good sausage though
smokies1.jpg
Do you have any pics of the Char bull you tried?
 
nope never owned a char bull, but have a good freind that uses char bulls and he has nice calves.
i've never compared the growth out of a char and angus bull(terminal) side by side, but i'd be surpised if there is a lot of difference if all things being equal, but as i stated i've been surprised before.
still wouldn't use one on heifers.
 
cross_7":2y6hm4xg said:
nope never owned a char bull, but have a good freind that uses char bulls and he has nice calves.
i've never compared the growth out of a char and angus bull(terminal) side by side, but i'd be surpised if there is a lot of difference if all things being equal, but as i stated i've been surprised before.
still wouldn't use one on heifers.

I don't know about Char/Angus but Hereford/Char is flat out awesome. Neighbor down the road runs that cross and he ring's the bell at the sale barn with big calves. I haul for him he is putting 80 to 100 pounds more per calf on the trailer at weaning.
 
cross_7":20axnyyb said:
nope never owned a char bull, but have a good freind that uses char bulls and he has nice calves.
i've never compared the growth out of a char and angus bull(terminal) side by side, but i'd be surpised if there is a lot of difference if all things being equal, but as i stated i've been surprised before.
still wouldn't use one on heifers.
I wouldn't use on heifers either. But if you'll find a good Char I firmly believe you will gain at least 50 pounds per calf at weaning all inputs being the same. Mine is much higher than that. The only time I wouldn't use a Char is if I held back heifers.
 
Times have changed for sure, but 25yrs. ago I put a char bull on my Angus cows and buried 3 good cows and had to pull most of the calves on the rest. Charolais bulls are good, but you better have big cows.
 
highgrit":zzt3fg9m said:
Times have changed for sure, but 25yrs. ago I put a char bull on my Angus cows and buried 3 good cows and had to pull most of the calves on the rest. Charolais bulls are good, but you better have big cows.
My calves average 78#. I'm sure there are some of those old bloodlines out there but I have never pulled one unless it was backwards or had a leg back with Char bulls.
 

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