Charolais x blonde d' aquitaine

[Willow Springs]

VLS Guy, don't know where you are getting your info about the origin of the breed from, but you're not even close. Anazi has it right in that they were a combination of three different strains of "Blonde" cattle. Two of the strains were very different in their type. The Blonde des Pyrenees were more dual purpose maybe even sliding more towards milk. They were flatter made, deeper bodied, heavier milking and usually more fertile (and bigger SC in bulls). They were mountain/hill cattle.There were many of the original imports to Canada that showed this type. The Garronais were draft animals and had a herd book in the late 1800's, but were already well known in the mid 1800's. The Quercy which were the third strain were actually a relatively new offshoot of the Garronais so basically the same breed.

We didn't import certain cattle into Canada because there were fertility problems. Basically selectors went over and were toured around to the herds that the Government was willing to export cattle from and tried to pick the best that was available.

Yes there was some cross breeding with Limo & Char in France, but to say that these other breeds were the basis of the breed is false. They are all terminal breeds, but still different. Blondes are the finest boned, leanest, have the best feed conversion and cutability. Charolais are the growthiest and Limos have the most backfat and marbling.

 

[VLS_GUY]

Willow,

The crossing happened before the herdbook was founded. These crossbred animals freely entered the breed but no record of this crossing exists because the crossbreds were used to found the breed on what was then commercial cows. If it is muscle you want with Blonde influence consider the INRA95 line of cross bred double muscled bulls. In France the breed competes with double muscled breeds and the Limo and Char culard bulls.
In France more crossbreeding happened than they would like to admit on all breeds; particularly during WWII when the elite herds were put up in the Alps to keep away from the Germans. The records for many European breeds is sketchy during this period. This use of other breeds in no way makes these inferior cattle. In fact the Blondes have some things going for them but they have concentrated on the double muscled market in France making the breed not ideal for production outside Europe.
How is that Red Angus /Blonde composite coming along?
I

 

[Willow Springs]

Actually the crossing was promoted to gain traits from the other breeds at certain times in the breeds history, and was allowed up until 1965 (shortly after the Blonde herd book was established). But again the additions of the other breeds would have been minimal on a population basis, thus the very different traits that each breed shows, and did show even at importation.

Not working on a Blonde/Red Angus composite just trying to breed for what each breed is best at. Red Angus for the maternal traits and the Blondes for the Terminal traits. I certainly wouldn't want a commercial herd with any amount of Continental influence, and don't think that they have any place in a commercial cow herd. They are just not convenience cattle no matter what anyone says. Harder to handle, need more & better feed, etc, etc. But can't beat them in the feedlot or on the rail when crossed with British cattle.

 

[deenranch]

A question -- is she already bred or or you deciding about what to breed her too?

She is already bred to a Charolais bull and if she has a heifer I want to breed her to a blonde just to see how it turns out.

What bull did you breed her to?