Charolais

[Anonymous]

Hi

Any of you guys raise charolais cows? I am thinking of buying some to start a small herd. I plan on breeding them as purebreds and once the herd gets a certain amount of purebreds I will probably cross breed them in a few years. My question is are they an overall good cow? Hows there disposition, mothering, do they have birthing problems? Also are there polled cattle out there? I have looked on the internet and found out that some charolais have a red factor. I am talking about the white ones not the red ones. Are they good grazers and do they take the heat better seeing that they are white and not dark colored like most breeds? I am from Wisconsin. Anyother information and even experiences with charolais would be helpful!!!. Thanks and have a good day.

 

[Anonymous]

Charolais are big, I know, that's obvious, but the drawback is the requirement for more feed for body maintenance. The plus side is, in cold WI winters they will maintain they're body temp better. There shouldn't be a heat problem, they raise them in the MO Ozarks and So.CA with no real problems from the heat. They are adequate mothers, neither the best or the worse. There are polled Charolais, disposition is not bad, nothing like limo. or badly handled Brahman influence cattle. Now the birthing question, it is claimed that there are easy calving lines of Charolais, I've never seen them. We've never raised them ourselves but have always had a few breeders around us. I've pulled more Charolais calves then all other breeds combined, excluding Braunvieh. In every breed there are nut cases, poor mothers, poor milkers, poor fertility, hard keepers, etc. Shop carefully, spend time with the herd you hope to buy from, insure they have a good health program that fits your area. Have your facilities built and ready before you bring the cows home. If you are going to register the calves, you will have to keep good records on BW, etc. If you can't/don't want to keep the kind of records required, start with non-registered stock and work with crossbreeding from there. Good luck

dunmovin farms

> Hi

> Any of you guys raise charolais
> cows? I am thinking of buying some
> to start a small herd. I plan on
> breeding them as purebreds and
> once the herd gets a certain
> amount of purebreds I will
> probably cross breed them in a few
> years. My question is are they an
> overall good cow? Hows there
> disposition, mothering, do they
> have birthing problems? Also are
> there polled cattle out there? I
> have looked on the internet and
> found out that some charolais have
> a red factor. I am talking about
> the white ones not the red ones.
> Are they good grazers and do they
> take the heat better seeing that
> they are white and not dark
> colored like most breeds? I am
> from Wisconsin. Anyother
> information and even experiences
> with charolais would be
> helpful!!!. Thanks and have a good
> day.

 

[Anonymous]

Steve,

To answer your Charolais questions I suggest that you contact Larry Wakefield from Wakefield Farms in New Richland, MN.(about one hour straight South of Minneapolis along I-35). He raises some of the best purebred polled charolais that I have seen and he will treat you right if your are starting out. Hope this helps.

[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

> Hi

> Any of you guys raise charolais
> cows? I am thinking of buying some
> to start a small herd. I plan on
> breeding them as purebreds and
> once the herd gets a certain
> amount of purebreds I will
> probably cross breed them in a few
> years. My question is are they an
> overall good cow? Hows there
> disposition, mothering, do they
> have birthing problems? Also are
> there polled cattle out there? I
> have looked on the internet and
> found out that some charolais have
> a red factor. I am talking about
> the white ones not the red ones.
> Are they good grazers and do they
> take the heat better seeing that
> they are white and not dark
> colored like most breeds? I am
> from Wisconsin. Anyother
> information and even experiences
> with charolais would be
> helpful!!!. Thanks and have a good
> day. I have a small herd of reg. charolais cows. They seem to be an overall good cow. When I started buying them everyone cautioned me on the calving difficulties. I usually bred to low birth weight bulls and I have rarley had to pull a calf yet. Dispisition just depends on how you handle them and how much time you spend around them. Our cows are pets and can be easily caught in an open pasture with a bucket of grain, but we are around them all the time. To find a charolais producer in your area I would suggest contacting the American International Charolais Association and they can put you in contact with some one in your area. (816)464-5977 or <A HREF="http://www.charolaisusa.com">www.charolaisusa.com</A>

[email protected]