k alton":2fx0zikm said:
Been listening to Guest25 (by the way Guest 25, I think "YELLING" is using all caps) share info about some breed I have never heard of. Would one of you seasoned cattlemen please tell me what breeds are "double muscled" and what does it mean? What are the advantages and disadvantages? And don't worry, I don't even own any cattle...YET!
Here's a link to the OK State breeds site. Look up Belgium Blue and Piedmontese, Those are the two double muscled breeds that come to my mind, but there are others. When you look at them, you'll understand what "double muscled" means, especially the second picture down of the Belgium Blue. It's my understanding they they actually have the same number of muscles as "normal" cattle, but each muscle has more fibers than "normal" breeds.
Personally, I don't know that there are advantages, but someone can beat me up if I'm wrong in my comments below:
1. The cows are less fertile than normal muscled cows.
2. Double muscled breeds have more calving difficulty than normal breeds.
3. They produce very tender beef.
4. They produce a
lot of very tender beef, great yield grades.
5. They don't marble.
6. In the commercial cattle business today, higher quality grade beef is more valuable than lower quality grade. Quality grade is based on marbling. So unless you have a specific market in mind, think twice about getting into them.
7. Some of them get too big and are discounted.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/