Gelbvieh-Hereford cross bred bull to get to 3 way cross

[PineHill Farms]

Hello all,

I've searched the boards and online for quite a while and can't find exactly the info. I'm curious about so am posing this question.

We have a small commercial herd with mainly Blonde/Hereford cross cows bred to a pb Hereford bull. I've been considering bringing in a Gelbvieh bull (for disposition and muscle ) to replace the hereford.

This year i brought in 3 new Gelbvieh/hereford heifers, bred pb Gelbvieh, 2 of which needed assistance when calving although I'm impressed with the calves.

The outfit where I bought the heifers from also have Gelbvieh/Hereford composite or crossbred bulls, and I have some related questions:

1) Would a Gelbvieh/Hereford composite bull, depending upon %'s of each breed within the bull, work like a Balancer in moderating Gelbvieh birth weights? with hereford providing the english component rather than angus?

2) Would a Gelbvieh/Hereford/ bull over Blonde-Hereford cross calves be too much continental?

3) I know it's been discussed here before but I'm also wondering about consistency of calves from a bull like this.

Sorry, I realise there are a number of variables involved here and am really just looking for initial thoughts from all who would take the time to contribute. I can't seem to find much info on a Herf/Gelbvieh bred bull.

 

[3waycross]

Hello all,

I've searched the boards and online for quite a while and can't find exactly the info. I'm curious about so am posing this question.

We have a small commercial herd with mainly Blonde/Hereford cross cows bred to a pb Hereford bull. I've been considering bringing in a Gelbvieh bull (for disposition and muscle ) to replace the hereford.

This year i brought in 3 new Gelbvieh/hereford heifers, bred pb Gelbvieh, 2 of which needed assistance when calving although I'm impressed with the calves.

The outfit where I bought the heifers from also have Gelbvieh/Hereford composite or crossbred bulls, and I have some related questions:

1) Would a Gelbvieh/Hereford composite bull, depending upon %'s of each breed within the bull, work like a Balancer in moderating Gelbvieh birth weights? with hereford providing the english component rather than angus?

2) Would a Gelbvieh/Hereford/ bull over Blonde-Hereford cross calves be too much continental?

3) I know it's been discussed here before but I'm also wondering about consistency of calves from a bull like this.

Sorry, I realise there are a number of variables involved here and am really just looking for initial thoughts from all who would take the time to contribute. I can't seem to find much info on a Herf/Gelbvieh bred bull.

Instead of answering each of these questions separately let me just say this;
#1 you can't and shouldn't blame the GV for the calving issues without knowing the BW and CED for the hereford side of the equation.
#2 Why not just buy a Gelbvieh bull with good EPD's for BW and CED. I also believe a Balancer with those qualities wouldn't hurt you a bit and it would keep the Continental perchantage close to 50/50

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Try the Herford x Gelbveih, i bet it will work fine. Just cause the other folks think they got to chase a black don't mean nothing.

 

[PineHill Farms]

Thank you 3way. Point taken about the herf contributions to the calving trouble. Each of the heifers were between 80 to 60% Gelbvieh but I don't have the b/w EPD's on the bull to which they were bred....

-am still considering pb Gelbvieh and would certainly look for one with desired EPD's for calving ease. Balancers would be a bit harder to find around here...

-was not looking to condemn the Gelbviehs with a blanket assumption about b/w or calving trouble but was wondering, in general, if a cross bred Gelb/Herf bull would contribute some positive, in general, Herf traits.

Thanks again 3way for taking the time to reply.

 

[PineHill Farms]

Thanks for the comment Red Bull....am curious about using a cross-bred bull like this as a terminal sire. We also have a personal preference for red/gold cattle over black. No reason for it just what we've always had.