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csdfarmer81

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I recently purchased a couple of heifers from a neighbor as part of a package deal to get a nice young bull. One of the cows he labeled as a Charolais breed, but it's coat seems much darker and shorter year round. I've researched and can't seem to find a close match - any ideas? It just had it's first calf (bull calf) and doesn't seem to be a milk breed cow. I'm new to cattle so all the help I can get is appreciated.


 
She looks like what we call a smokey. They are usually a charolais crossed with an angus or a black coated breed like limi or gelbvieh. We just call them grey charolais here in our herd to distinguish from the lighter whiter charolais we have. Even bred to black bulls their calves will often be smokey grey colored. We run a mixed herd of colors but predominantly black. They will usually do a good job of raising a calf, and if we have a couple calve out the same time the calves will sell better in pairs or a group.
 
I think farmerjan hit the nail on the head about there being something else there besides Charolais, and I agree it's probably Angus.
 

I've got a bunch like that. The one to the left in the picture is a charxangus. They make some good mommas.
 


Char/angus is an excellent cross that can really put the punch back in a calf crop
 
I believe the cow is Charolais and Angus cross but the calf shows some characteristics of Murrey Grey ? We don't have that breed locally but some of the good folks on here might can comment on that .
 
hinds 57
shows some Char. from there on any ones guess. and it does not matter if she raises a good calf
 
MRRherefords":1aoldwc9 said:
I believe farmerjan is exactly right.

Especially the gelb look to the head of that calf in the 2nd pic . Char doesn't strike me but I've only ran a couple of Char bulls in my life. Gelb jumps out and farmerjan hit it on the nose.
 
Workinonit Farm":3tjl4192 said:
I'm going with Charlolais cross. I have a few, mine are Charolais X Baldy.



Cute calf, but will the color hurt him too much at the sale barn? It seems that if there is too much "chrome" then they start thinking they have simmi in them and they get hurt at the yard. I like the colors.....
 
farmerjan":3v8761x2 said:
Workinonit Farm":3v8761x2 said:
I'm going with Charlolais cross. I have a few, mine are Charolais X Baldy.



Cute calf, but will the color hurt him too much at the sale barn? It seems that if there is too much "chrome" then they start thinking they have simmi in them and they get hurt at the yard. I like the colors.....

Sometimes, those are the ones I hang on to for freezer beef, just to avoid that. But, there have been quite a few times that the ones I've brought to the sale, sell just as well and sometimes better, than the straight blacks or white-faced. I don't get very many of those each year.
 
We keep our "odd colored" ones for freezer beef too. Have a really nice Speckled" steer that will go to butcher this fall.
Glad your market there doesn't penalize for the color as much as they do around here. If it ain't black here, or a real nice baldie, you can figure 10 to 30 less . Even real nice reds or smokeys..GRR!
 
farmerjan":sdcgvajb said:
We keep our "odd colored" ones for freezer beef too. Have a really nice Speckled" steer that will go to butcher this fall.
Glad your market there doesn't penalize for the color as much as they do around here. If it ain't black here, or a real nice baldie, you can figure 10 to 30 less . Even real nice reds or smokeys..GRR!

It is, indeed, frustrating. In my experience, where I go, sometimes what they bring also depends on how prices are (generally speaking) at the time. When prices are pi$$-poor, even for very nice calves, then the smokey's don't do quite as well, but they don't do quite as poorly as 30 less.
 

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