dun":1m48ou1y said:
I discover there is a breed that has the heat tolerance of the Zebu, quality grades like an Angus, yield grades like a limousin. Is so consistent that EPDs are no longer required, never have calving problems, are just as at home on the range or the milking parlor. Seems the only problem this purest of breeds has is that pesky mutant color gene that comes out black every once in a while.
I guess we should all just cut the heads off of all those other unpure breeds.
dun
I think it was this post from a few days ago from "cow puncher" that put the burr under his saddle.
;-)
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:30 am
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the reason DUN likes large gene pools is because angus cattle are not a single breed any more , he has to rely on EPDs because their is so much genetic veriation of traits within the breed that you can no longer trust the breed itself to perpetuiat its original traits ,exept black, IE you can get an angus bull who will throw 70 lb calves and you can get an angus bull that will yeild like a charolais, you can have 900 lb angus cattle down south and you can go to MT or NB and get 1300 lb angus cows . this limits the usfulness of this breed for use in a well thought out cross breeding program, unless you like black .a small gene pool is a good thing , why yu ask ? because commercial cattleman have to utilize a cross breeding program it has been proven time and time again , with the more pure breeds , salars , braunvieh , fleck semmies , french charolais , nelore , gelbviehs , on and on you can select for traits that are more consistent and more heritable so you know that when you breed to a spotted up semmie bull youll wean a 750 lb calf and when you breed to a nelore youll get one of the most effecient females in the world , you see the smaller the gene pool the more matched pairs of chromosomes. this my friend will insur traits are passed along CONSISTENTLY . but you have to think about haw you use these traits , you cant run out and breed a belgium blue bull to a red angus heffier .