just curious

[brierpatch1974]

Just curious what people think would be best. Taking the offspring of angus/herford cross < F1s or baldies which ever you prefer to call them> and mating those femals to a charolais bull. Or taking brangus cows and breeding them to a Charolias bull. I am just curious as to what people would think of these two crosses and the pros and cons of each.

Come spring I will be starting a small herd, around ten or twelve cows. While these are not what I will start off with I was curious about them. I will probably have hereford or angus cows and Have a friend who will let me use one of his charolais bulls. I have room for more but I want to start out slow to get my feet wet and learn as I go. Thanks for the opinions and advice.

 

[Isomade]

I run brangus and brangus baldy cows with Char bulls. I love the baldies but sometimes they will have a calf with a pink nose instead of black. In my market the char calf sells as good as anything around as long as it has a black nose. The pink nose calves seem to do 3-5 cwt worse and get grouped differently. So I would stick with straight brangus for my market. Yours could be very different.

 

[brierpatch1974]

Thanks Isomade. I was wondering how many people cross things with a charolais. I would really like to get a herd of Red angus going but I just dont see manyof them around here. Blacks and herefords seem to be the norm around here.

BP

 

[jedstivers]

I run brangus and brangus baldy cows with Char bulls. I love the baldies but sometimes they will have a calf with a pink nose instead of black. In my market the char calf sells as good as anything around as long as it has a black nose. The pink nose calves seem to do 3-5 cwt worse and get grouped differently. So I would stick with straight brangus for my market. Yours could be very different.

That's because the pink nose won't do near as good as stockers or in the feedlot. I hate to see the pink nose come off the truck in the fall but I love the black nose. They do great. 20+ years ago I had all Brahman cross cows an all I ran on them was char bulls. Going to work back to tigers an char bulls.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Thanks Isomade. I was wondering how many people cross things with a charolais. I would really like to get a herd of Red angus going but I just dont see manyof them around here. Blacks and herefords seem to be the norm around here.

BP

There's a reason you see so many "black and herefords" in your market. Perhaps they perform better where you are.

 

[brierpatch1974]

That may be true but hard to really judge it sense there are never any big sales around here. twenty to thirty head at a time at the sale barns for the most part. Hitting 50 head is a rare thing locally. I think the big producers go to sales out of state because there are never many at the markets around here.

I ran a few head of stockers once, spring to fall just to get my feet wet a little while fixing up my land and fences. I thought the best first step was to get fields, fences and barns in place and ready before really giving it a go. I plan to start out slow and work my way up while learning.

Red angus would be nice but I am interested in Red Brangus < i know black sells better but I prefer red lol > And crossing those wih a Charolais Bull Or a Hereford. I guess it will come down to what is available and quality when its time to buy.

I am curious as to how gentics woupld play out. What color could you expect calves to be crossing red brangus to a charolais? Would they be a yellow type color or run from red to cream colered? What would they look like if useing a hereford bull?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I have no idea what color calves you should expect. Best of luck with your venture.

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

Most American Breeds (Brangus, Santa Gertrudis, Beefmaster, etc.) cross very well with Charolais. If you want red, Red Brangus is probably more difficult to find than SG or BM.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

dont know why you need brahman influence in West Virginia red or black baldies momas back to charolias would work fine.... no since in getting docked for ear for no legitimate reason...if im gonna take i dock theres gotta be a purpose for it anymore

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

He mentioned that he liked the idea of Red Brangus. That is why I mentioned it.

 

[Isomade]

dont know why you need brahman influence in West Virginia red or black baldies momas back to charolias would work fine.... no since in getting docked for ear for no legitimate reason...if im gonna take i dock theres gotta be a purpose for it anymore

Good point. I don't know much about the climate of WV, but if you don't need the brimmer influence there is no point wasting money.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I don't know where you are in WV but Kenny Thomas on here is in Western Tip of Virginia and could help you find whatever type of cows you are looking for and tell you what works best in the markets there if you are close to him
He is an order buyer and runs several cows and if he says they are good cows you can take that to the bank

 

[pdfangus]

I agree about not needing eared cattle in West Va.
the calves will take a pounding at the market....

I am in central Va. and on the line between Piedmont and cosstal Plain.
the summers are hot and humid and the hybrid eared cattle perform very well.
but a ten cent discount is common and so eared cattle are a novelty item around here.
every one I know who has some eared blood in the cows is looking for a bull that will take the ear off.

 

[brierpatch1974]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will never be a big producer of cattle just a small herd mostly for family use and personal sales more than anything else. I could get buy with novelty cows to a point but it really comes down to what is actually available and quality. While I think I would prefer red Angus it will most likely be herefords that I end up with.

 

[kenny thomas]

I don't know where you are in WV but Kenny Thomas on here is in Western Tip of Virginia and could help you find whatever type of cows you are looking for and tell you what works best in the markets there if you are close to him
He is an order buyer and runs several cows and if he says they are good cows you can take that to the bank

AC aint you learned yet that what is best is what I have on hand that week. :lol2:

Seriously eared cattle do fairly good here but do not sell very well. South far enough to do good in the summer but too far north to sell.

 

[pdfangus]

I don't know where you are in WV but Kenny Thomas on here is in Western Tip of Virginia and could help you find whatever type of cows you are looking for and tell you what works best in the markets there if you are close to him
He is an order buyer and runs several cows and if he says they are good cows you can take that to the bank

AC aint you learned yet that what is best is what I have on hand that week. :lol2:

Seriously eared cattle do fairly good here but do not sell very well. South far enough to do good in the summer but too far north to sell.

Kenny,

at least you are honest about it....
I would do business with ya...

 

[cowtex]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will never be a big producer of cattle just a small herd mostly for family use and personal sales more than anything else. I could get buy with novelty cows to a point but it really comes down to what is actually available and quality. While I think I would prefer red Angus it will most likely be herefords that I end up with.

Hereford breed is as strong as it has been in many years. I think it will continue to be strong if we don't screw it up. Of course I'm a little on the partial side.