Like a box of chocolate

[Dave]

Buying bred cows at the sale is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. Yesterday looking from the road I could see a Hereford cow on the other side of the field had calved. When I bought this cow along with 3 or 4 others they said they were bred to a black Angus bull. This calf sure looks to be straight Hereford. While tagging the calf I told B what they had said at the sale. He asked me if it was the first time I had been lied to at the sale? Not only is it a Hereford it is also a heifer. We didn't win the lottery on this one. But then today a black whiteface cow had a char cross bull calf. You win some and you lose some.

 

[farmerjan]

No, you didn't win the lottery on that calf.... But is sure beats a dead one....
Could've been another "longhorn cross too"

 

[coachg]

I’ll take a live calf every day over a dead one no matter the color !

 

[Dave]

Yesterday afternoon I went out to do calf check. Normally I head down the river side of the field. From several hundred yards away I saw this Hereford cow. I wasn't sure if it was this cow or a different one, So I went down the ditch side. A little way past this cow there was another cow who kept looking toward the ditch. I stood up on the quad, There was some black hair in the weed on the other side. I went up the bank for a look. Sure enough there was a little calf on the far side of the ditch. I have no clue how it got there, The ditch isn't running but there is a couple springs that put water in it 6 - 12 inches deep. The bank on my side is about 4 foot tall and straight off. So I zoom back to the house to get a ladder. The wife hops in with me. I was trying to get the ladder set sturdy in the rocky bottom. While I was doing that the wife walked up stream and found a place to cross. She walked down to where she was above the calf. Some discussion occurred about what she was going to do over there. She ended up working her way down to the calf. Picked it up. Good thing it is one of the midget easing ease calves. She crossed the ditch and handed it up to me. I took it down off the bank to its mother while the wife used the ladder to climb out of the ditch. Cow walked off into the field calf followed and went to nursing. Never a dull moment around here.

 

[4hfarms]

Sounds like she was waiting for you to rescue her calf.

 

[Travlr]

Buying bred cows at the sale is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. Yesterday looking from the road I could see a Hereford cow on the other side of the field had calved. When I bought this cow along with 3 or 4 others they said they were bred to a black Angus bull. This calf sure looks to be straight Hereford. While tagging the calf I told B what they had said at the sale. He asked me if it was the first time I had been lied to at the sale? Not only is it a Hereford it is also a heifer. We didn't win the lottery on this one. But then today a black whiteface cow had a char cross bull calf. You win some and you lose some.

View attachment 66264

Sell the calf at 600 pounds for market price for a Hereford, sell at 1000 pounds at market price for a Hereford, or sell her 7/8 months bred to a black bull as a bred heifer carrying a black, white face calf. Were a Cor/Longhorn/Galloway would all be limited on their value regardless of what they are bred to, the Hereford will increase as long as it's bred for a black calf.

 

[Dave]

Sell the calf at 600 pounds for market price for a Hereford, sell at 1000 pounds at market price for a Hereford, or sell her 7/8 months bred to a black bull as a bred heifer carrying a black, white face calf. Were a Cor/Longhorn/Galloway would all be limited on their value regardless of what they are bred to, the Hereford will increase as long as it's bred for a black calf.

That would be true for someone who plays with individual animals. My program all the calves will get on the truck the same day. And to get her to 7/8 months bred I would have to feed her through 2 winters. Not enough extra money to pay for the extra time, effort, and expense.

 

[Travlr]

That would be true for someone who plays with individual animals. My program all the calves will get on the truck the same day. And to get her to 7/8 months bred I would have to feed her through 2 winters. Not enough extra money to pay for the extra time, effort, and expense.

Yeah, I know it's not your program and won't work for you. Just saying that your buyers should put a little more value on that heifer than on the other examples. Somebody with a black bull could potetially make more money on that heifer.

 

[Dave]

Yeah, I know it's not your program and won't work for you. Just saying that your buyers should put a little more value on that heifer than on the other examples. Somebody with a black bull could potetially make more money on that heifer.

It would be a breakeven at best. The few Hereford cows I buy are at a discount. Tell someone she is bred black just like someone told me. Not many bred heifers sell here to start with and any off breeds sell at a discount. F1 black whiteface heifers bring a premium. Straight Herefords not so much.

 

[Travlr]

It would be a breakeven at best. The few Hereford cows I buy are at a discount. Tell someone she is bred black just like someone told me. Not many bred heifers sell here to start with and any off breeds sell at a discount. F1 black whiteface heifers bring a premium. Straight Herefords not so much.

A guy that buys to hold them over time would be well advised to buy Herefords for the long haul. Discounted due to color... but they will do just as good as any producing calves that will bring a premium.

 

[Dave]

The box of chocolates continued this morning. A solid black cow had a chromed up black Hereford looking calf. My one black Hereford looking cow had a black baldie calf. I could do without the crhome. Hopefully he matches up size wise with a bunch of other calves and they don't sort him off.

 

[Goldfinch]

Top calf is pretty. Can't tell if it is heifer or bull from pic, but if it was a heifer I'd trade you a solid black one. No reason other than I happen to really like black herefords.

 

[Ky hills]

The box of chocolates continued this morning. A solid black cow had a chromed up black Hereford looking calf. My one black Hereford looking cow had a black baldie calf. I could do without the crhome. Hopefully he matches up size wise with a bunch of other calves and they don't sort him off.View attachment 66499View attachment 66500

I’ve had them look just like that top one before and in my experience they get sorted with the reason being they say they look like they got Holstein in them with all the white.
Doesn’t matter if they are the same genetics as one marked like the second calf or not.

 

[Farm Boss 1892]

I had been thinking about going to the Black Baldies for a while. What is better a black angus bull to the hereford cow or the hereford bull to the black angus cow for breeding?

 

[Dave]

Top calf is pretty. Can't tell if it is heifer or bull from pic, but if it was a heifer I'd trade you a solid black one. No reason other than I happen to really like black herefords.

It is a bull thankfully They are worth more than heifers. I got over pretty or cute years ago. My favorite color is green. If it had been a heifer I would have certainly traded you for a black Angus calf of equal size and quality. But I think the freight would have been a killer for you.

 

[Travlr]

I had been thinking about going to the Black Baldies for a while. What is better a black angus bull to the hereford cow or the hereford bull to the black angus cow for breeding?

Personally, I'd rather have red crossbred cows and a black bull. Red Angus/Hereford cows up north, Brahmousin or Santa Gertrudis cows in the south. Homozygous black Limousine or Simmental bull up north, Simmental in the south.

I tend to like cows with similar characteristics where the same bull will compliment the entire herd so I get consistent calves.

 

[mwj]

I had been thinking about going to the Black Baldies for a while. What is better a black angus bull to the hereford cow or the hereford bull to the black angus cow for breeding?

You already have the Hereford cows so all you need is a decent black bull. You will gain some hybrid vigor and a premium colored calf.

 

[bird dog]

I have five or six Hereford cows in my herd of mongrels. They were bought because they are discounted at times. I run them with a limflex bull.

I love them. They are good mothers, milk out well, moderate size and have a good attitude. The limflex gives their calves a black hide and a wide butt.

Maybe this should have been in the cow efficiency because they are that.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I had been thinking about going to the Black Baldies for a while. What is better a black angus bull to the hereford cow or the hereford bull to the black angus cow for breeding?

I ran a hereford bull for a few years. Ya always get some red baldies too.
I was told the (red) black herefords I sold last year all had black baldy calves. They were bred to my black angus.

I would think the way to go would be Black Hereford cows. Bred to a homo black angus bull. I suppose ya could use regular hereford cows if ya wanted. The homo black bull is key.
This is what the black hereford was bred to do!! Produce reliable black baldy calves.

 

[Travlr]

I ran a hereford bull for a few years. Ya always get some red baldies too.
I was told the (red) black herefords I sold last year all had black baldy calves. They were bred to my black angus.

I would think the way to go would be Black Hereford cows. Bred to a homo black angus bull. I suppose ya could use regular hereford cows if ya wanted. The homo black bull is key.
This is what the black hereford was bred to do!! Produce reliable black baldy calves.

The only problem with black Hereford is that they will put too much chrome on any calves from a straight Hereford... black or red. And maybe on a Hereford cross.