Line Bred Vs Mongrel

[Sugar Creek]

One of the selling points for Red Polls was their supposedly pure line of breeding with little admixture of other cattle lines since the 1840s. This was supposed to make them very good for crossing in a commercial program. What I have seen seems to back this up. They have very predictable calves in the pure line and do seem to cross very well with hybrid vigor.

I have a one bull herd and keep my own heifers. Over the years I switched bulls to a different breed about every four years and did get a very mongrelized herd. Did this lessen the effects of hybrid vigor? What about the idea of a pure line giving more effect when crossed with another pure line?

 

[Susie David]

I believe that you have the results of the cross right in your herd...how did the calves from the new bulls gain....were they better than the line calves...or did the mongrel cows produce a lesser offspring? DMc

 

[Sugar Creek]

I do not exactly follow your question, But _____

My cattle this year consist of a number of purebred Red Poll heifers with their first calf. I also have some
Gelbviah X Shorthorn heifers with their first calves (these I had kept from an earlier herd -- They are the mongrels for the Shorthorn side also has some Limosine, Hereford and Holstien influence.
I also have a high bred Boyd's New Day (or something like that) Angus heifer that belongs to my daughter.

All are bred to a registered Red Poll.
The Angus has far and away the best calf, a bull calf with more muscle and thickness and 1/4 to 1/3 heavier than any of the others. He is a brute and robs milk from the gentle Red Polls.

The Red Polls are like peas in a pod - the gelbviah cross calves are red with white bellies - Not much different than the Red Polls otherwise - All very good calves.

The marked difference between the purebred cross calf and the line breds and mongrels prompted this query.

 

[Sugar Creek]

When I bought these heifers they were open and a I posed a query on this board asking for suggestions on what to breed them to. I got various replies. Some suggested testing the market for registered Red Polls. I remember Dun saying to cross them with a good red or black Angus. What I am seeing suggests that if I had followed Dun's advise it would have made me a lot of money.

 

[Scotty]

Come see me I have some of those blk reg. Angus bulls for you.


Scotty

 

[MoGal]

"Did this lessen the hybrid vigor?"

Well, I think you've answered your own question, you said the gelby x shorthornx has very good calves.

However I do think you get more hybrid vigor by crossing an english x continental. Have you tried crossing charolais with the red poll?? That is what I intend to do. I bought six red poll heifers that won't be breeding age until next mar/april and the red poll bull calf I want has a 90 lb birthweight and I don't want to use him on the heifers (also he won't be old enough) so I am seriously thinking of AI'ing them to angus for their first calf. Seems like the red poll bulls that are fit for heifers are short bodied and I don't care for that type of cow. I also intend to breed him to my charx cows. In this area, a gold colored calf brings as much as a black one and eventually I will breed the red polls to a charolais (I always thought the red poll had low birth weights but the herd of cows that I bought my heifers from seem to have 80-90 lb birthweights consistently or at least the bull calves are and the heifer calves were from 67-78 lbs)