Low/no maintenance cattle

[BFE]

I have been told of one accidental addition of Holstein and it was the big difference for the granddam of a very famous bull.

I may have one of those.

 

[FungusProudKY31]

Most of us have some of that influence if we have Angus.

 

[kickinbull]

They calve on their own and appeared healthy? That's great but your friend saw the survivors. If you went and shot any cattle in your herd that had a problem of any kind you would have a very healthy herd of cattle, that is in effect what nature does.

I like your answer if a person were to eliminate the problem ones, then less would be spent for crutches to save them all

 

[Ky hills]

I like your answer if a person were to eliminate the problem ones, then less would be spent for crutches to save them all

There is another side of the equation to herds managed or not managed like the one mentioned in the original post.
Depending on the factors like size of boundary, how often calves or cattle in general were sold from the herd. My opinion, based on what I have seen from those type scenarios is that yes the surviving individuals are no doubt tough, there has likely been a significant number of equal quality animals that did not survive. Cows with calves not weaned and then calve back does not bode well for the newborns in a lot of situations. I would figure a lot of calves were lost due to starvation and or no colostrum. Another factor is the number of mature or breeding age bulls. Unless the herd is very large there is likely eventually going to be a major excess of bulls. Those bulls are going to fight and a lot of injuries are probably going to occur. I heard a story once of someone telling about seeing a poor looking cow out in a pond to get away from seven or eight bulls fighting over her.

 

[Stoneridgemb]

Thinking about the view that black cattle are worth more and why that is. I heard somewhere that any black animal regardless of breed has different wiring in the area of the brain that tells it it is full. This means they will eat more before they stop, thereby growing more or producing more meat. That equals better performance in a pen than non-black cattle. If I could remember where I heard this I would tell you but my brain wiring is acting up these days too.

 

[tex452]

Red angus sell good in central Texas.
I prefer the red over black because during the summer the red out hustle the black.
I put a Hereford bull on my red angus cows some years back and the buyers really liked the red necks.
I kept replacement heifers out of the x and they were really good cows.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Thinking about the view that black cattle are worth more and why that is. I heard somewhere that any black animal regardless of breed has different wiring in the area of the brain that tells it it is full. This means they will eat more before they stop, thereby growing more or producing more meat. That equals better performance in a pen than non-black cattle. If I could remember where I heard this I would tell you but my brain wiring is acting up these days too.

No such thing. Someone fed you a bunch of poo.
There are some cattle IN ALL BREEDS that converts #'s of feed into better #'s of gain (rate of gain) - and there are some cattle IN ALL BREEDS that have a better appetite.