Mongrels

[Nesikep]

Well, the "traditional simmental" thread got so off topic, I figured we could use a thread especially dedicated to mongrel cattle... so I'll start it off.

I hate saying it, it just sounds bad, but in fact all my cattle are mongrels... We started with about 18 bred heifers 25 years ago, and looking back could have done a LOT better job of choosing them, but heck, we were real newbies, and a 'friend' had a herd of 200, we figured he knew what he was doing (he wasn't doing anything, he had a revolving door of managers)... so we lost a whack of animals the first year, and well, I think we've come a long way since. Our original herd was Herf/Angus with probably a trace of Simm as well judging by the build of some of the cows. We have culled everything out except for 6 bloodlines now, and I figure in the next 5 or so years I'm going to narrow it down to 3 bloodlines. We have used bulls from a number of breeds now, trying to find what we like, and we're getting a better idea now.. So far we've had RA, Saler, 2x SH, Gelbvieh, and now Limo... I don't know how long I'll keep the limo, as I dont' think he'll offer a whole lot I can't get through Gelbvieh influence, we weren't that fond of RA, and if we do have SH again, it will be solid red color only. Saler's did well for us, and now that our entire herd is tamer (they were wild bastards when we started), I don't think they'd be nearly as flighty as they were back then, and they sure made some good cows, and they seem to really work well with the GV too.

So in all my mix, I have records of every calf, it's sire, approximate weaning weights, birthweights, and any calving troubles.. Of the bulls we've bought, several were reserve champions of major shows, and the rest were papered except for the GV (he was a 'used' bull) Though we didn't have a clear idea of how we wanted our cows to look for the first 18 or so years, being around CT and seeing a lot of good animals has helped me narrow down what I want, and I'm going to start working toward more uniformity now... The biggest hurdle for me will be getting rid of that blasted chrome from the SH's!

So where do I go from here... I know I want my cows to be a medium-large animal, about 1500 lbs mature weight, docile, raise a good calf every year, be able to calf out pretty much anything so I don't need to be hung up with low birthweights, and be structurally sound in all the places that matter.. hooves, udders, etc... I want them to be all red/gold, a spot of white is OK, but I'm not going to go out of my way to get it either, and lastly, but certainly not least, I want to have big calves... I guess I pretty much described Mega!.. now to get more of her!

 

[glacierridge]

Hey.
I like mongrels.
If they work and do their thing, I wouldn't trade them for anything papered.

I don't have uniform hides like you, but I think with the roan and having char it's a lost cause at this point unless that's what we go towards lol.

 

[cowboy70]

I like mongrels to . Some say our herd looks like that dolly song ...( coat of many colors ) but they work for us !! Ive never been fussy about the breed of cows as long as they are not hard doing .Good mothering instinct . Have good feet and udders and milk enough to bring in a good calf in the fall .Temperament doesn't matter much either cause I got a Gator and a Harley that can catch and tame any old whiley bovine . We do run purebred bulls which makes for better uniformity and consistency in the calves which helps market them better . Sure we get a few dink calves but who's herd don't . Seen some of the best purebred herds around our country bull shopping and they always have a few dink calves too . No herd will ever be perfect in my opinion but as long as you have a goal your working towards trying to make them better then thats what matters . :2cents:

 

[Nesikep]

Its definitely true that no herd is perfect, and certainly not perfect for everyone.

The diluter gene is a reason I want to stay away from Char in my herd, though they'd be nice otherwise, but the sale barn buyers here do care about uniformity, so despite a number of different breeds, I do try and keep my calves all looking similar

 

[Taurus]

I don't have any problems with your cattle, as long as you know what is your breeding plans and goals with the animals. Mongrel cows makes great momma around here. Its easy to fix the uniformity in the calves, via purebred bulls on mongrel cows. Our herd is colorful but the calves are almost always solid black, thanks to homo black bulls.

 

[cowboy70]

The buyers here are not too picky about color anymore but like uniformity and consistency . The buyers here know are cattle and they know that we only use two kinds of Breeding bulls in our herd . Our blk,tan,red and silver char cross calves sell as a group because they are uniform in size , bone , muscle and weight and have the consistency to perform and finish well when they get to the feedlot .

 

[Nesikep]

Taurus, We have always used the best bulls we could afford, and I don't think we ever paid less than $2000 for a bull, that's going back to the early 90's, where $2,000 was worth a lot more than it is today.

Being here has taught me a lot, but will take years to put it into practice and see a progression in the results.

 

[Ozhorse]

I would like to hear your thoughts on big calves, the good points and the bad, as well as on small calves. I am going to a bull sale today and I see that some lines of bulls are going for super small birthweights with supposed big mature weights. These bulls are likely to go for big $. I am not sure how much I believe that (these big bulls really do have consistently small calves and that will also grow to big animals).

I just dont have calving problems in the cattle, and dont watch them calving because I wont get paid to do it and they dont need it. On the other hand I ran into a series of circumstances where I think I lost about 8 calves to too low a birthweight. I think I am going to just try for angus breed average birthweight.

I think I might try to purchase some new females next autumn (April) and they will be an important and big spend and I would like to get it right and know why I am picking what I am.

I would like to know your thoughts on calf size.