new here...please forgive my ignorance...

[nightowl24]

i'm looking to start to get my feet wet in cattle. this WILL NOT be my life at this point, as i am a teacher/coach and i'm looking for something that i will enjoy doing and can gain some profits from when i retire from teaching. before i ask my question i will give as much info as i can so that you can give me as much info as possible...

i am looking to get a very small herd of cattle going in east texas(emory/point area). i'm looking for a breed or cross that is fairly easy to handle, can handle the hot east texas weather, and the cold temps during the winter. i would like a breed that sells pretty steady at all auctions with minimal supplemental feeding. i'm not running 100's of cattle here. this is me trying to very slowly build a nice solid herd of cattle that i WILL one day be my life. when the time is right i am looking to purchase one or two pairs and a nice bull to go with them.

so my question is if you have a good long time to build your herd with no pressure of losing money cause it is not what you are living off of how what breed would you go with and how would you go about dong this?

please forgive me if this isn't the right place for this topic. i didn't know if it were better suited for the breeds area or the beginners area.

from my limited knowledge and research i like the santa gerts as the cows and the charolais as my bull. been told by some people that i should go with the brangus cows and then go with a good charolais bull. i'm open to all suggestions. thank you in advance for any and all responses.

 

[novatech]

To get your feet wet I would advise you to stay away from cattle with Brahman influence. You may find some very gentle ones but their calves may end up testing you and your facilities. Start off with some gentle European cross breds or straight bred. Example; Angus cows with a Hereford bull. Straight Hereford on both sides will usually be your most docile. Docility of any breed is not a given, you must choose for the trait.
I would also stay away from first calf heifers. You don't want to break yourself in pulling calves. Older, proven cows, already bred would be your best bet.
Try and buy from an individual where you can walk amongst them in the pasture and confined in a corral. A cows temperament may be all together different when penned up.
Since your in the East Texas area you may want to have a talk with Caustic Burno. He may be able to out you on to some cattle that would fit your needs.

 

[curtis]

Red Poll would work for you , very gentle and easy to work.

 

[Jovid]

Red Poll would work for you , very gentle and easy to work.

:nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod:

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

The gert charolais cross is a good cross. As far a temperment/docility of the animal , this could be said of any breed. That is a selection issue and how used to people the animals are in my opinion.

 

[Frankie]

i'm looking to start to get my feet wet in cattle. this WILL NOT be my life at this point, as i am a teacher/coach and i'm looking for something that i will enjoy doing and can gain some profits from when i retire from teaching. before i ask my question i will give as much info as i can so that you can give me as much info as possible...

i am looking to get a very small herd of cattle going in east texas(emory/point area). i'm looking for a breed or cross that is fairly easy to handle, can handle the hot east texas weather, and the cold temps during the winter. i would like a breed that sells pretty steady at all auctions with minimal supplemental feeding. i'm not running 100's of cattle here. this is me trying to very slowly build a nice solid herd of cattle that i WILL one day be my life. when the time is right i am looking to purchase one or two pairs and a nice bull to go with them.

so my question is if you have a good long time to build your herd with no pressure of losing money cause it is not what you are living off of how what breed would you go with and how would you go about dong this?

please forgive me if this isn't the right place for this topic. i didn't know if it were better suited for the breeds area or the beginners area.

from my limited knowledge and research i like the santa gerts as the cows and the charolais as my bull. been told by some people that i should go with the brangus cows and then go with a good charolais bull. i'm open to all suggestions. thank you in advance for any and all responses.

IMO, one of the very first things you should consider is how or where you plan to sell your product. Building a herd is fun and challenging, but sooner or later, you'll need to sell something. Will it be meat direct to consumers, will you send some steers through the Ranch to Rail program, or will you haul them to the sale barn? If you have a herd of cows that makes you smile when you walk through them, but cuss at the price the calves bring at the sale barn, are you going to be satisifed in five years? On the other hand, you look at the cows every day and only deal with that sale barn check once a year. Every breed comes with a reputation, good or bad. Take time to investigate the markets you will be selling into.

 

[nightowl24]

thank you for the replies. at this point the cattle will be taken to the sale barn. just a good run of the mill auction. there is a good one in emory, and currently i live near lufkin so those are the two places i would be hauling my cattle to sale to. so maybe we should look at some run of the mill commerical cattle at this point and look to certain breeds maybe down the line? i don't like this idea because i really would like to start working with specific breeds so that i can eliminate the ones i really don't like working with and aren't bringing good prices. i figure if i start now i will have figured out what i really like and i can get my name out there so people know that i will bring in good cattle when they see/hear my name.

 

[novatech]

thank you for the replies. at this point the cattle will be taken to the sale barn. just a good run of the mill auction. there is a good one in emory, and currently i live near lufkin so those are the two places i would be hauling my cattle to sale to. so maybe we should look at some run of the mill commerical cattle at this point and look to certain breeds maybe down the line? i don't like this idea because i really would like to start working with specific breeds so that i can eliminate the ones i really don't like working with and aren't bringing good prices. i figure if i start now i will have figured out what i really like and i can get my name out there so people know that i will bring in good cattle when they see/hear my name.

I agree with your plan up to a point. That point is determined by your skill level at handling the cattle. Brahman influenced cattle can be a handful even to the experienced.
I am partial toward Brahman and Brahman influenced cattle but I also have a healthy respect for them. If you decide to go ahead with them I strongly suggest you start with strong high working pens. 6 foot high for either Brangus or Gerts. and should be built with oil field pipe. If you plan on starting with only 2 cows and a bull then I hope your neighbors don't have cattle. I don't know about Gerts. but a Brangus bull will clear most any fence to get to a cow on the other side. I would suggest either taking them to be bred or AI until your herd grows enough to keep a bull happy.

 

[rkm]

If it was me, and I had time , land, and money as you seem to have, I would start with one breed, maybe even reg. cattle and build me a herd of good mama cows. I wouldn't worry about this cross or that cross until I needed to make money from them. Maybe not even then. jmo

 

[Frankie]

thank you for the replies. at this point the cattle will be taken to the sale barn. just a good run of the mill auction. there is a good one in emory, and currently i live near lufkin so those are the two places i would be hauling my cattle to sale to. so maybe we should look at some run of the mill commerical cattle at this point and look to certain breeds maybe down the line? i don't like this idea because i really would like to start working with specific breeds so that i can eliminate the ones i really don't like working with and aren't bringing good prices. i figure if i start now i will have figured out what i really like and i can get my name out there so people know that i will bring in good cattle when they see/hear my name.

I'd never suggest starting with "run of the mill" cattle. Since you're starting slowly, buy the very best you can afford, even if you buy fewer head. If you can avoid it, don't go into debt for cattle. We raise registered Angus, and we learned the hard way that it takes a long time to breed up to quality stock. IMO, you're way ahead to start with quality animals. Check the local papers for dispersal sales or the sale barns for "replacement female" sales. Go to some sales, introduce yourself to people and let them know you're looking for a few head of quality stock. I know there are lots of pure/straightbred Angus being run as commercial stock and I'd say go with Angus. Even if you use another breed bull, Angus mommas are hard to beat. Angus cattle are acceptable to all segments of the cattle market: sale barn, feedlot, or on the rail. Spend some time in those sale barns and watch how different animals sell. Good luck.

 

[alftn]

I will strongly suggest, that you start with grass management, learn to grow grass and then select cattle ...Get your place ready,fenced, and H2O set up...

Get to know your other cattleman in your area, they are usually quite helpful, and you can buy driect from them.

I would not want a bull unless I had 20 or 30 cows min., lease one, rent one, or AI.....

I think a red angus X hereford F-1's might work for you, and use a black Brangus Bull...very little Brimmer in there but maybe enought...

I also think if you start with young tame/ calm calves and raise them up it would might be better, ( I know calvin heifers/cost or raising them) may not be the cheapist way,, But in this case might give you a chance to Learn cattle....

Take your time ,go slow , learn what other people in your area are doing.....

 

[nightowl24]

again thanks to you all for your insight. you have given me plenty to think about and to ponder. as far as learning to grow grass, my family has been selling hay bales for years. we have one pasture that we sell hay from every year, so i plan to use that pasture for my hay bales. our other pasture already has some cows in there. they are my cousins i own no part of them, they are commerical cows. my wife and i are wanting to get some registered purebreed cows to invest in.

 

[JHH]

again thanks to you all for your insight. you have given me plenty to think about and to ponder. as far as learning to grow grass, my family has been selling hay bales for years. we have one pasture that we sell hay from every year, so i plan to use that pasture for my hay bales. our other pasture already has some cows in there. they are my cousins i own no part of them, they are commerical cows. my wife and i are wanting to get some registered purebreed cows to invest in.

Do you plan to run cows with his? Is he getting out of cattle? Will you have enough hay if you have to share the hay with your cousins? Are their working facilitys already in place. Good fences or just so-so fences?Make sure you are ready for the cows. Dont get the cows then plan on getting ready for them. I learned the hard way about the working facilitys.Just some things to think about before you leep.Good luck and let us know what you get.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I think a red angus X hereford F-1's might work for you, and use a black Brangus Bull...very little Brimmer in there but maybe enought...

I'm kind of the opposite. If he is using brangus, they need to be the cows for this climate. Unless he calves in the fall. Brangus cows nurse heavy calves all summer through the heat. Terminal bull to trim ear if he'd like.

 

[thunder downunder]

I'm a Shorthorn person myself but, in your area (with very little practical knowledge of it) I think Santas could work well for you. As with any breed temperament is greatly affected by selection and management practices - if you find a reputable breeder, you should be able to get some even tempered, good Santa Gertrudis cows.
Then, further down the track, if colour is an issue, try throwing a Black Simm or Angus bull over them.

 

[nightowl24]

there will be times when i will have my cows with his. i plan to mark mine with ear tags. he isn't getting out of cattle he only has maybe 5-10(if that). i believe we will, in the past my family has run our cows together just trade off on months of upkeep(one month i pay for the hay and the supplemental feed, the next month he pays, etc.). i've walked the fences several times over the past year or so and the seem to be in good condition. they aren't great by any means but his cows don't get out. our other property has has horses on it for about two years and none have got out. although a year or two back my other cousin got out of cows cause his were getting out and he moved out of town and he was driving 45min to an hr every 3-4 days because his were getting out. don't know if it was the cattle themselves that were escape artists or if the fence was bad. the only thing i KNOW i really have to get is a pen. other than that the facilities are fine. water is good. the main pasture has three watering holes that ALWAYS has water in it and the hay pasture has one big watering hole that stays high as well. we are a little ways away from getting the cattle but i'm wanting to do all my research now so when it's time i can make a good decisive move.

 

[Jake]

I hate to be just throwing another breed out at you as your probably getting bogged down with the information. But for your area Senepol cattle have always intrigued me they are much easier to handle than brahman and to me are a more marketable breed when crossed. That being said they may be somewhat of a novelty in your area and that may give you a large market share on registered animals.

 

[Kingfisher]

the only thing i KNOW i really have to get is a pen.

You will need more than just a pen. I am sure you realize that. Do you have a adequate stock trailer? Going need to upgrade
that truck too...... What about the calves? What are you going to do with all of them if this works out right?

 

[pdfangus]

before you buy anything........

look at a lot of cows.....
look at their babies.....
look at their pastures.....
see what it takes to support them......
look for creep feeders and silos and what the cows are eating......
look at local cattle operations and try to identify the good and the bad ......
and what makes em that way.

figure out what you can do for a cow environment and then try to pick animals that are raised in an environment similar to what you plan to provide.
figure out how you are going to handle winter feed.

You can buy a denver champion and turn em out into forty acres of cedar and weeds and they will starve just like anything else.

disposition is an inherited trait but it is also a manufactured one. Cattle will reflect the disposition of the person who is with them the most.

find what you like as you are the one who will live with them.....
learn what the market in your area wants and pays premiums for.....

Best of luck to you.

 

[chippie]

When you start buying hay for the winter, plan on buying enough for at least 5 to 6 months depending on your Winter and weather. You don't want to try to buy the hay when you need it. It may not be available and you will pay a premium.

It is better to have too much than too little.

Good luck!