New Tarentaise herd sire.

[Dylan Biggs]

Really cool coloring on him! I am not at all familiar with the breed. The females that I have seen pictures of are all solid red. This may sound dumb, but is the black and red combination like this bull has, specific to just the bulls?

Branguscowgirl a good question. Tarentaise are indeed a sexually dimorphic breed as you noted. The bulls develop the black coloring as they mature and the cow remain the light red to tan color. The cows typically only have the black points. The odd cow will have more black on the head and lower legs but not near as color differentiated as the mature bulls. I appreciate the distraction. ;-)

 

[branguscowgirl]

Really cool coloring on him! I am not at all familiar with the breed. The females that I have seen pictures of are all solid red. This may sound dumb, but is the black and red combination like this bull has, specific to just the bulls?

Branguscowgirl a good question. Tarentaise are indeed a sexually dimorphic breed as you noted. The bulls develop the black coloring as they mature and the cow remain the light red to tan color. The cows typically only have the black points. The odd cow will have more black on the head and lower legs but not near as color differentiated as the mature bulls. I appreciate the distraction. ;-)

That is really cool! I am not sure of any other breeds that are like that.
I see it in many different animal species, but hardly ever in cattle.
BTW, what do the steers do when castrated at a very young age? Do they still develope the black coloring?

 

[EJCB]

Great looking animal. I was wondering about breeding a Tarentaise bull to Angus heifers, I bought a Tarentaise bull last fall. Now I've got some replacement heifers that I will have bred this fall. I'm hoping that there should be no problem.

 

[Dylan Biggs]

Really cool coloring on him! I am not at all familiar with the breed. The females that I have seen pictures of are all solid red. This may sound dumb, but is the black and red combination like this bull has, specific to just the bulls?

Branguscowgirl a good question. Tarentaise are indeed a sexually dimorphic breed as you noted. The bulls develop the black coloring as they mature and the cow remain the light red to tan color. The cows typically only have the black points. The odd cow will have more black on the head and lower legs but not near as color differentiated as the mature bulls. I appreciate the distraction. ;-)

That is really cool! I am not sure of any other breeds that are like that.
I see it in many different animal species, but hardly ever in cattle.
BTW, what do the steers do when castrated at a very young age? Do they still develope the black coloring?

The steers don't develop the same color as the bulls.

there are other breeds, mostly french that are dimorphic also. Below is a Parthenaise bull and cows and an Aubrac bull and cow and a Bazadaise bull and cow.

Aubrac

And Bazadaise to a lesser extent.

 

[Dylan Biggs]

Great looking animal. I was wondering about breeding a Tarentaise bull to Angus heifers, I bought a Tarentaise bull last fall. Now I've got some replacement heifers that I will have bred this fall. I'm hoping that there should be no problem.

In general the Tarentaise breed is not known as a calving ease breed. That being said, as with any breed, it will depend on the breeding behind the individual bull. Charolais are not known as a calving ease breed either, but there are individuals that have calving ease bred into them that can be used successfully on heifers. Tarentaise in general have a longer gestation and thus are typically a bit larger at birth. It will depend on the heifers also in terms of their calving ease genetic background as well as the management of the heifers during their development. Very difficult to make a generalized blanket statement.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Would a Braunvieh or Braunvieh X Angus do that as well? Wondering, as I've seen a few colored similarly, in a field where I know of a man who has some Braunviehs and crosses.

I like the coloring.

Katherine

 

[Taurus]

I've seen some jersey bulls are darker than the cows.

 

[Nesikep]

I like those Tarantaise cows and heifers, they're easy on the eyes

 

[houstoncutter]

A fine example of what a bull should look like. Love the crest in that bull. I hate bulls that look like steers....I also love the Angus bull you just got rid of, lots of muscle there as well. Many of our Canadian cattlemen are still raising good cattle no matter the breed or color, something that we are lacking in the lower 48!

 

[ABrauny]

Dylan, I am curious. What do you see as the primary function of your Tarentaise cattle; to make more parent stock or to make all the offspring into steaks and burgers?

 

[Dylan Biggs]

Would a Braunvieh or Braunvieh X Angus do that as well? Wondering, as I've seen a few colored similarly, in a field where I know of a man who has some Braunviehs and crosses.

I like the coloring.

Katherine

Katherine the Braunvieh do display some degree of sexual color difference just not to the same degree as the Tarentaise or Parthenaise or as mentioned by Taurus, Jersey also. Once you cross them then the color combinations will be variable depending on what they are crossed with. Typically the Angus Braunvieh cross is a very dark brown color.

Houstoncutter, isn't that Parthenaise bull quite the specimen! Definitely quite the crest, though his testicular development appears to be less than one would expect given the degree of secondary masculine character expressed overall. But that seems to be typical when one gets into extreme muscle development. Limo, Blues, and Pies in general all seem to have limited scrotal development. I would like to think I am raising good cattle and that Canadians are in general also. As you mention their does seem some what less breed and color biases here in Canada. As for me, anyone who has seen my the variety in my herd knows I must be essentially color blind. I have few color or breed biases, though I do have a few.

Abrauny, you would have to ask. :nod: We needed some more cows, I have always liked Tarentaise in general and had good results with some of the AI sires we used in the 90's as far as cross bred females goes especially. These were bred the right time of year, were priced right, $1450 delivered and were nice cows overall. I will continue to breed the better end of the 45 to Tarentaise bulls and use the rest as commercial cows bred Angus for our beef program. We will see what the straight Tarentaise steers eat like and maintain a small population of Tarentaise. Breeding pasture logistics becomes the challenge with all my different breeding groups. So to answer your question, I feel they have value as parent stock genetics, time will tell. The breed is essentially extinct in Canada. I hope that answers your question. :tiphat:

 

[WalnutCrest]

Not to side-track too much ... a few pictures showing the secondary sexual traits in Aubracs ...

I like to see great feminity in the cows and masculinity in the bulls; I think that sort of hormonal balance translates to herd-wide fertility.

Dylan -- have you noticed anything about this in your herd's fertility? Oh, and, to keep this thread on topic,there are more than a few things to like about the looks of your bull ... just curious ... what's he look like from the back? How wide is he?