Pinzgaur

[shortyjock89]

Could someone please educate me about these cattle? They look like Shorthorns with funny markings. I know that they aren't but it's the closest thing I could associate them with. From what I've seen in pictures, they milk really well...are they or were they a dual purpose breed? Do they cross well with Shorthorns or any other British breeds? Thanks to all that reply!!

 

[cfpinz]

http://www.pinzgauers.org/

I like the breed but good luck selling their offspring unless you serve a niche market. They cross well with angus and herf from my experience. Pinz have many of the same qualities of simms, gelbvieh, lim, etc.. without the market acceptance. My biggest complaint is that no one in the purebred business takes the breed seriously. Good luck getting performance information, epd's, or anything remotely related to commercial production.

We keep a handful of pinz and pinz crosses around just for novelty, their calves wean as heavy (usually heavier) as any of the commercial calves but they don't sell worth a crap.

cfpinz

 

[Horticattleman]

I agree, I have looked into getting some because they seem to wean well and keep well. But after researching, it seems like they are highly discounted. Good looking animals though.

 

[stocky]

Over the years we have had some Pinz cows. The most we have ever had at one time was a dozen. Whenever I see a good one at a sale barn, I try to buy her. They milk great and they last up into their upper teens and are great mothers. They cross real well with a charlois bull and their calves sell real well as yellow crosses. They dont sell well at all crossed with other breeds I have tried.

 

[msscamp]

Could someone please educate me about these cattle? They look like Shorthorns with funny markings. I know that they aren't but it's the closest thing I could associate them with. From what I've seen in pictures, they milk really well...are they or were they a dual purpose breed? Do they cross well with Shorthorns or any other British breeds? Thanks to all that reply!!

The ex sister-in-law had a few that ran with our cows - long story, and one I'm not going to go into - they were all excellent mothers, good milkers, docile, and pretty easy to handle. The biggest disadvantage to Pinz's here is the coloring patterns, which will insure you're docked come sale time. I'm not up on my British vs Bos Taurus - but they cross very well with Murray Greys who, incidentally, originated from a Short Horn/Aberdeen Angus cross.

 

[dun]

Our vet worked at MARC in the reproduction lab part for a number of years. He said that if he wasn;t raising Angus he would raise Pinz but there is too much of a dock on them and not much of a market for bulls.

 

[Horticattleman]

Will homozygous black Angus or Limi bulls throw solid calves out of them?

 

[dun]

Will homozygous black Angus or Limi bulls throw solid calves out of them?

Nope. It seems that the stripe genes are harder to break then the whiteface genes

dun

 

[shortyjock89]

So, color is the main thing that brings the breed down right? Also I know that they are mostly for novelty. What if I crossed them with my Shorthorns? I should get a Shorthorn-marked calf, right? And around here, our Shorthorns outsell 90% of the black or hereford-looking calves across the scales. Not sure why but they do. I'm asking this because I need some recips, and I thought that if Pinz were good mothers, they would fit the bill. I ask about the Shorthorn cross because if the embryos don't take, then they gotta get bred somehow. If this is a bad idea, just let me know, because I can buy either Shorthorn or black recips too.

 

[dun]

So, color is the main thing that brings the breed down right? Also I know that they are mostly for novelty. What if I crossed them with my Shorthorns? I should get a Shorthorn-marked calf, right? And around here, our Shorthorns outsell 90% of the black or hereford-looking calves across the scales. Not sure why but they do. I'm asking this because I need some recips, and I thought that if Pinz were good mothers, they would fit the bill. I ask about the Shorthorn cross because if the embryos don't take, then they gotta get bred somehow. If this is a bad idea, just let me know, because I can buy either Shorthorn or black recips too.

They'll still have the back line or at a minimum a white tail

dun

 

[shortyjock89]

So, color is the main thing that brings the breed down right? Also I know that they are mostly for novelty. What if I crossed them with my Shorthorns? I should get a Shorthorn-marked calf, right? And around here, our Shorthorns outsell 90% of the black or hereford-looking calves across the scales. Not sure why but they do. I'm asking this because I need some recips, and I thought that if Pinz were good mothers, they would fit the bill. I ask about the Shorthorn cross because if the embryos don't take, then they gotta get bred somehow. If this is a bad idea, just let me know, because I can buy either Shorthorn or black recips too.

They'll still have the back line or at a minimum a white tail

dun

Heck that's okay, I've had some purebred Shorhorns that have a white stripe down their back AND and white tail. They sure did sell well. Sold them mostly for show calves. Sounds like I might be better off with either x bred recips or Shorthorn recips though. I would like to get a Pinz or two to see what I could get by breeding them to a clubby-type shorthorn though. hmmm lol

 

[CPL]

My biggest complaint is that no one in the purebred business takes the breed seriously. Good luck getting performance information, epd's, or anything remotely related to commercial production.

Agreed and it's sad.

 

[dun]

I've tried to get information from the registry and all they do is send me the latest magazine, not even a neat picture to hang on the wall.

 

[cfpinz]

I've tried to get information from the registry and all they do is send me the latest magazine, not even a neat picture to hang on the wall.

If you're looking for a few good laughs, read thru the semen listings. Less than half have epd's or even birthweights but all are "champions". I've seen pictures of some of those champs and the only thing I can surmise is they were the only animal in that class.

cfpinz

 

[CPL]

Is it just me or did the Pinzgauer breed really take a fall after the border closed and they stopped getting cattle from Canada and Austria?

I too got some of their "Pinzgauer Journal" Magazines. The greatest laugh I've ever had- The Treasurer's Report. I considered getting a Pinz Cow a year or two ago, and though they are lovely animals, the future for them is a foggy mist if your not making $150,000 from your day job.

 

[mitchwi]

I only have one Pinz and I LOVE her, and to date, I think the Pinz steers we've finished have been the best for taste, tenderness, and finish faster, they are BIG tho...not a complaint from me.

Why is it, not just pinz, but across the board.... we can sell calves, and let's consider quality is at a constant...

weaned to yearling, we will get docked for everything nit picking thing, but if you finish them to slaughter weight, prices are very consistent (dependent on market of course)?

Michele

 

[SKF Show Cattle]

We have two Pinz and really like them. We have crossed them with angus and maine anjou. We always sell the calves for 4H projects and have never had a problem selling them. Last year sold a angus pinz cross heifer to a girl and she has shown her very succesfully againist the club calves. She always places in the top of her class the steer calves that we have sold are easy keepers never have a weight problem. I personally like the maine pinz cross because the maine will add muscle. This year we are going to try crossing with our shorthorn bull. They are EXCELLENT mothers. The one is fifteen and always has a calf every year, she never misses.

 

[CPL]

We have two Pinz and really like them. We have crossed them with angus and maine anjou. We always sell the calves for 4H projects and have never had a problem selling them. Last year sold a angus pinz cross heifer to a girl and she has shown her very succesfully againist the club calves. She always places in the top of her class the steer calves that we have sold are easy keepers never have a weight problem. I personally like the maine pinz cross because the maine will add muscle. This year we are going to try crossing with our shorthorn bull. They are EXCELLENT mothers. The one is fifteen and always has a calf every year, she never misses.

They are really nice cattle, just the Association is doing everything it can to make them have a better name. You said you have 2 and that the calves are easy for you to sell. That sounds like it could work, but think now if you had 75-100 head of Pinzgauers. Your profit wouldn't be as good if, lets say, you had 75-100 head of a bigger breed (ie- Angus, Hereford, Maine).

 

[cfpinz]

They are really nice cattle, just the Association is doing everything it can to make them have a better name. You said you have 2 and that the calves are easy for you to sell. That sounds like it could work, but think now if you had 75-100 head of Pinzgauers. Your profit wouldn't be as good if, lets say, you had 75-100 head of a bigger breed (ie- Angus, Hereford, Maine).

Excellent point, couldn't agree more. Show me something the breed can do for me that (gelbvieh, simmental, limi...) cannot do and I will take notice. The other continental breeds offer more predictability and performance data in a package that has many marketable outlets. The only way I can see $ being made with the pinz cattle is either thru direct marketing of the beef or retained ownership programs, even then you have little information to draw from. The cattle are quite interesting to me but I don't think they will ever mature beyond a novelty breed.

cfpinz

 

[phillse]

My grandfather was into exotics and raised Charolais, Simmentals, Chianinna, and Pinzgauers, in additon to herefords. His breeding was done toatlly AI, this was early on when these breeds were first being carried by semen companies like Carnation at the time. From my experience with his animals the Pinzgauers were heavy muscled, good milkers with great longevity of bag, breed back easily, and had good growth. The draw back was that they could poduce calves quite large. I am talking 90 lbs. was common, but have seen several calves be 125 +. I like the cattle b ut getting rid of that color pattern is as hard or harder than gtting rid of the roan color pattern of Shorthorns.

Hope this helps.