Pros and cons of angus

[Dixieangus]

I like Angus with the experience I've had with them but I need to know the pros and cons of the breed....Everyone seems to have them. Why do they seem to bring more money at sales...

 

[Ryan]

I would recommend doing a search. Seems like the Angus breed has been discussed from every angle on hear at some point or another. Probably enough information on the breed to keep you in good reading material for ages. There are people on here with opinions on Angus that range from the breed doing no wrong, to the breed being worthless and everything in between.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but I noticed you are a pretty new member and thought I might be able to give you a helpful hint.

Ryan

 

[Dixieangus]

Thanks I'll look more in to it.....Do a little more reading.

 

[Alberta farmer]

Dixie: I'll try to answer. Obvious pros: The market wants an Angus or Angus influenced calf, preferably black, for one reason...the feedlot, packer, retailer make more money on him.
The angus/crossbred cow is tough,low maitenance, maternal, fertile and raises a desirable feeder animal.
The Angus bull doesn't need a lot of pampering and is very fertile.

And now for the "cons"(in my opinion): New mothers can be a bit snuffy.
Some Angus tend to be a bit light boned
They kick a lot

 

[FarmGirl10]

I'll agree with Alberta farmer, they are pretty good animals. But from what I've read there are a lot of possible problems with calves, just read the post on fawn calf syndrome. And of course there are possible problems with other breeds, but I've heard of many more with Angus calves.

 

[Frankie]

I like Angus with the experience I've had with them but I need to know the pros and cons of the breed....Everyone seems to have them. Why do they seem to bring more money at sales...

We have been raising registered Angus for quite a few years now. I honestly can't give you any cons. No, they're not perfect; but no breed is perfect. Some bloodlines have too much backfat. The CAB feedlot program helps address that. The pros are many, the big one being

they seem to bring more money at sales

I believe if you take the five, seven, ten qualities you need in your herd to be profitable, you'll find Angus pretty high in all those qualities. They may not be the most fertile, but they're a fertile breed. They may not weigh the most at weaning, but we wean 6-700 lb calves on a regular basis from registered stock. They may not hang the biggest carcass, but neither will you get docked for too big carcasses. We feed test our bulls so I know that Angus do as well, or better, than any other breed in feedlot efficiency. Angus is an easy calving breed. Gain on a big, dead calf is pretty low.

The American Angus Association has done a good job putting the tools in the hands of Angus breeders to improve the breed. They went to open AI many, many years ago and it's been beneficial to the breed and breeders. They created a branded beef program (CAB) that took a lot of years to get going, but is probably the main reason that today consumers connect quality beef with Angus.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Pro's they come in two colors.

 

[Oldtimer]

Dixie: I'll try to answer. Obvious pros: The market wants an Angus or Angus influenced calf, preferably black, for one reason...the feedlot, packer, retailer make more money on him.
The angus/crossbred cow is tough,low maitenance, maternal, fertile and raises a desirable feeder animal.
The Angus bull doesn't need a lot of pampering and is very fertile.

And now for the "cons"(in my opinion): New mothers can be a bit snuffy.
Some Angus tend to be a bit light boned
They kick a lot

Depends on the cattle and upon what your comparing them with...Compared to the limis and salers I've had contact with- they are gentle sweethearts ;-)

 

[JHH]

Dixie: I'll try to answer. Obvious pros: The market wants an Angus or Angus influenced calf, preferably black, for one reason...the feedlot, packer, retailer make more money on him.
The angus/crossbred cow is tough,low maitenance, maternal, fertile and raises a desirable feeder animal.
The Angus bull doesn't need a lot of pampering and is very fertile.

And now for the "cons"(in my opinion): New mothers can be a bit snuffy.
Some Angus tend to be a bit light boned
They kick a lot

They do tend to be a bit more skittish than Herefords.
They do seem to bring more money.

But I would put my Horned Hereford bull against most angus bulls for longevity and hardyness( if that is even a word).

Now you mix the two (Herefords and Angus) and you have the best of both most of the time.

 

[dun]

Pro's they come in two colors.

About the only thing that doesn;t are Red Polls.

 

[LimousinGirl]

they are gentle sweethearts ;-)

Isn't that the truth...one reason why I LOVE my Angus girl so much!

 

[JHH]

Dixie: I'll try to answer. Obvious pros: The market wants an Angus or Angus influenced calf, preferably black, for one reason...the feedlot, packer, retailer make more money on him.
The angus/crossbred cow is tough,low maitenance, maternal, fertile and raises a desirable feeder animal.
The Angus bull doesn't need a lot of pampering and is very fertile.

And now for the "cons"(in my opinion): New mothers can be a bit snuffy.
Some Angus tend to be a bit light boned
They kick a lot

They do tend to be a bit more skittish than Herefords.
They do seem to bring more money.

But I would put my Horned Hereford bull against most angus bulls for longevity and hardyness( if that is even a word).

Now you mix the two (Herefords and Angus) and you have the best of both most of the time.

Well I wont be so quick to make another statement like that. I went out last night and all was fine. ( feed hay and checked on everthing) Checked them this morning and My bull looks to have been shot. We have coyote hunters around and they seem to get mixed up and think they are big and red with horns, instead of little brown and run fast. This isnt the first time that it has happened. We have also had a cow shot before. I must have made one of them mad because I wouldnt let him deer hunt on us.

Guess I will look for a new bull.

 

[mnmtranching]

JHH that sucks, hope you have insurance. I have been breeding Black Angus in to my herd for about 15 years. I select bulls for disposition and calving ease, the same with my Charolais bulls. I don't see the wild or kicking problems some have. It's easy picking out a calm gentle bull, can't figure out why everyone doesn't do it? I always keep extra replacement heifers, if I get a couple that look at me wrong they get fattened or go to town.

 

[Dixieangus]

Sorry to hear about your bull...Thanks everyone who have posted It's helped a lot...

 

[VanC]

We have been raising registered Angus for quite a few years now. I honestly can't give you any cons. No, they're not perfect; but no breed is perfect.

If they're not perfect, then there must be cons. I'd be careful about saying that (the part about no cons) to prospective buyers. Some may buy it, but some won't.

If I ever realize my dream and am looking to buy some cattle, I'm going straight to a breeder. I'm going to tell them what I'm looking for and I'm going to pester them with lots of questions. How they answer those questions will determine whether they get my business or not. I'm going to eventually ask them about their cattle's faults. If they say there are none, I'm walking away. I figure they're either not being honest, or they don't know their own cattle. They may have exactly what I'm looking for and the best cattle I've ever seen, but I'm gone. I'm not going to do business with someone that's dishonest, and I'm not going to do business with someone that isn't knowledgeable about the product they're trying to sell me.

 

[Brandonm22]

We have been raising registered Angus for quite a few years now. I honestly can't give you any cons. No, they're not perfect; but no breed is perfect.

If they're not perfect, then there must be cons. I'd be careful about saying that (the part about no cons) to prospective buyers. Some may buy it, but some won't.

If I ever realize my dream and am looking to buy some cattle, I'm going straight to a breeder. I'm going to tell them what I'm looking for and I'm going to pester them with lots of questions. How they answer those questions will determine whether they get my business or not. I'm going to eventually ask them about their cattle's faults. If they say there are none, I'm walking away. I figure they're either not being honest, or they don't know their own cattle. They may have exactly what I'm looking for and the best cattle I've ever seen, but I'm gone. I'm not going to do business with someone that's dishonest, and I'm not going to do business with someone that isn't knowledgeable about the product they're trying to sell me.

The problem with focusing on pros and cons is that often a breed's biggest weaknesses are also related to it's strengths. Cons on Angus is that they tend to put on too much fat, don't have enough ribeye area (especially as carcass weights get heavier), and this translates into poor yield grades. IF you changed that, you would probably also lose some of that marbling/quality grade, those easy keeping females, hardiness, fertility, etc. Backfat is a GOOD THING on a range cow in Montana. It is a really bad thing on the kill floor. I think the biggest flaw in the Angus breed now is that there are too many big moosy type cows out there that weigh in at 1600++ in good condition and need too much groceries to perform economically. Lose those type cows and you also lose some weaning weight and post weaning gains. Select for weaning weight and yearling weight and you lose the 1100 lb easy keeping grass fat cows. Select for those kind of cows and you typically are going to lose some feedlot performance and carcass weight.

 

[Sage]

In my openion the angus cow red or black is very tough to beat. I agree with most everything of what has been said. The one topic that has been missed is how well they cross breed with almost all other breeds(especially the red cows). HA are hardy and good producers, SA cows are very high producing inceasing the bone and caracass weights, same with Charlois, & Limousine. Most every cross I can think of works well with angus.

 

[Frankie]

We have been raising registered Angus for quite a few years now. I honestly can't give you any cons. No, they're not perfect; but no breed is perfect.

If they're not perfect, then there must be cons. I'd be careful about saying that (the part about no cons) to prospective buyers. Some may buy it, but some won't.

If I ever realize my dream and am looking to buy some cattle, I'm going straight to a breeder. I'm going to tell them what I'm looking for and I'm going to pester them with lots of questions. How they answer those questions will determine whether they get my business or not. I'm going to eventually ask them about their cattle's faults. If they say there are none, I'm walking away. I figure they're either not being honest, or they don't know their own cattle. They may have exactly what I'm looking for and the best cattle I've ever seen, but I'm gone. I'm not going to do business with someone that's dishonest, and I'm not going to do business with someone that isn't knowledgeable about the product they're trying to sell me.

Well, Van, if you ever decide to buy some cows, you certainly should research them and the breeder you're buying from. Anyone who's looking at cattle to buy from us can see all the AHIR data on the animal, probably her dam's AHIR data and maybe the granddam's. There's not a perfect cow on this place and I'd be happy to answer any questions a potential buyer asks. But my cow's individual faults don't have a lot to do with the Angus breed as a whole. Too much backfat? That's not true of some lines. Lacking muscle? Some bulls will compete with the Continentals, especially since they've downsized their breeds. Disposition? Some good ones, some bad ones, just like any other breed. Fertility? Yep. Maternal? Yep. Calving ease? Yep. Quality beef? Yep. Market acceptability? Heck, yeah. What else are you looking for?

 

[VanC]

We have been raising registered Angus for quite a few years now. I honestly can't give you any cons. No, they're not perfect; but no breed is perfect.

If they're not perfect, then there must be cons. I'd be careful about saying that (the part about no cons) to prospective buyers. Some may buy it, but some won't.

If I ever realize my dream and am looking to buy some cattle, I'm going straight to a breeder. I'm going to tell them what I'm looking for and I'm going to pester them with lots of questions. How they answer those questions will determine whether they get my business or not. I'm going to eventually ask them about their cattle's faults. If they say there are none, I'm walking away. I figure they're either not being honest, or they don't know their own cattle. They may have exactly what I'm looking for and the best cattle I've ever seen, but I'm gone. I'm not going to do business with someone that's dishonest, and I'm not going to do business with someone that isn't knowledgeable about the product they're trying to sell me.

Well, Van, if you ever decide to buy some cows, you certainly should research them and the breeder you're buying from. Anyone who's looking at cattle to buy from us can see all the AHIR data on the animal, probably her dam's AHIR data and maybe the granddam's. There's not a perfect cow on this place and I'd be happy to answer any questions a potential buyer asks. But my cow's individual faults don't have a lot to do with the Angus breed as a whole. Too much backfat? That's not true of some lines. Lacking muscle? Some bulls will compete with the Continentals, especially since they've downsized their breeds. Disposition? Some good ones, some bad ones, just like any other breed. Fertility? Yep. Maternal? Yep. Calving ease? Yep. Quality beef? Yep. Market acceptability? Heck, yeah. What else are you looking for?

I really like your answer. I'm glad you don't seem to think I was questioning your honesty. That was not my intent. You know me.........sometimes something pops into my head and I go off on a tangent. Admittedly, I don't know diddly squat about cattle compared to most of you, but I still like sticking my two cents in once in awhile. Maybe some of you think input from someone on the outside looking in is a good thing and maybe some of you don't.

As for what i'm looking for, it seems you've hit the nail on the head for the most part. If I'm fortunate enough to get a few head someday it would be just that........a few head, maybe 10 or 15. Just to have something to enjoy. I'm too old to start a new carreer, and, Lord knows, if people infinitely more experienced than I are having trouble staying afloat then I wouldn't expect to make money at it. They would be Angus or Herefords, maybe both. They'd have to be easy to work with. I'd probably start by backgrounding a few steers for a year or two and if that went well, buy some decent bred cows and go from there. I'd have to get somebody to AI for me. I'm too old and inexperienced to mess with a bull, even if I had enough to justify it.

There are a couple of guys near me that I wouldn't say are close friends, but I know them and trust them. One raises Herefords, the other has Angus and Shorthorns. I'm sure I could depend on them for advice and, of course, I would constantly pester the fine people on this forum. Anyway, I don't mean to sound melancholy because I have a good life and many blessings, but none of this is likely to happen anyway. It's a possibility, but a remote one. Doesn't hurt to dream a little, I guess.

 

[greenwillowhereford II]

JHH, I hate to hear about the bull :x But you can't blame that one on the bull....