Red vs. Black Cows

[jsully]

Hello! I am very new to cattle. I have a small heard of 8, 7 heifers and a bull. 3 BWF and the rest are Solid Black. They are just now 1 yr old. I wanted to sell my bull to get a herferd bull around the same age to breed so i would get more baldies. However, i keep reading that there is a penalty at the sale barn for red cows. I have also seen it at the sale barn the Monday before Thanksgiving. A breed Herferd sold for less than $300 but a sold black breed cow sold for $600 something. I don't understand, can some of you explain this to me, please.

Thanks in advance.
Jeff

 

[Lee VanRoss]

B C M

 

[jsully]

Lee, please forgive my ignorance, i don't know what BCM stands for.

Thank you

 

[SBMF 2015]

Hello! I am very new to cattle. I have a small heard of 8, 7 heifers and a bull. 3 BWF and the rest are Solid Black. They are just now 1 yr old. I wanted to sell my bull to get a herferd bull around the same age to breed so i would get more baldies. However, i keep reading that there is a penalty at the sale barn for red cows. I have also seen it at the sale barn the Monday before Thanksgiving. A breed Herferd sold for less than $300 but a sold black breed cow sold for $600 something. I don't understand, can some of you explain this to me, please.

Thanks in advance.
Jeff

It's politics and PR. The Angus association has convinced the grocery buying house wives of this country that; if it isn't black angus it's an inferior product.

If you feed cattle the same, it doesn't matter what color they are. They will taste the same.

Your bwf hfrs will have a pretty good chance of having red neck baldie calves, as will your blks that carry the red gene.

If you want to raise baldie calves out of the set of hfrs that you currently have. Bred them to a low birth Angus bull, get the first calf out of them. Then find a good BWF Simmental bull. He'll throw blk and bwf calves.
Good Luck, and welcome to CT.

 

[Farmgirl]

find a good BWF Simmental bull. He'll throw blk and bwf calves.

That is true IF he is homozygous black.

 

[Ky hills]

I agree with SBMF 2015, I would breed them all the first time to a calving ease Angus bull. Then the next go around if you wanted to use a Hereford bull, presuming that the solid black ones would likely have black white face calves, the 3 bwf ones may have a red one or two from a Hereford bull. This could also be a place for a black Hereford or a white faced Simmental making sure either of those were homozygous black would insure all black hided calves.

 

[jsully]

It's politics and PR. The Angus association has convinced the grocery buying house wives of this country that; if it isn't black angus it's an inferior product.

If you feed cattle the same, it doesn't matter what color they are. They will taste the same.

Your bwf hfrs will have a pretty good chance of having red neck baldie calves, as will your blks that carry the red gene.

If you want to raise baldie calves out of the set of hfrs that you currently have. Bred them to a low birth Angus bull, get the first calf out of them. Then find a good BWF Simmental bull. He'll throw blk and bwf calves.
Good Luck, and welcome to CT.

Thank you for the info. I

 

[jsully]

It's politics and PR. The Angus association has convinced the grocery buying house wives of this country that; if it isn't black angus it's an inferior product.

If you feed cattle the same, it doesn't matter what color they are. They will taste the same.

Your bwf hfrs will have a pretty good chance of having red neck baldie calves, as will your blks that carry the red gene.

If you want to raise baldie calves out of the set of hfrs that you currently have. Bred them to a low birth Angus bull, get the first calf out of them. Then find a good BWF Simmental bull. He'll throw blk and bwf calves.
Good Luck, and welcome to CT.

Thank you for the advice and information, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[callmefence]

Question Jeff....is your little "heard" together??

 

[txlonghorngirl]

Hi! I don't think there is a difference between red and black Angus I think it is just color and what that heifer/calf/bull/cow has been fed...as u may know there are grass-fed Angus and grain-fed Angus meaning some Angus if you were to turn them out on grass they wouldn't do good and vice versa


texaslonghorngirl

 

[jsully]

Question Jeff....is your little "heard" together??

Yes, its all together

 

[TCRanch]

@SBMF 2015 nailed it. But I would also add, what sells "the best" is quite often contingent on geography/your location. Go to your local, or nearest sale barn. Watch what runs through the ring and talk to the buyers. There could be a number of reasons why the bred Hereford sold significantly less than the bred solid black cow: age, disposition, obvious bad udder/feet or other health issue, BCS (way too fat or skinny) . . . .

 

[ismith]

Red cows get docked because they have an unfair advantage over the black cows.

 

[Ky hills]

Red cows get docked because they have an unfair advantage over the black cows.

?

 

[kenny thomas]

Lee, please forgive my ignorance, i don't know what BCM stands for.

Thank you

Black Cow Matters

 

[ismith]

It's true, and doubly so with red roans.

?

 

[Ky hills]

It's true, and doubly so with red roans.

 

[coachg]

For whatever reason black cattle bring more at most sake barns .

 

[Dave]

Well there are premiums paid on black cattle that make CAB for starters. Then there are some historic issues of some red cattle not preforming as well in the feedlot or in the packing plant. Those issues may no longer apply but when you money is on the line how much of a gamble do you want to take. I guarantee the feedlots keep real good records on what makes them money and what doesn't.

 

[Dave]

I was sitting beside a buyer at a big feeder sale (4,000+ head) last week. They were selling 30-100 head at a time. Several times a bunch of black calves would come in with just 1 or 2 red calves. He would ask to cut the reds off. They would do it and he would pay a lot more than the mixed bunches were bringing. He wasn't bidding on the mixed groups. After one bunch that he cut a couple of real nice red angus calves I said to him, "your guy must really not like red calves." His reply was, "I just do what I am told." He went on to say if he was going to feed that bunch he would leave those reds on the ticket. The feeders are the ones who drive the calf market.