Warren Allison, I have noticed you mention Chi Angus bulls a few times. I have been curious about them, for a while. Years ago there were some of the old full bloods around and not many liked them much after using them. The cows didn't look like they had enough milk to raise a calf of the ones I saw. The last few years I have seen some Chi Angus bulls advertised for sale in the area. The pictures look to be a range from very Angus like to very tall, leggy and lean. I have often wondered how those kind of bulls would do as far as calving and how daughters would do as far as milk and maternal instincts. Right now I have a group of coming second calf cows that I bought as 500 lbs heifers. Have no idea what they may be. They are not straight Angus and most times I can figure it out if they are Sim or Limousin or Gelbvieh influenced but as they have grown they aren't very uniform and have had to cull some for not having enough milk. A few were culled for disposition problems too. I've wondered if I may have gotten some of those Chi Angus.
The Chi-Angus books are kept by the Chianina registry, and basically the Chi-Angus parentage has to be registered Angus and registered Chianina only. Looking at various semen sites, you will see the bulls listed anywhere from 75% Chianina to as low as 20% Chianina. Pure Chianina are noted for their insect and disease tolerance, like Brahman and Longhorn, as well as both heat and cold tolerance. They are also noted for maternal instincts and milk production. In Italy, there were a triple=purpose breed, used for meat and milk as well as draft animals. They just didn't bag up like a Holstein. Docility is important for a milk cow, as well as working oxen., so this trait was selected for over thousands of years of breeding. Chianina bulls have freakishly small heads, and Chianina calves tend to be long and slender, and these add up to calving ease.
I remember in 1974, when I saw the first Chianinas.. first time I had heard of them actually. I was attending the Univ of Georgia, and I went to a sale at the beef building on campus. I sat way up high in the stands, and already in the ring were 4 cows, that I thought were Angus. Then, when the 2 ring men came out and started moving the cows, i thought they were either kids or midgets! Then the auctioneer got on the PA, and told us what they were...and all about Chianina cattle. Prior to then, you could not import Chianina into the US, but in the early 70's, you could import Chianina semen from Canada. So, the first we saw of them, were crossbreds.... almost all Angus crosses. Back then Angus were still little, dumpy ., short-legged cattle, and those angus cows weighing less than 1000 lbs, had no problem birthing those Chianina calves.
I don't have a ton of experience with Chianina or Chi-Angus, but what little I have had has been positive. As I mentioned on another thread, I bought a client's half-Chianina and half-Holstein heifers for about 10 years, starting about 2000. He had about 6 Holsteins he AI-ed to a Chianina bull, and 6 registered Chiania cows he AI-ed to a Holstein bull, to get steers to make draft oxen. I bred those heifers to Brangus bulls, and never had 1 calving problem Some of them on their 2nd or subsequent calves, I tried a Chi-Angus bull, and had no problems. Admittedly these cows are a cross of the biggest 2 breeds there are, and as you'd expect, they had plenty of milk. This man also used Chianina when he took a notion to raise bucking bulls. He eventually developed a 3-way Longhorn, Brahma, and Chianina cross. Neither his Longhorn nor his Brahma cows had any problems calving these Chianina calves. I bought some of his Chianina x Brahma cows, when he had enough of the 3-way crosses and started selling off his 2-ways. I bred these cows to polled Charolais bulls, and never had a calving problem with them either. These cows raised some awesome calves....never a milk issue at all. These were some of the best non-Angus influenced cows I ever owned. They'd stand out in the middle of the summer,. at noon, eating like they were starving to death, while other cows were laying in the ponds! I hardly ever had to take one of those 1/2 Char, 1/4 Brahma. 1/4 Chi heifers to the sale, either. There was a neighbor in the next county that bought nearly every one I weaned. He'd breed them to Charolais and Simmental bulls ( back when Simmentals were red and white like a Hereford), and never had a problem calving. That smaller head from the Chianina ( and Brahma) was still showing up 2 and 3 generations away.
Personally, if I wanted a Continental influence, I would feel more comfortable breeding my angus or hereford cows to a chi-angus bull, than to a SimAngus or black Simmental. I think you'd have less calving problems, and you will wean off a bigger black calf.