Cowboy 2.0":4us2q438 said:
Keren, you haven't honestly convinced yourself into believeing the cattle u posted r better than the black ones?
No, I'm not saying that either is better, just that the traditional breed characteristics that make that breed what they are, have been lost in the black animals. Chianina breed character is colour (white), large frame (known as the biggest cattle breed in the world), fine boned, shallow bodied, heavy muscled. Black chi's are black; heavier boned, deeper bodied and softer than the traditionals. Simmental are known for their soft, extra skin (or as you guys would term, 'leather'), and heaps and heaps of milk. And their characteristic colour patterns. Black simms are much tigher in the hide, do not display the extra skin on the dewlap, brisket and underline, dont have the famous soft Simmy lips, and are much more moderate in milk. Maine Anjou is known for the colour pattern, heavy bone, very tall rangy cattle with heavy muscle over the top but shallow bodies. Black Maine is smaller framed, softer, deeper ...
I could keep going. Look, I like angus, I have worked with angus extensively, I've had the pleasure of dealing with some brilliant angus cattle and some less than stellar ones, just as I have done in all breeds. I have no problem with the industry going black - if thats what they want to do, fine. If the other breeds want to do black, and they get more money for their calves, more power to them. I'm just trying to point out that, in going black, its not as simple as taking the fullblood animal and painting it black. Some breed character is bound to be lost, because to get that black hide at one point you have to cross to a black animal, and in most cases that black animal is an angus, so you start taking on traits of the angus. Traits like moderate frame, softness, depth, moderate bone and so on, all very positive traits that I strive for in my own cattle, but you also need to acknowledge that some of these traits werent in the original fullblood animal, therefore it has lost some of its traditional breed character.
Cowboy 2.0":4us2q438 said:
I.E., a black chi is going to be rounder hipped than the others along with being courser made. A maine is usually going to have some amount of white on him but not necessarilly. They are generally smooth and square with an abundance of hair. A simmi just plain and simple is going to have to have white on his face to get into the class. A limmi, just as many reds show as blacks do here but generally theyll be the roundest muscled breed along with having an extra rib in there.
