Cajun Lady":1uftk0wy said:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It'll make it easier for me to decide.
But here's a bit of a dumb question maybe.
Why are most brangus 5/8-3/8? Why not half and half? And do you want your breeding stock to be 5/8-3/8 or your calves.
cypressfarms - Yes, I'm quite cajun, I live in Acadiana Parish though I'm originally from St. Mary Parish.
Why do black calves bring more money? What about red brangus? And could angus do well here or does it need to be a cross?
CJ,
By definition, a brangus is 5/8 angus and 3/8 brahman. If you were to breed an angus to a brahman, you would have a "half and half" scenario; this would be called an F1 cross, as it is a first generation cross between two breeds. (By the way, many people do use this type of F1 down here).
I can't speak for other parts of the country, but down here there are two factors to consider.
First, the "ear" factor You don't want too much "ear", which means brahman blood, because your calves will be slighty discounted (sell for less). However, it is beneficial to have some brahman blood, as it helps the cows handle the heat better. To help you visiualize, check out cherokeeruby's cattle, which are brahman and notice the ears.
http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21809
They have large ears. Calves like this would get docked going through the sale barn.
Now look at the ears on this calf:
which is a cross between an angus and a brangus. Much smaller ears, no dock at sale time.
Second issue is color. Some cattlemen refuse to look at color, and breed what they choose, which is fine, but for a cow/calf producer, IMO I need to produce calves that have a high demand and will bring the highest price. From your parish I think Dominique's stockyard in Opelousas is the closest. I would recommend you go there and just watch two or three sales. You will begin to notice that black calves sell for more per pound than others. More specifically, the higher angus content buyers think a calf has, the higher the price will be.
Angus can do well here. We have a member here, LA4angus, which probably doesn't live far from you, who raises fine angus. If you are a cow/calf producer (selling your calves at the auction every year), however, you will want to take advantage of hybrid vigor. Hybrid vigor is a widely known fact that when you cross two breeds, the resulting offspring will be heavier, more fertile, longer lived, and other benefits. If you are producing calves, this extra bonus cannot be overlooked. I would strongly recommend against a new person breeding just one breed, as in angus bulls with angus cows, because ultimately you will lose money. Only seedstock producers do this, and they do this to supply commericial (cow/calf) farmers with breeding stock.
Sorry for being longwinded. If you want to pm me, feel free. I may get jumped on by other members for my comments, but what works down here, doesn't necessarily work in other places.
The Brahman blood will give you the heat resistance to keep them thriving well in the humidity and heat.
