Square Meaters cattle with pics

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Keren

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From time to time this breed crops up here on the boards and I've never had the photos handy to show people. Was digging through the photos today however, and found some, so I though I'd post them.

For reference, here's what I wrote about the breed on an old, old post:

I used to be of the opinion that they were just another miniature breed aimed at hobby farmers and people who wanted 'pets'. However, I have had the opportunity to work with some over the last two years and this is how the breed has been explained to me:

The thing that separates square meaters cattle from other miniatures such as lowlines and dexters is that the latter are in every sense of the word 'miniature' while the square meaters are smaller because of reduced leg length. If you look at each of these breeds and a 'normal' sized breed, the square meaters are almost if not as long and deep in the body as the full sized breeds. Conversly, the lowline is shorter in the body, with finer bone structure and features. For this reason, square meater breeders in Australia don't like their cattle being called miniature ( I found this out the hard way! )

As for their relevance in the industry, the breed was developed using Murray Greys which displayed the maturity patterns of the 'old style' animals - short legs, thick body, easy fleshing, early maturing. They are a breed which aims to target the domestic vealer market. The idea is that these animals will be sold off the mother and because of their size reach the target weight, but also because of the maturity pattern have the desired finish as well, thus eliminating the need for feeding either on pasture or intensively.

And now the pictures - for height reference I am 4'9. Not the best pics but all I've got

Junior Heifer

SydneyStud0401.jpg


SydneyStud0403.jpg


Junior Bulls

SydneyStud0402.jpg


Cow calf

SydneyStud0404.jpg


Jnr bull in foreground, cow/calf in back ground

SydneyStud0405.jpg


Jnr heifer

SydneyStud0406.jpg


A different jnr heifer

P4150064.jpg


P4150065.jpg


P4150069.jpg


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This particular heifer came back next year with a calf at foot and won champ cow. beautiful female

hannah-_-colleen.jpg


The cow from up the top of this post, as a heifer

P4150094.jpg


The heifer from the top of this post, as a cow

P4160001.jpg


A steer

Goats080.jpg
 
I love that silver heifer you guys took back as a cow/calf. When you look at her she just instantly has that style and appeal.

You know Keren, these little guys suit you. I can't quite put my finger on why though... ;-)
 
aussie_cowgirl":2z2wpquf said:
I love that silver heifer you guys took back as a cow/calf. When you look at her she just instantly has that style and appeal.

You know Keren, these little guys suit you. I can't quite put my finger on why though... ;-)

Hmmmm ... perhaps my favourite word when it comes to cattle ... BALANCE?? :lol2:
 
Keren, based on these pictures alone I don't find them to be that short legged. In fact they appear to be very balanced.

BTW I still have a hankerin for that Rosita heifer. May I could just borrow her for a few(flushes) days. ;-)
 
Keren":39dx1c2m said:
aussie_cowgirl":39dx1c2m said:
I love that silver heifer you guys took back as a cow/calf. When you look at her she just instantly has that style and appeal.

You know Keren, these little guys suit you. I can't quite put my finger on why though... ;-)

Hmmmm ... perhaps my favourite word when it comes to cattle ... BALANCE?? :lol2:

Must be that
 
BARNSCOOP":vf7u3a65 said:
Keren,
What type of meat do these beauties yield?

Beef!

(sorry, couldnt resist)

they produce very good vealer carcasses, beautifully finished straight off the cow, they also make good lightweight carcasses for the dometic supermarket, hotel and restaurant trade. They are very well muscled, they will hit a C+ muscle score on average and some of the best will reach a B. And they are very very easy to fatten, on grass. They have similar marbling and tenderness to the MG
 
Were the Square Meaters started by selecting for the desired size and characteristics out of Murray Grey stock, a la the Angus to Lowline, or was there a cross breeding initially to downsize them?

There are apparently some here in the U.S. but don't seem to have a registry going and the NAAB doesn't have a breed code established for them yet. SM is already taken for Simmental.
 

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