Tell Me about Beefmasters

[spinandslide]

Ive had my heart set on a Branagus for awhile now...however, after speaking with a Beefmaster breeder who came into my work, my curiousity is peeked.

I am interested in the fact they have small birthweights, but this breeder claimed they had caught up with his angus at weaning time..

Thoughts?

Sarah

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

We outweigh our Angus neighbors cattle at weaning... however, since our area tends towards a certain color of hide... we get about the same per head that they do.

You can check out the beefmasters website: http://www.beefmasters.org

Of the 6 essentials of a beefmaster - disposition is very high in my book. To be able to work the herd on foot and walk among the animals without a whole lotta hoopla is very beneficial... and it makes for easier tagging of new calves without having to seperate them from momma...

I hope you give them a try. Good luck.

 

[BTRANCH]

We run a registered bull on 3 registered and 3 cross momma cows. We have low birthweight calves. In '07 4 of 5 were first calf heifers and we had no birthing problems.

We can walk among our herd also, but not sure that is breed specific or not.

Beefmaster has an E-6 program where you can "register" a calf if one parent is full blood registered. They have special sales and these heifers average $900 & up.

Our mommas are good milkers and are excellent mothers.

Let me know if I can help further.

 

[texast]

To amen all that has been said.Beefmaster's are great cattle. The calves come in all different colors and they grow really well. You can cross the mama's with just about anything and get a good calf.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

• >>>Ive had my heart set on a Branagus for awhile now<<

...however, after speaking with a Beefmaster breeder who came into my work, my curiousity is peeked.

I am interested in the fact they have small birthweights, but this breeder claimed they had caught up with his angus at weaning time..

Thoughts?

Sarah

go with brangus ;-)

 

[spinandslide]

thanks everyone!
ALAcowman, you arent helping me here... :lol:

I went to the website mentioned and looked at some of the breeders sites...for the most part I liked what I saw. My husband I have a feeling "prefers" a beefmaster over a brangus, based on some comments hes made.

My situation? Ive wanted a momma cow or two for awhile now to raise our own beef and if my son gets froggy and wants to do the 4-h cattle thing in the future. I got turned onto the Brangus while visiting a friend of mine, who had some brangus cattle turned out across from his place. Big lovely heifers, conformationly beautiful

I want something thats easy to handle and hardy. I hear alot of folks say its a toss up if the brangus will be quiet or rowdy..I dont want rowdy..lol. While plans are not the sell, as some of the other posters on here might sell their cattle(like I said, this would be for us), I know hide color plays a big factor if/when you sell..

 

[bigbull338]

reg beefmaster breeder here.your best bet is reg beefmasters.they are very gentle an easy going.i can walk around the cows an calves.an they stay calm with me on foot or 4 wheeler.an my cows are calm when you get them in the pen.they raise their calves with plenty of milk.an they dont like dogs bothering their calves.an they will chase the dogs.my herd bull is very gentle.but that doesnt mean i trust him.when im with him i watch him as im messing with the cows.an i respect him.they raise big heavy calves at weaning.an you can always sell your reg weaned heifers for $200 to $300hd over feeder heifers.but you need good bloodlines todo that.you can get good reg cows for $1500 to $2000.an they do make good show calves.

 

[skyline]

I started out with a registered beefmaster bull and commercial and registered beefmaster heifers. I've been at it for about 3 years now and I like them and haven't regretted the decision. My goal is to get involved in the E-6 program in the next year or so when I've got my volume up high enough to make transportation to the annual sale in Columbus, Texas worthwhile.

 

[BTRANCH]

I started out with a registered beefmaster bull and commercial and registered beefmaster heifers. I've been at it for about 3 years now and I like them and haven't regretted the decision. My goal is to get involved in the E-6 program in the next year or so when I've got my volume up high enough to make transportation to the annual sale in Columbus, Texas worthwhile.

Skyline, we have the same goal. My only drawback is that BBU charges $250 to "certify" your E-6 calves. I only have 4 now, so I am looking for someone to split the fee with.

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

Beefmasters are a higher percentage of Brahman blood than Santas, Brangus, etc.

 

[novatech]

I think when it comes down to a choice between the Beefmaster or Brangus there is not 2 cents worth of difference between the 2. You need to look at the qualities of the individual animals that would be available to you. And at what price.
At present in my area F1 Braford and Beefmaster are in big demand. Next year it may be Brangus and Gerts. Who's to say?
What ever you choose go with the best you can. They will be your foundation.
One other note before you buy I would advise observing them in a corral to see how excitable they are. Some cattle are great in the pasture but when you pen them they can change in a hart beat.

 

[skyline]

Beefmasters are a higher percentage of Brahman blood than Santas, Brangus, etc.

My understanding is that beefmasters are the result of a cross between a shorthorn x brahma and a hereford x brahma. Isn't that the same 50% brahma that the brangus has in it?

 

[novatech]

Brangus is 3/8 Brahman, 5/8 Angus, Beefmaster is 25% Herford 25% Shorthorn and 50% Brahman.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

thanks everyone!
ALAcowman, you arent helping me here... :lol:

I went to the website mentioned and looked at some of the breeders sites...for the most part I liked what I saw.

• >>My husband I have a feeling "prefers" a beefmaster over a brangus<<

, based on some comments hes made.

My situation? Ive wanted a momma cow or two for awhile now to raise our own beef and if my son gets froggy and wants to do the 4-h cattle thing in the future. I got turned onto the Brangus while visiting a friend of mine, who had some brangus cattle turned out across from his place. Big lovely heifers, conformationly beautiful

I want something thats easy to handle and hardy. I hear alot of folks say its a toss up if the brangus will be quiet or rowdy..I dont want rowdy..lol. While plans are not the sell, as some of the other posters on here might sell their cattle(like I said, this would be for us), I know hide color plays a big factor if/when you sell..

you can here opinions to you give out.. but if you want a little return on your investment. go with the one that will make it for you..thats brangus, i know you will here comments about what rings the bell here are there

 

[gertman]

Ive had my heart set on a Branagus for awhile now...however, after speaking with a Beefmaster breeder who came into my work, my curiousity is peeked.

I am interested in the fact they have small birthweights, but this breeder claimed they had caught up with his angus at weaning time..

Thoughts?

Sarah

My Angus had to catch up to the Beefmaster and they never did by sale time. The Angus brought 10-14 cents more a pound in my area, but the beefmaster calves were better. I'll second that about Beefmaster and Beefmaster crosses being good mothers.

 

[East Caney]

Beefmasters are a good breed of cattle. As with many breeds, some breeders have chosen to select for traits which may have nothing to do with the functionality of cattle. So, as with any breed, you should do some research to determine which breeders are producing the type of cattle you like and need. Personally, profitable cattle are the type I like. If you choose Beefmasters (and I hope you do), please start your herd with cattle from a breeder who truly adheres to the six essentials.

The statement regarding the Beefmaster-sired calves having caught up to the Angus calves at weaning leads me to believe that the breeder is using higher BW Angus bulls in a chase for high growth. In that case, the Beefmaster-sired calves would be smaller at birth and wean (at least) just as heavy as the Angus-sired calves. Beefmasters are a naturally thicker-made breed with more muscling. If the breeder was using Angus bulls which were producing calves that were the same size as the Beefmaster-sired calves at birth, there's no way I would expect the Angus-sired calves to weigh in as heavy as the Beefmaster-sired calves. There are always exceptions.

Here are some numbers from the 2007 Lasater Ranch (founders of the Beefmaster breed) bull sale. Of 113 two-year old bulls, 71 had a birth weight under 70 lbs. 112 of the 113 had a birth weight under 75 lbs. The heaviest birth weight listed was 84 lbs (the only bull for sale with a birth weight over 75 lbs). The bull born at 84 lbs had an adjusted 285 WW of 800 lbs. The smallest BW bull in the sale was born weighing 50 lbs. The bull born at 50 lbs had an adjusted 285 WW of 755 lbs. That's a true testament of the Beefmaster breed's ability to be born small and wean heavy. The Lasater Ranch does it without supplement, creep, worming, fly control, etc. They make sure their cattle are hardy and keep that selection pressure on them. That's why I purchased my Beefmasters from breeders who use these foundation genetics.

I'm not going to knock the Brangus breed. If I was not raising Beefmasters, there's a good chance I'd be raising Brangus. I think there are some quality breeders out there that have some good Brangus cattle. However, I maintain that I don't believe owning Brangus would improve my herd beyond what I have with Beefmasters. Here's an example of what you should expect from those Beefmaster mommas: (2 week old heifer calf)

In whatever you do, I wish you well. I just don't want you to believe that you would be losing by choosing the Beefmaster breed. You will get some bull calves that have too much sheath...that makes them a perfect candidate for slaughter. And if you did take them to the sale barn, the additional weight that Beefmasters typically have does a good job of offsetting any "premium" for hide color.

EC

 

[bigbull338]

EC i know a breeder that switched from reg brangus to reg beefmasters when his kids started showing.he said the brangus was hotblooded.an that they would get in your hipp pocket.his kids ag teacher got him to buy a reg heifer to show.

 

[East Caney]

BB,

I just sold a bull Monday. He's the bull from the 'Out with the old, in with the new' post. He was in a 24' X 12' space, half of that a shed, the other half was 3-12' panels. The buyer backed up to the panels. I got the bull turned towards the trailer. He tried to turn around once. When I presented myself, he turned back towards the trailer. I tapped him on the rump a few times with a cane and he loaded. No running for my life, no crowding, no jumping panels, just good disposition. I'm always careful around cattle, and I still don't trust a bull any further than I can pick him up and throw him, but it's nice to be able to work cattle with such ease. He's no pet and hasn't been shown. Most Beefmasters just have a great dispostion and are easy to work with.

The buyer said "How did you teach him that trick?" Thankfully, breeders have been working on it far longer than I've been around.

EC

 

[alftn]

I have always thought there is not enought uniformity with the beefmaster breed. It seems that the word pheno type or uniformity is missing from the breed.... I except most composits Brangus, St. Gerts, Murry grey find them beautiful , but not the beefmaster, to many colors, horns ,polled , scured.

 

[skyline]

I have always thought there is not enought uniformity with the beefmaster breed. It seems that the word pheno type or uniformity is missing from the breed.... I except most composits Brangus, St. Gerts, Murry grey find them beautiful , but not the beefmaster, to many colors, horns ,polled , scured.

They weren't created for uniformity of color or whether they were polled or not. If you haven't done it, go the BBU website and read about the 6 essentials. They were culled based upon 6 performance factors as the breed was being developed. Color and horns were not in the original selection factors, although some breeders are now selecting based on color and horns (polled). This is what EC was encouraging folks to stay away from and to stay true to the original breed characteristics.