What about a crash course for Murray Greys
- Thread starter sizmic
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Santas and Duhram Reds
Well-known member
i know nothing about family lines in Murray Grays. If anyone does, that would be great.
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
I'm listening - if anyone with any expertise can contribute to this subject
MO_cows
Well-known member
I hope some long time breeders do come on and share some knowledge. IMHO, they shot themself in the foot when they got to fussin and feudin and split up the association. A smaller data bank and genetic pool than their competition to start with, then they went and split it up.
waihou
Well-known member
I'm sure OK Jeanne will be able to elaborate on US Murray Greys more than I can, but ultimately they all descend from a chance mating on an Angus stud in the Albury region of Victoria Australia in 1905 to a white cow used as the Station house cow. There is some dispute as to whether she was actually a white or light roan Shorthorn or a Galloway?
Here in the Southern Hemisphere all Murray Greys are based on a breeding up programme of Angus only. Though very little grading up is done here in NZ nowadays anyway. Most of our market is to provide bulls with low birth weight EBV's (EPD's for you)xfor mating to dairy heifers. As you may or may not know the dairy cow population outnumbers the human population here. The cross bred MGx dairy beef animals are in demand for rearing for the local trade (supermarket) beef industry.
Easy calving, good growth, good marbling, fatten on grass only, polled, excellent temperament-what else can I say
?
Here in the Southern Hemisphere all Murray Greys are based on a breeding up programme of Angus only. Though very little grading up is done here in NZ nowadays anyway. Most of our market is to provide bulls with low birth weight EBV's (EPD's for you)xfor mating to dairy heifers. As you may or may not know the dairy cow population outnumbers the human population here. The cross bred MGx dairy beef animals are in demand for rearing for the local trade (supermarket) beef industry.
Easy calving, good growth, good marbling, fatten on grass only, polled, excellent temperament-what else can I say
?waihou
Well-known member
I've remembered how to load photos!
Here is one of our home bred cows, on our typical summer pasture with her 5 month old bull calf in January last. Not housed summer or winter, only fed hay or silage in winter, calved as a 2yr old and this is her 7th calf-now rearing her 8th born in August.
Current herd sire,Torrisdale Cheyenne by an Australian sire, Gnoleda Zac.
Age 3 years, running with 27 cows since end of October, photo on 12 Dec. Got 100% calving, including 2 sets of twins this season
First arrivals, heifer twins 24th July
A bunch of his calves during our wet winter
15 month old heifers and a couple of steers-we mate all heifers to calve as 2 year olds.
Previous herd sire, father of the bull calf with the cow at top.
Here is one of our home bred cows, on our typical summer pasture with her 5 month old bull calf in January last. Not housed summer or winter, only fed hay or silage in winter, calved as a 2yr old and this is her 7th calf-now rearing her 8th born in August.
Current herd sire,Torrisdale Cheyenne by an Australian sire, Gnoleda Zac.
Age 3 years, running with 27 cows since end of October, photo on 12 Dec. Got 100% calving, including 2 sets of twins this season
First arrivals, heifer twins 24th July
A bunch of his calves during our wet winter
15 month old heifers and a couple of steers-we mate all heifers to calve as 2 year olds.
Previous herd sire, father of the bull calf with the cow at top.
Suzie Q
Well-known member
In Australia MG's are referred to as Steel Pigs.
They cross very well with other cattle we have found.
We had a Murray Grey and still have one of her offspring. She has been bred so far to a Charbray and a Bazadais and nice calves.
They cross very well with other cattle we have found.
We had a Murray Grey and still have one of her offspring. She has been bred so far to a Charbray and a Bazadais and nice calves.
waihou
Well-known member
I'm in the southern North Island, Timaru, Queenstown and Gore are all in the South Island. Our bull Torrisdale Cheyenne came from a stud near Gore. Took 24 hours to get here, including a 3 hour ferry trip.
waihou
Well-known member
No, actually in the Horowhenua, up the West coast from Wellington! There is a 5,000 ft mountain range between us and the Wairarapa.
Oh, so you want them in black too-we can do that as well!
Yes, we can register black ones in the Murray Grey herd book here.
waihou
Well-known member
So here are some photos of some important Murray Greys from the '50s, '60s and 70's during the establishment of the breed and the first herd book. These are all Australian bred animals, but I have a couple of Canadian bred ones as well.
Thologolong Boadicea-a foundation female, dam of some important sires
Thologolong Michael
Cadella Park Minute Man
Willalooka Ambrose
Michaelong Chocolate Soldier
Maneroo Fulton 2nd
Thologolong Boadicea-a foundation female, dam of some important sires
Thologolong Michael
Cadella Park Minute Man
Willalooka Ambrose
Michaelong Chocolate Soldier
Maneroo Fulton 2nd
waihou
Well-known member
A couple of Canadian bred bulls used in NZ,
Willowdale Bandit, bred in Alberta 1988 and imported to NZ 1992
He had a daily gain on trial in Canada of 3.27lbs and was 1291lbs at the end Grandsire Orcadia Park Wescott, Gt grandsire Maneroo Gladiator
Cas Ulysis 31U born 1986,at the Calgary Stampede in 1988, semen exported to NZ He had Koogan Hill, Maneroo and Newhaven Park bloodlines (all Aust)
Willowdale Bandit, bred in Alberta 1988 and imported to NZ 1992
He had a daily gain on trial in Canada of 3.27lbs and was 1291lbs at the end Grandsire Orcadia Park Wescott, Gt grandsire Maneroo Gladiator
Cas Ulysis 31U born 1986,at the Calgary Stampede in 1988, semen exported to NZ He had Koogan Hill, Maneroo and Newhaven Park bloodlines (all Aust)
piedmontese
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every one of your animals look excellent.makes me want to get some myself.
waihou
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No problem, as long as you are paying the freight-the bull calf is now 16 months old and he is for sale!
Where are the Aussie MG people?
I just looked up the two bulls you mention. Interestingly Wee-Gun Tjandamarra has the cow I pictured in the oldies list, Thologolong Boadicea, 5 generations back on his mothers side. She appears at least 3 times as far as I can see. On his sires line is the bull Orcadia Park Century, also a well used sire that also features in the blood lines of Cranbrook Virtue.
Virtue also has Thologolong Boadicea in his breeding twice, through a couple of her sons. His sire, Cranbrook Phoenix is a bull we bought a cow sired by him. Her temperament was a bit suspect and his Milk EPD was on the minus side-so she didn't stay!
Have you used them ?
Sorry can't answer re grading up cattle eligible in the US herd book at present. I do know that in the past the foundation breeds other than Angus were allowed.
I have started using MG semen last fall, Wee Gunn Tjandamarra, on my registered Angus herd. In one field I had 15 calves, 2 of which were bulls. Guess who the bulls were sired by, I was hoping for heifers. Used the rest of WGT this fall as well as Virtue, grand total of 7 straws, in the next day I should know if they took. Coincidently, the 2 bulls are outgrowing everything else on the farm, but they do have some pretty good mothers. I would really like to find some fullblood heifers or embryo's but can't seem to locate any without doing a custom flush or buying the leftover heifers(thats all I can afford). I checked into the registering of MG crossed calves in the American MG Assoc. and it can be tracked but not registered until there is a certain percentage of MG blood.
The bull that was recommended the most when I started looking around was Tuerong Igor, however, none exists that I can find.
As for the cow and bull calf I was hoping you would want to help out a "starting breeder". :mrgreen:
Sizmic
The bull that was recommended the most when I started looking around was Tuerong Igor, however, none exists that I can find.
As for the cow and bull calf I was hoping you would want to help out a "starting breeder". :mrgreen:
Sizmic
waihou
Well-known member
Good luck with the 7 straws!
Just looked up Tuerong Park Igor, he is a pretty old fashioned bull (1969) and with pretty poor growth figures by todays standards. I'm sure you could find some better bulls! I just looked at the list of approved AI sires in the American MG association list. There are some good ones there if you can find who has some for sale.
In our NZ grading standards a first cross MG over Angus cow-as long as she had been inspected and approved would be a C grade. That first cross heifer mated to a registered MG bull would give a B grade or 3/4 bred and the B grade mated to a Reg MG bull would give an A grade or 'pure bred' 15/16th or 87%.
Have you checked out the International MG Association list of members as well? They may have someone that can help re heifers or semen?
Really would like to help with a bull-but sorry, the journey is just too far!
Actually, a bull from just up the road from us, Ballee Thumbs Up is available on the US list. He had tremendous muscle.
Have you tried this breeder?
http://www.eaglesrun.com/sale/salesemen.html
Just looked up Tuerong Park Igor, he is a pretty old fashioned bull (1969) and with pretty poor growth figures by todays standards. I'm sure you could find some better bulls! I just looked at the list of approved AI sires in the American MG association list. There are some good ones there if you can find who has some for sale.
In our NZ grading standards a first cross MG over Angus cow-as long as she had been inspected and approved would be a C grade. That first cross heifer mated to a registered MG bull would give a B grade or 3/4 bred and the B grade mated to a Reg MG bull would give an A grade or 'pure bred' 15/16th or 87%.
Have you checked out the International MG Association list of members as well? They may have someone that can help re heifers or semen?
Really would like to help with a bull-but sorry, the journey is just too far!
Actually, a bull from just up the road from us, Ballee Thumbs Up is available on the US list. He had tremendous muscle.
Have you tried this breeder?
http://www.eaglesrun.com/sale/salesemen.html
