what breed make the best momma's

[newcattleman]

Just doing some thinking here. I'm not sure what I want to do come spring. I had a terrible start to raising cattle. bought 4 bred angus cows last year (0 calves). vet thought lepto so now cows will get shots for that as soon as i get them home. sold them, then I bought some lightweight calves (bottle calves-250lbs) in the fall. I will be selling them in another month or two if my hay holds out that long. (hopefully next year is back to normal) I was going to buy more calves come spring but with them going over $2.00/lb. and not knowing if the market will stay up till fall, I dont know if I wanna spend that much to buy them.
With the price of calves so high I thought about buying some 3 in 1's if they wern't to expensive. Im sure the price of bred cattle will be way up too. I was thinking about getting some char cows and breeding with an angus bull. My uncle does the opposite and I thought the bigger cows with a smaller bull would be better. What do you guys think? Black calves sell the best so probably Angus cows.

I also thought about getting some more lightweight calves (not bottle calves, probably 2-300 lbs) this spring and then 3 in 1's in the fall.
What breed of cows do you think make the best momma's and why?

 

[cow pollinater]

Brangus are the best mommy's but angus are right up there. Good moms come in every breed but I'd take into consideration that the bigger cows will eat more so you may be better off to go with the smaller angus type cows and then the charolais bull as the cross over them.
As far as price is concerned, I think that we'd better get used to paying more than we're used to to buy in... The good news is that it appears to be long term enough that we can get it back out.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Have not seen brangus to be any better momma's than good cows of any other breed. There is good cows in all breeds.

 

[kenny thomas]

Just doing some thinking here. I'm not sure what I want to do come spring. I had a terrible start to raising cattle. bought 4 bred angus cows last year (0 calves). vet thought lepto so now cows will get shots for that as soon as i get them home. sold them, then I bought some lightweight calves (bottle calves-250lbs) in the fall. I will be selling them in another month or two if my hay holds out that long. (hopefully next year is back to normal) I was going to buy more calves come spring but with them going over $2.00/lb. and not knowing if the market will stay up till fall, I dont know if I wanna spend that much to buy them.
With the price of calves so high I thought about buying some 3 in 1's if they wern't to expensive. Im sure the price of bred cattle will be way up too. I was thinking about getting some char cows and breeding with an angus bull. My uncle does the opposite and I thought the bigger cows with a smaller bull would be better. What do you guys think? Black calves sell the best so probably Angus cows.
I also thought about getting some more lightweight calves (not bottle calves, probably 2-300 lbs) this spring and then 3 in 1's in the fall.
What breed of cows do you think make the best momma's and why?

If you breed Charolais to angus either way you will not have a black calf.

 

[cow pollinater]

Have not seen brangus to be any better momma's than good cows of any other breed. There is good cows in all breeds.

Did you even bother to read past the first sentance?

And it HAS been my experiance that brangus is far and away the best maternal breed if you're buying unknown genetics. I have yet to see a brangus heifer walk away and leave her calf and that's a real problem out here with alot of other breeds. MY angus cows won't leave a calf behind but I've bought some that did and in all honesty, the Limmi's were the worst because they were so crazy that when I rode up to them they crashed off into the brush and never bothered to mother up again.
Good mommy's do come in every breed. I have yet to see a bad brangus mommy... they may be out there but I've never seen them.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

You are full of it cp.

 

[cow pollinater]

Suit yourself... I know what works for me. From what I've seen on here from you I might give Lims another try if you were closer to me but from my dealings with them I won't touch them again.
And I wouldn't have voiced that opinion if you hadn't tried to tell me something I've seen to be true is wrong.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

I didn't try to tell you any thing. I said that i have not seen brangus to be any better than a good cow of any other breed. Show me where i tried to tell you any thing.

 

[cow pollinater]

I'll send you a PM.

My apologies to everyone that we've turned this into a debate.

 

[Aaron]

Hereford x Shorthorn. Breed them to whatever terminal breed you want and you've got a jackpot calf.

 

[Mid South Guy]

There are great mother cows and maternal bloodlines in all breeds and X breds. If I had to pick 1 breed for strickly maternal traits and mothering ability alone from top end to bottom end, my vote would go to Santa Gertrudis.

 

[B&M Farms]

I don't think the breed has anything to do with being a good cow. A lot depends on what your looking for. I have mostly brangus and some black baldies right now. Have used braford and a few beefmasters in the past. I have never had a herd of cows that could't be improved. I have never raised one breed that every cow I had did everything right. Some will milk better. Some will be better at protecting their calf. Some wean heavier calfs and never really look that impressive themselves. Any herd of any breed needs to be managed and culled to make improvements. If I was looking at what breed for an area, I would look at what people who have been raising cattle in that area are doing. There is usually a reason. There is a reason I use Brahman influenced cattle, but not because the make better mamas than any other breed. Just because they do here.

 

[novatech]

Putting ear in any breed will give them better mothering ability but the further north you go the less efficient that becomes.
When choosing a breed, color or combination there are basic factors involved, production, cost of production and market price.
Production, fertile cows producing a calf every year.
Cost of production, Efficient cattle. Not only in feed conversion but in health, longevity, and calf raising ability. ( the reason for moderate size black cows and char bull vs. the opposite.)
Market price, produce what your market demands not what you think they should have. ( If they think black hair tastes better, sell them black hair. It is imposable to fight the ignorance of the masses.)

 

[pk1]

Have not seen brangus to be any better momma's than good cows of any other breed. There is good cows in all breeds.

Did you even bother to read past the first sentance?

And it HAS been my experiance that brangus is far and away the best maternal breed if you're buying unknown genetics. I have yet to see a brangus heifer walk away and leave her calf and that's a real problem out here with alot of other breeds. MY angus cows won't leave a calf behind but I've bought some that did and in all honesty, the Limmi's were the worst because they were so crazy that when I rode up to them they crashed off into the brush and never bothered to mother up again.
Good mommy's do come in every breed. I have yet to see a bad brangus mommy... they may be out there but I've never seen them.

Cow Pollinator... that comment is immature. The whole limo bashing does not work with me, they are actually good mothers the limo breed has been around for longer then Brangus, which says something! Brangus cattle are a Hybrid not a purebred! In Queensland Australia, a Brahman herd will calve each year around 75%!. 25% do not get in calf because of poor fertility! when you cross a Brahman and Angus together and get a Brangus it does not help fertility significantly! we had brahman x angus/shorthorn cows that had long gestation where always the last to get in calf and sometimes did not get in calf! they could not compete with black baldy cows. The black baldy cows where always a cycle in front. We culled everything that had brahman content. we had a 9 week joining period. Bosindicus cattle are well known for long gestation poor fertility and are dark cutters!. they only work in the tropics. its a fact. :cboy:

 

[novatech]

Brahman herd will calve each year around 75%!. 25% do not get in calf because of poor fertility! when you cross a Brahman and Angus together and get a Brangus it does not help fertility significantly! we had brahman x angus/shorthorn cows that had long gestation where always the last to get in calf and sometimes did not get in calf! they could not compete with black baldy cows. The black baldy cows where always a cycle in front. We culled everything that had brahman content. we had a 9 week joining period. Bosindicus cattle are well known for long gestation poor fertility and are dark cutters!. they only work in the tropics. its a fact. :cboy:

Anybody with Brahman not culling for 100% calving every year is just poor culling practices. The J D Hudgins ranch is a good example of good culling. The other fact is that crossbreeding for hybrid vigor improves fertility.
Dark cutters are also a result of poor selection of breeding stock.
"They only work in the tropics." I guess my cattle didn't know that.
Longer gestation periods, About 10 days longer for purebreds , a little less for cross breds.
Inferior cattle are not the result of breed. Inferior cattle are the result of ignorance and lack of discipline of the breeder of any breed.

 

[Boss Cowman]

red angus x with gelbvieh

 

[u4411clb]

You ask me today and I will say Santa Gertrudis. Easy calving, lots of milk, and not only will a cow fight to the death for her calf against any predator she will fight to the death for another cows calf. You get heat, fly, and tick resistance. I got my first view of a couple of cows babysitting all of the calves while the others graze this weekend and these were first calf heifers.

 

[TexasBred]

[Cow Pollinator... that comment is immature. The whole limo bashing does not work with me, they are actually good mothers the limo breed has been around for longer then Brangus, which says something! Brangus cattle are a Hybrid not a purebred! In Queensland Australia, a Brahman herd will calve each year around 75%!. 25% do not get in calf because of poor fertility! when you cross a Brahman and Angus together and get a Brangus it does not help fertility significantly! we had brahman x angus/shorthorn cows that had long gestation where always the last to get in calf and sometimes did not get in calf! they could not compete with black baldy cows. The black baldy cows where always a cycle in front. We culled everything that had brahman content. we had a 9 week joining period. Bosindicus cattle are well known for long gestation poor fertility and are dark cutters!. they only work in the tropics. its a fact. :cboy:

Just more proof positive that what an earlier poster said was spot on. What works in your area. There is a reason India isn't overrun with herefords and it has nothing to do with herefords....it hs everything to do with India.

 

[VanC]

Inferior cattle are not the result of breed. Inferior cattle are the result of ignorance and lack of discipline of the breeder of any breed.

Well said. Only thing I would add is that it works the other way, too. There are superior cattle in every breed and that has more to do with the breeder than the breed itself.

 

[double v]

Look were he's from blk angus red angus or gelbvieh is whats popular his way ear dosen't sell good up this way. Also the solid color cattle do very well his way. its great using your heart in your choices but use your heads and tell him whats best for his area.