What Breed to breed the cows with. Opinions?

[4T]

I have started a small cow/calf operation half Brangus cows (older) and half Beefmaster (heifers coming of age). I am curious what opinions I may solicit regarding purchasing or more likely, leasing a Bull for breeding. What Breed and type Bull should I consider? I'm leaning toward an Angus Bull if for no other reason popularity and availability. What other breeds might I consider and why? In this area of Texas there seems to be no shortage of various Breeds available. What kind of calves would the sale barn prefer? Calving considerations? etc...
Any opinions would be appreciated...Love this site....

 

[Frankie]

I have started a small cow/calf operation half Brangus cows (older) and half Beefmaster (heifers coming of age). I am curious what opinions I may solicit regarding purchasing or more likely, leasing a Bull for breeding. What Breed and type Bull should I consider? I'm leaning toward an Angus Bull if for no other reason popularity and availability. What other breeds might I consider and why? In this area of Texas there seems to be no shortage of various Breeds available. What kind of calves would the sale barn prefer? Calving considerations? etc...
Any opinions would be appreciated...Love this site....

IMO it's hard to go wrong with a good Angus bull. The ALOT Assn will be having a bull sale at Mt Pleasant the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Take time to stop by, look at bulls, talk to breeders. The Texas Angus Assn is working on feeder calf sales for calves sired by Angus bulls carrying the AngusSource tags. There may be info on that at the sale, too.

 

[bigbull338]

since you have brangus cows an beefmaster heifers.id put a beefmaster bull on them.scott

 

[la4angus]

I would put a really good Angus bull on them, and get some really top quality calves that will be market toppers.

 

[Hill Creek Farm]

Well, since I am a Hereford breeder, I would put a Hereford bull in with them. Herefords are known to add a lot more marbling to carcasses.

 

[BRG]

My Choice would be Red Angus. Same great qualities as Black Angus, only they take the heat a little better with the Red Hide. The females are really becoming very popular, and the feedlots are really wanting them in their lots too. I am not sure if you will get greys or Rat Tails with Brangus or Beefmaster, but by crossing Black Angus on several other breeds(Char, Gelb, & Sim) they will show up, and this means a huge discount. The Red Angus will never throw a grey or a Rat Tail.

 

[Jake]

I'd go with Angus or brangus. Black preferably

 

[LegacyBreeder]

In my opinion, you will not go wrong using either color of Angus or a Hereford on your animals. Hereford x Beefmaster heifers are GREAT mama cows in my experience, and the baldy calves from your brangus would be big sellers. Then again, using any kind of Angus on them is gonna throw some beautiful calves that'll sell really well, too. Another alternative would be Charolais, but I'd hold off on using them until you know how your cows are gonna calve out. And even then I'd be really selective. Charolais are generally wonderful terminal sires, but they can sure mess up smaller cows and first calf heifers if used improperly. Of course, that can be said of any breed, but I digress.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I'd go with Angus or brangus. Black preferably

Same here.

 

[J. T.]

I like "eared" cattle, but since your females are already Brahman influenced, I'd try an Angus, Red Angus, or Hereford. Of course, it depends on what the demand is in your area.

 

[Scotty]

I got to say Angus myself. If not, I would say do not put any more ear into the mix.


Scotty

 

[DOC HARRIS]

I concur with Frankie regarding Angus, Black OR Red, ( good Phenotype and EPD's which compliment YOUR current cow herd ) and talking with other breeders and attending sales and looking, looking, looking! AND LISTENING, LISTENING, LISTENING! And along with looking and LISTENING - thinking, thinking, thinking!

DOC HARRIS

 

[R ^ 5]

4t I run a commercal herd of Brangus Cows, and i'm useing Reg.Gardner bred Angus bulls on mine.

I have also used Horned Hereford bulls on them from Lone Star Herefords,and liked their results.

I would also suggest to you like J.T. has already done .What ever breed of bull you use, i wouldn't use a bull with any ear.

With your bull don't be scared to spend a little extra money.Since he will be 1/2 of your herd don't scraifice quailty for a few dollars.

And Good Luck!

 

[Beefy]

4T,
to make things simpler on you, i would go with a bull that you can breed to both the heifers and cows. the logical choice is a low birthweight epd Angus bull. Angus will cross very well with brangus and beefmaster, speaking from experience. if you dont particularly want black cattle then go with a red angus or polled hereford bull for the first calves. In the future, after your heifers have had a calf or two, you may want to up your lbs weaned using a charolais or simmental or SimXAng bull.

 

[UG]

My Choice would be Red Angus. Same great qualities as Black Angus, only they take the heat a little better with the Red Hide. The females are really becoming very popular, and the feedlots are really wanting them in their lots too. I am not sure if you will get greys or Rat Tails with Brangus or Beefmaster, but by crossing Black Angus on several other breeds(Char, Gelb, & Sim) they will show up, and this means a huge discount. The Red Angus will never throw a grey or a Rat Tail.

I've had Gelbvieh and GelXAngus cross cattle for many years and never had a rat tail, and never heard of a GelXAngus having a rat tail.

In deciding on what breed of bull to buy, you need to first determine what you are going to do with the calves. If you are going to sell them through the sale barn, I would talk to a couple sale barn managers to get ideas on what sells best.

You may want to consider a good SimXAngus or Balancer (AngusXGelbvieh) bull. Both of these "hybrids" should provide a good blend of marbling and moderate mature size (from the Angus) and good carcass leanness, rate of gain, and feed efficiency (Simmental and Gelbvieh).

 

[BRG]

UG,

I have a neighbor who used to used black angus on his gelb, cows, but every year he would have a trailor load of the greys that would beat him up, so he switched to red angus and fixed the problem. You might not have ever seen it, but it does happen, more than a guy wants or his checkbook needs.

 

[UG]

BRG,

Yea, it is possible to get gray cattle from black Angus and red Gelbviehs, if the red Gelbvieh has the diluter gene. It isn't possible to tell exactly which red Gelbviehs have the diluter gene and which don't, but typically a cream colored or light red colored Gelbvieh has the diluter gene.

Many of the original Gelbviehs that were used in North America in the 70's and 80's had the diluter gene, so it much more likely that you would get grays when crossing a red Gelbvieh with a black bull or cow. When there was greater emphasis placed on black cattle back in the early 90's people starting cutting the cream colored Gelbvieh bulls in anticipation that they were diluter carriers and would be more difficult to sell to commercial and purebred customers.

My guess is that there are significantly less red Gelbvieh cattle with the diluter gene today than there was in the 80's and 90's (the same can be said about Simmental and LImousin cattle with the diluter gene).

 

[4T]

Thank you all one and all for you candidness and sincerity. I have a lot to mull over and I really appreciate it!

I am astounded when I consider the combined years experience, education, and geographic coverage I can solicite from this site. Mighty handy for an aspiring, "not-so-young anymore" rancher. I do not have the advantage of years of experience most of you have, as I have had to work towards owning a ranch about the longest way one could imagine in life. Again, really appreciate all your thoughts. Sincerely, BLT of the 4T.

 

[dun]

With the Brangus (angus) and Beefmaster (Hereford) influence in the cows, you may want to think Shorthorn

dun

 

[Mallen23]

I am pretty sure that the diluter gene can be tested for and is used heavily in the Gelveih breed. I visited a couple of farms that stated that they can test for the diluter gene and other Gel breeders I called have also tested their animals.