what to breed fullblood Maine Anjou to?

[Farmgirl]

We just bought some red fullblood Maine Anjou heifers. We want to breed them to produce show steers and probably keep the heifers to raise more show steers. Any suggestions on what to breed them to? I was thinking of a black Angus bull such as Northern Improvement. We do not have registration papers on them but saw the cows and bull the heifers are from. They are huge cattle! This breeder has sold the calves for club steers in the past.



Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[txshowmom]

If they are huge cattle then I would breed them to a very moderate bull. Without seeing the cattle its hard to reccomend a certian bull. What do they need? What are the cows lacking that you would like to see in thei offspring? Are the heavy bones? Thick? Sound? I need more information.

 

[Farmgirl]

They are very big boned and thick. How about the red color? Will black calves do better? What percent Maine usually does best? Since they are big I was thinking of a bull to moderate the size. I'm not the greatest judge of weight but I suspect the cows these heifers are from weigh
well over 1500 pounds, probably closer to a ton. The bull is even larger.

Also, what time of year is best for club calves to be born? We are in Houston, so these calves would be targeted for the Texas shows.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[txshowmom]

You need to breed them beginning now till January for San Antonio and January shows and a little later for Houston. I would defiantley use a small bull if your cows are that big. You might try Ail or Ammo. As far as the color goes....black is sometime better but a good judge will pick the best calf reguardless of color. When we breed ours we breed for quality and then if we can't decide between 2 or 3 bulls we usually pick the black one. 50% Maine usually works the best for us. If you want to keep some of the heifers I would definatley use a bull like Meyers 734 but I would be concerned about the size.

 

[Angus Cattle Shower]

I would use the B/A bull from Semex, Crescent Creek Quantum. I bought some semen from him, and I will be using it next year.

 

[certherfbeef]

I'm not the greatest judge of weight but I suspect the cows these heifers are from weigh
well over 1500 pounds, probably closer to a ton.
l

FYI, it takes a lot more beef to get a cow to weigh ton that you might think.

 

[AAOK]

:idea: FYI: The average fullblood Maine-Anjou cow in France weighs over 2000lbs. and the average bull weight is close to 3000lbs.[/img]

 

[AAOK]

In answer to the original question, if I had some Fullblood Maine-Anjou cows, I would breed them no other way than fullblood. The Maine Traditionalist movement is growing, and the prices for fullblood Maines is substantially higher than for even purebreds. You can still find semen on some of the old great bulls such as, Cunia, Epinal, Covina.

 

[Farmgirl]

In answer to the original question, if I had some Fullblood Maine-Anjou cows, I would breed them no other way than fullblood. The Maine Traditionalist movement is growing, and the prices for fullblood Maines is substantially higher than for even purebreds. You can still find semen on some of the old great bulls such as, Cunia, Epinal, Covina.

Even though we don't have papers on them? How would the offspring be registered? As 50%?

Thanks for your response.

 

[ERIK]

I've been told that Angus work well crossed with Maine's.

 

[AAOK]

In answer to the original question, if I had some Fullblood Maine-Anjou cows, I would breed them no other way than fullblood. The Maine Traditionalist movement is growing, and the prices for fullblood Maines is substantially higher than for even purebreds. You can still find semen on some of the old great bulls such as, Cunia, Epinal, Covina.

Even though we don't have papers on them? How would the offspring be registered? As 50%?

Thanks for your response.

If you don't have papers, do you know for certain that they are fullbloods? Regardless, the offspring will still register based on the sire. Whether you breed to a Fullblood Maine-Anjou bull or a Purebred, the calves will be registerable as 50% Maine-Anjou, so it would not really be of any benefit to breed fullblood except to keep the Red/White color pattern.

 

[Scotty]

I have seen a lot of Chi, Main, Angus cross for show calves. I alos hear you dont' really want full bloods. The man that told me this say they get to big and legs don't hold up well.


Scotty

 

[AAOK]

I have seen a lot of Chi, Main, Angus cross for show calves. I alos hear you dont' really want full bloods. The man that told me this say they get to big and legs don't hold up well.


Scotty

That man didn't know what he was talking about. True, fullbood Maine-Anjou are big, but not too big and certainly don't have problems with thier legs holding up. As for size, you're not going to see a fullblood Maine steer win any shows, but they sure will cut! The cows and bulls are tremendous. The Maine-Anjou is a dual prupose breed in France. Every other cow nurses two calves and the others are milked. You can't do that with your British or American breeds. Plus, the color and pattern genes are recessive, so it's easy to get as high as a 31/32 purebred solid black. And there's no little, fine boned, hard keeping cows when you add a couple of shots of Maine to just about any breed. The most popular cow in the Club Calf industry right now is a Maine/Simm/Angus cross. I have a few and they are making fantastic cows. the point is: you can have great crossbreds without great fullbloods.

 

[houstoncutter]

If its the show ring your chasing, I think a small framed angus would be the bull of choice. Dont care for the breed straight up, but crosses with it, will work well in the ring and on the pasture. In most Texas shows, a steer that has a good finish better not weigh over 1250 lbs. Otherwise it is considered outa the box. Personnaly I think that is a load of bovine fecal matter, but thats the way the cookie crumbles

 

[Scotty]

I have seen a lot of Chi, Main, Angus cross for show calves. I alos hear you dont' really want full bloods. The man that told me this say they get to big and legs don't hold up well.


Scotty

That man didn't know what he was talking about. True, fullbood Maine-Anjou are big, but not too big and certainly don't have problems with thier legs holding up. As for size, you're not going to see a fullblood Maine steer win any shows, but they sure will cut! The cows and bulls are tremendous. The Maine-Anjou is a dual prupose breed in France. Every other cow nurses two calves and the others are milked. You can't do that with your British or American breeds. Plus, the color and pattern genes are recessive, so it's easy to get as high as a 31/32 purebred solid black. And there's no little, fine boned, hard keeping cows when you add a couple of shots of Maine to just about any breed. The most popular cow in the Club Calf industry right now is a Maine/Simm/Angus cross. I have a few and they are making fantastic cows. the point is: you can have great crossbreds without great fullbloods.

Run a 3000 lbs. bull anywhere in this country over 200 or more acres after some cows. I will bet you money his legs don't hold up. If they do the rest of him won't. How do I back this up. Been ther done it and nearly lost a bull in the process. Put him in a small trap and he did well. Was the last Main bull I have had.

Scotty

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I have seen a lot of Chi, Main, Angus cross for show calves. I alos hear you dont' really want full bloods. The man that told me this say they get to big and legs don't hold up well.


Scotty

That man didn't know what he was talking about. True, fullbood Maine-Anjou are big, but not too big and certainly don't have problems with thier legs holding up. As for size, you're not going to see a fullblood Maine steer win any shows, but they sure will cut! The cows and bulls are tremendous. The Maine-Anjou is a dual prupose breed in France. Every other cow nurses two calves and the others are milked. You can't do that with your British or American breeds. Plus, the color and pattern genes are recessive, so it's easy to get as high as a 31/32 purebred solid black. And there's no little, fine boned, hard keeping cows when you add a couple of shots of Maine to just about any breed. The most popular cow in the Club Calf industry right now is a Maine/Simm/Angus cross. I have a few and they are making fantastic cows. the point is: you can have great crossbreds without great fullbloods.

If anyone has heard of Meyers 734, you'll know he's a PB Simmie that semen is selling for $500, being used on Angus cows to produce the females to produce the showsteers. From what I see, Maine/Simm/Angus seems to be the cross most are using. They want a Simm/Angus cow bred back to Maine.
I have never been involved in the club calf business - till now. I have a purebred Simmie bull that the Angus people & clubbie people love. If interested check out my bull on the classifieds. His semen is being distributed through SEK & Cattle Visions. (Dun, I couldn't resist!)

 

[Australian Cattleman]

seen some good Brahmaine cattle here in Australia at one time.
Try a South Devon you will have weight and great hybrid vigour and wonderful temperament.

Colin

 

[[email protected]]

To add a different twist to the responses that you have recieved, if you aren't too hung up on "paintin' em black" you might consider a shorthorn cross. There are several "clubby" shorthorn bulls available through genetic horizons, cattle visions, and ABS, just to mention a few of the more popular bull studs. Most of these bulls are too small to use on moderate to small framed cows, which in turn may suit your herd well. Regarding color, you would most likely match the typical shorthorn phenotypes, (Red/white/ roan). One thing to keep in mind though, is that if any of these cows are post-legged, or straight fronted, I would be very careful about bull selection. If, on the other hand the cows are sickle-hocked or weak pasterned, it could a good combination. One additional advantage that comes to mind, considering the typical Maine fullbloods, is that most of these clubby shorthorn bulls could really extend, and clean up the front-ends on the offspring. Also remember, unless you only plan to market to slick-shear exhibitors, great hair is extremely important to be successful in the showring!