What to breed my nurse cows to?

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trin

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I have 3 nurse cows that I would like to see what people have bred there dairy cows to and was able to keep the replacements without getting way to much milk to add to my beef herd. At the moment I have semen for Aubrac angus and Beefmaster. Would really like to get some replacements to add to beef herd. I direct sell all my meat so color is not a problem. Has anyone ever uses brahma on holstein?
 
If you have more than one Aubrac bull, I'm happy to discuss which one may work better for your purposes. Feel free to drop me a PM with your info.

We are planning an Aubrac x Jersey / Guernsey F1 program right now, so your question has some relevance with something I'm also working on.
 
Have 10 nurse cows and heifers. I use angus on the first calf heifers normally since we buy and use GOOD angus easy calving genetics bulls to use on our commercial heifers. The resulting calves will show more of the dairy than you would think. The heifers will sometimes have more milk than I like, but I will often put a second calf on the cow and give her a little grain along so she won't lose condition. Plus side is an extra calf to raise/sell.
Hereford will show more of a beefier calf but I would not use it on a 1st calf heifer, and not on a small frame jersey cow. If the cow has a few years on her it would probably work fine.
Beefmaster is a no-no in this area, nothing with ears sells well but if you sell direct that wouldn't matter. Don't know about the tenderness, of the beef. I have nothing against them but have heard they milk pretty good.
You mentioned holstein so I am assuming that the nurse cows are holstein or a cross? If so, I would also try the Aubrac. I am looking to breed several of mine that way this year. I like their BUTTS, and since color isn't a problem, it might be worth looking into. One year isn't going to make or break it. A live calf is what you want; if you don't like the heifers, eat em.
 
Wagyu will knock down the milk of dairy breeds too. (I have 1 wagyu x holstein beef cow and I do like her)
Our Local grocery store has "Wagyu Influenced" Hamburger on special this week for $6.99 lb
Wagyu influenced = f1 or less and the store's regular price is $8.99
 
I bred mine to a short stocky red Angus, perhaps it'll cover the dairy and raise some good maternal heifers. Herf cross will definitely throw some chrome. Bra would be great if theyre all heifers.
 
I would go Beefmaster not just cause I raise them. I have seen Beefmaster x Holstein crosses and the bull calves look good some of them if you didn't know the mommas you would think are out of beef cows, and the heifers make great replacements. I also like the Brahma cross but they tend to be hotter than the Beefmaster cross. I have eaten a Beefmaster x Jersey and it was one of the best steaks I have ever had. Just curious what Beefmaster bull do you have semen from?
 
For me it would depend on the bulls you have semen on but if I had to just guess based on breed averages I'd go aubrac. Beefmaster would be my second choice and I'd use the angus on the resulting crosses.
 
Stocker Steve":3cectirt said:
For direct sales I would lean towards Aubrac.
Have you seen calves out of the 3+ bulls in your tank?
I have not. Will in bout a month.
 
wacocowboy":26b0piz2 said:
I would go Beefmaster not just cause I raise them. I have seen Beefmaster x Holstein crosses and the bull calves look good some of them if you didn't know the mommas you would think are out of beef cows, and the heifers make great replacements. I also like the Brahma cross but they tend to be hotter than the Beefmaster cross. I have eaten a Beefmaster x Jersey and it was one of the best steaks I have ever had. Just curious what Beefmaster bull do you have semen from?
The bulls I have are Sierra Sam, mister majestic, red lazor
 
trin":3u7wv4xy said:
wacocowboy":3u7wv4xy said:
I would go Beefmaster not just cause I raise them. I have seen Beefmaster x Holstein crosses and the bull calves look good some of them if you didn't know the mommas you would think are out of beef cows, and the heifers make great replacements. I also like the Brahma cross but they tend to be hotter than the Beefmaster cross. I have eaten a Beefmaster x Jersey and it was one of the best steaks I have ever had. Just curious what Beefmaster bull do you have semen from?
The bulls I have are Sierra Sam, mister majestic, red lazor

Not sure which Red Lazer you have semen from as there are 4 of them active. Looking at all of them I like Sierra Sam the best.
 
I had a few Holstein Brahman cross cows years ago. They raised good calves, and weren't wild at all. Maybe because I raised them on a bottle.
 
Rafter S":3f7nnmkm said:
I had a few Holstein Brahman cross cows years ago. They raised good calves, and weren't wild at all. Maybe because I raised them on a bottle.
How long did they stay in your herd? How did they compare to your other cows? What did you breed them to?
 
wacocowboy":18sz4sm0 said:
trin":18sz4sm0 said:
wacocowboy":18sz4sm0 said:
I would go Beefmaster not just cause I raise them. I have seen Beefmaster x Holstein crosses and the bull calves look good some of them if you didn't know the mommas you would think are out of beef cows, and the heifers make great replacements. I also like the Brahma cross but they tend to be hotter than the Beefmaster cross. I have eaten a Beefmaster x Jersey and it was one of the best steaks I have ever had. Just curious what Beefmaster bull do you have semen from?
The bulls I have are Sierra Sam, mister majestic, red lazor

Not sure which Red Lazer you have semen from as there are 4 of them active. Looking at all of them I like Sierra Sam the best.
The bull I have came from silver states Beefmaster. What Beefmaster bulls do you like if you looking for fertility and cows that can make it in ruff country without a lot of grain?
 
trin":5rzsmslu said:
wacocowboy":5rzsmslu said:
trin":5rzsmslu said:
The bulls I have are Sierra Sam, mister majestic, red lazor

Not sure which Red Lazer you have semen from as there are 4 of them active. Looking at all of them I like Sierra Sam the best.
The bull I have came from silver states Beefmaster. What Beefmaster bulls do you like if you looking for fertility and cows that can make it in ruff country without a lot of grain?

Top of my list is stuff that goes back to L-Bar 5502. My bull is from that line. Double L is a solid bull who is a son of 5502. Buster 260 is the sire of my bull and another solid bull seen him produce some of the top bulls in Texoma and Beef on Forage sale. There are a few other 5502 sons I like can't remember the names off the top of my head. L-Bar has some other solid bulls on their site. I like the Casey bulls like Casey 5-48, 0-61, and 4-35, talk about live on dirt. I have seen a lot of quality out of Rancho Tres Hijos bulls like Colonel Tom they are down in the brush of south Texas. WPRs Total Package and his son Total Impact. Frenzels have some nice bulls too. Those are the ones I look at when thinking of AI.
 
It was back in the 1980's, so I'm afraid I don't remember how long they lasted. I was using traditional spotted Simmental bulls back then.
 
Stocker Steve":24a0m1wj said:
Rafter S":24a0m1wj said:
I had a few Holstein Brahman cross cows years ago.

I am confused. :? Why would you go Brahman X for direct beef sales in the mid south?
So I could get some good replacement cows
 

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