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Zach -- our new Aubrac bull
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<blockquote data-quote="WalnutCrest" data-source="post: 1293943" data-attributes="member: 21715"><p>I found what I was looking for; the author was Chad Armstrong (Armstrong Angus; Cardwell, MT) and it was written in the fall of 2011 -- I bolded the part that I was trying to remember off the top of my head:</p><p></p><p>***********************</p><p></p><p> I have been raising Angus cattle for all my life (40 years) and have had Aubrac cattle now for 4 years. To me, fertility and longevity are two of the most important traits to cowman and these traits take many years to analyze. The cattle are old and gone before these traits can really be proven. With that said, 4 years is not enough time to really evaluate some of these traits, although many deductions can be made by the performance of the cattle over this length of time.</p><p></p><p> I have noticed that the Aubrac cattle as well as any other breed have some variation within the breed for their traits. This means that not every animal will fit the traits that most of the breed may be noted for. For example, not all Aubrac cattle will be calving ease cattle. With this said, I will try to compare the breed average's between the two breeds for different traits as I have noticed them to be.</p><p></p><p> Calving ease- As a rule the Aubrac cattle have been small birth weight, easy calving cattle. They seem to calve as easy or even easier than my Angus cattle. The calving ease seems to be more consistent within each sires group of calves for the Aubrac cattle. The Angus calves seem to be a little thriftier at birth especially if the weather gets colder (below 0 degrees Fahrenheit).</p><p></p><p> Mothering ability- Angus have long been noted for their great mothering ability. From my experience, the Aubrac are better mothers. Most Aubrac cows are quiet, gentle mothers while yet aggressively licking their calf to get it up. Throughout the calves life while nursing it's mother, you will rarely find an Aubrac cow very far from her calf and she almost always knows right where it is.</p><p></p><p> Growth- Aubrac cattle seem to be an early growth animal. They have way more muscle and fleshing ability than most Angus cattle. The Aubrac calves are born small and kind of frail looking, but will start to muscle up within weeks of birth. The Aubrac cattle seem to be done growing by 2 years of age, which makes it easier to put their nutrition into maternal traits at that time (like nursing a calf and rebreeding). I feel many present Angus cattle have more performance (growth) than is necessary for commercial range cattle, especially late growth (after they are 2 years of age). With this said, I feel that the Aubrac cattle have adequate growth, although they don,t have as much performance as Angus cattle.</p><p></p><p> Fertility- Aubrac cattle have historically been selected for body type and fertility traits rather than performance. Therefore I feel that these cattle are more fertile than many breeds available today. The bulls are very masculine and the females feminine at a young age. The bulls I have been around have been very good breeders. They tend to breed more cows fewer times than my Angus bulls. The females have rebred well for me, although they don't seem to reach pubrity as early or cycle as soon after they calve as my Angus.</p><p></p><p> Disposition- Some Aubrac cattle have been very docile, while others have been very easy to get worked up. The Aubrac cattle seem to be more of a group animal than my Angus. Aubrac cattle also seem to find less comfort in humans than Angus cattle. Aubrac cattle seem to be more sensitive to new or strange people than my Angus cattle. If disposition is a big concern, they need to be selective as to the cattle breeding lines that they purchase within the Aubrac breed.</p><p></p><p> Feed efficiency- Here lies the Aubrac cattle's most beneficial trait. After feeding a few 4-H steers and a few bulls on the grow safe feed efficiency system at Midland bull test, the Aubrac breed of cattle seems to have a big advantage in this area. <strong>While their gain is almost as good as the Angus cattle, their daily feed intake is considerably less (around 2/3 to ¾ on average of what I have seen).</strong> This translates into a big input cost reduction over the life of the animal. The Aubrac also seem to convert poor feed way better than the Angus. They seem to have a big advantage on an all forage diet over the Angus. For the commercial cattleman, this means that they can graze longer on dry, low feed value feeds and still maintain or improve fleshing ability, which also results in feed cost savings. They will also fatten rather easily on nutritional green grass.</p><p></p><p> Carcass quality- <strong>The Aubrac cattle are noted for their huge ribeye area's.</strong> They tend to have high dressing percentages due to their added muscling while not having really big bone structure. While their marbling is not as high as Angus, it is higher than many other breeds. From the few examples I have had or heard of, the Aubrac meat seems to be very tender with better than normal flavor.</p><p></p><p> Chad J. Armstrong</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="WalnutCrest, post: 1293943, member: 21715"] I found what I was looking for; the author was Chad Armstrong (Armstrong Angus; Cardwell, MT) and it was written in the fall of 2011 -- I bolded the part that I was trying to remember off the top of my head: *********************** I have been raising Angus cattle for all my life (40 years) and have had Aubrac cattle now for 4 years. To me, fertility and longevity are two of the most important traits to cowman and these traits take many years to analyze. The cattle are old and gone before these traits can really be proven. With that said, 4 years is not enough time to really evaluate some of these traits, although many deductions can be made by the performance of the cattle over this length of time. I have noticed that the Aubrac cattle as well as any other breed have some variation within the breed for their traits. This means that not every animal will fit the traits that most of the breed may be noted for. For example, not all Aubrac cattle will be calving ease cattle. With this said, I will try to compare the breed average's between the two breeds for different traits as I have noticed them to be. Calving ease- As a rule the Aubrac cattle have been small birth weight, easy calving cattle. They seem to calve as easy or even easier than my Angus cattle. The calving ease seems to be more consistent within each sires group of calves for the Aubrac cattle. The Angus calves seem to be a little thriftier at birth especially if the weather gets colder (below 0 degrees Fahrenheit). Mothering ability- Angus have long been noted for their great mothering ability. From my experience, the Aubrac are better mothers. Most Aubrac cows are quiet, gentle mothers while yet aggressively licking their calf to get it up. Throughout the calves life while nursing it's mother, you will rarely find an Aubrac cow very far from her calf and she almost always knows right where it is. Growth- Aubrac cattle seem to be an early growth animal. They have way more muscle and fleshing ability than most Angus cattle. The Aubrac calves are born small and kind of frail looking, but will start to muscle up within weeks of birth. The Aubrac cattle seem to be done growing by 2 years of age, which makes it easier to put their nutrition into maternal traits at that time (like nursing a calf and rebreeding). I feel many present Angus cattle have more performance (growth) than is necessary for commercial range cattle, especially late growth (after they are 2 years of age). With this said, I feel that the Aubrac cattle have adequate growth, although they don,t have as much performance as Angus cattle. Fertility- Aubrac cattle have historically been selected for body type and fertility traits rather than performance. Therefore I feel that these cattle are more fertile than many breeds available today. The bulls are very masculine and the females feminine at a young age. The bulls I have been around have been very good breeders. They tend to breed more cows fewer times than my Angus bulls. The females have rebred well for me, although they don’t seem to reach pubrity as early or cycle as soon after they calve as my Angus. Disposition- Some Aubrac cattle have been very docile, while others have been very easy to get worked up. The Aubrac cattle seem to be more of a group animal than my Angus. Aubrac cattle also seem to find less comfort in humans than Angus cattle. Aubrac cattle seem to be more sensitive to new or strange people than my Angus cattle. If disposition is a big concern, they need to be selective as to the cattle breeding lines that they purchase within the Aubrac breed. Feed efficiency- Here lies the Aubrac cattle’s most beneficial trait. After feeding a few 4-H steers and a few bulls on the grow safe feed efficiency system at Midland bull test, the Aubrac breed of cattle seems to have a big advantage in this area. [b]While their gain is almost as good as the Angus cattle, their daily feed intake is considerably less (around 2/3 to ¾ on average of what I have seen).[/b] This translates into a big input cost reduction over the life of the animal. The Aubrac also seem to convert poor feed way better than the Angus. They seem to have a big advantage on an all forage diet over the Angus. For the commercial cattleman, this means that they can graze longer on dry, low feed value feeds and still maintain or improve fleshing ability, which also results in feed cost savings. They will also fatten rather easily on nutritional green grass. Carcass quality- [b]The Aubrac cattle are noted for their huge ribeye area’s.[/b] They tend to have high dressing percentages due to their added muscling while not having really big bone structure. While their marbling is not as high as Angus, it is higher than many other breeds. From the few examples I have had or heard of, the Aubrac meat seems to be very tender with better than normal flavor. Chad J. Armstrong [/QUOTE]
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