Crossing red angus and shorthorn

[MN Farm Girl]

I got the stud book early last week and was looking through it. A wild idea sparked. Would it be a good cross with the shorthorn and red angus?? I dont' know much about the red angus so for those of you that do your opinions would be appreciated. As I looked through the book I noticed that the shorthorn was taken out of the book, and it is hard to get good bulls around here, and there aren't many choices for AI bulls, so I figured the next best alternative would be crossing them with the red angus. As I was looking I kinda picked out bulls that looked alright to use on the cows. What do you guys think of LJC Javelin. To me he looks pretty good, but you know how pictures can be decieving. The shorthorn are a good breed but, we need a little more frame, and better feed lot performance. So I'll stop now and let you guys tell me.

MN Farm Girl

 

[andybob]

Red Angus or Murray Grey would 'blend' well with Shorthorn, MG may add a little more frame though.

 

[Triangle Bar]

I used to have a couple of shorthorn milk cows that I crossed with Red Angus. The calves were beautiful, with a moderate frame and grew out really well.

 

[3waycross]

My partner and I are looking into doing just what you have proposed, our only holdup is needing to find a Red Angus bull that will not be a problem for Brisket disease.

I am open to suggestions for a good breeder in the Colo area. I drove thru LaJunta last monday and saw what looked like some good RA a few miles west of town. Anyone know who that might be

As far as frame goes I don't think we need to increase frame we just went thru crossing some with a good Gelbvieh bull to knock down the frame a little

We also considered using one of these Irish Black or Red Bulls however the 5500 dollar starting price is a little steep for a 40 cow operation. They sure are good cattle tho. I toured the ranch last fall and was knocked out by the muscle on these cattle.

 

[Triangle Bar]

3waycross,

The Ag Journal, a weekly agriculture paper based in La Junta, puts out a good resource for bulls of all different breeds including Red Angus called Beef Business. This is a supplement to their weekly publication. I have the 2006 edition and their are several Registered Red Angus producers listed here in Colorado.
If you're concerned about Brisket be sure to ask about having a PAP (Pulmonary Arterial Pressure) test performed on any bull you buy. Probably also a good idea to buy a bull from a high altitude operation.

You can obtain a copy of Beef Business by contacting Ag Jounral at:
Beef Business
P.O. Box 500
La Junta, CO 81050

(719) 384-8121
1-800-748-1997

Best of Luck.

 

[MN Farm Girl]

As far as frame goes I don't think we need to increase frame

Well we still have some of the genetics from the old shorthorn. Ya know the kind from the 40's. We have been trying to get them bigger, but it is hard to find good bulls.

 

[skidboots]

MY 2 cents.
When I grew up in the 40's, every small farm in Missouri and Illinois had a small herd of those shorthorns. I'm not a cattleman, so I don't know if they were milking or beef, but they were red roan, and from an overall standpoint of conformation, I think they were the fattest, slickest, best looking breed I've seen. Had a great top line, and their frame was "Beef to the Heels".
Commercially though, they have disappeared. Here in Texas Hereford/Brama crosses (F1) heifers bring the money, along with black cattle. But back when family butchered their own beef, they sure were favored up in the Midwest area.

 

[efb]

Somewhere in my file I have comparative EPD's between breeds. If my memory is correct you would need to watch out for birth weight. I believe shorthorn birth weights are on the average larger. If you have good quality shorthorns I wouldn't think you'd need more frame. I was looking at the shorthorns at the Ft. Worth Stock show yesterday and they were as big as any breed there. We crossed shorthorn and angus when I was growing up in KS and got blue roans. They worked well for us. Of course you know the beefmaster is a composite of hereford, shorthorn and bramahn, and Santa Gertrudis is shorthorn - bramahn. The first bulls imported to the plains to improve the native stock were Durhams ( shorthorns). I don't know why they lost favor and were replaced with herefords and more recently they have been replaced with angus. If you like red cattle I would think the red angus x hereford cross would be good.