Charolais Cattle

[harris25]

What can you tell me about breeding Charolais bulls to angus cattle the good and the bad? What about breeding Charolais heifers to a Charolais bull? I am looking to maybe get a cross breeding going at the recent sales the Charolais steers and heifers have been selling at a premium over the straight angus feeder calves.

 

[katrina]

Talk to mike... Pm him.... Or Marlen Jesperson... Now is it en or on??? I can never remember.. :roll: Dave Hebbert.... Those are a few I would suggest...

 

[jingo2]

#1....Make sure the local vet will extend credit to you.....you're gonna need it.

#2....DON'T

#2a...that is unless they are free and if they are take them to the nearest sale barn THEN go buy something worht a crap

#3....Put YOUR personal Dr on speed dial, you will be needing him also.

 

[Andy]

Wow jingo you must have a very hard time picking out good bulls if you ended up with all those problems. There are very good char breeders out there, and they aren't breeding them like the old french char bulls. I would look for bulls that have alot of LT breeding in them.

 

[Anonymous]

#1....Make sure the local vet will extend credit to you.....you're gonna need it.

#2....DON'T

#2a...that is unless they are free and if they are take them to the nearest sale barn THEN go buy something worht a crap

#3....Put YOUR personal Dr on speed dial, you will be needing him also.

Don't pay any attention to the above post it was made by a jilted female. Thought she had the charisma to get any male to bite.

Main Charolais breeder on here knew better than to fall for her okey dokey and now she wants retribution on him. Kind of a woman scorned thing.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[katrina]

#1....Make sure the local vet will extend credit to you.....you're gonna need it.

#2....DON'T

#2a...that is unless they are free and if they are take them to the nearest sale barn THEN go buy something worht a crap

#3....Put YOUR personal Dr on speed dial, you will be needing him also.

Better yet..... Go buy the crap she peddles... Thank god no more ties to Nebraska

 

[jingo2]

#1....Make sure the local vet will extend credit to you.....you're gonna need it.

#2....DON'T

#2a...that is unless they are free and if they are take them to the nearest sale barn THEN go buy something worht a crap

#3....Put YOUR personal Dr on speed dial, you will be needing him also.

Better yet..... Go buy the crap she peddles... Thank god no more ties to Nebraska

People must confuse you for a man...from that response.

Me, I am a man, have been for a long time now.

The poster asked a question....I gave my answer to the best of my experience.

For some reason, that seems to really trip your trigger .

Now quit being a female dog and hijacking this posters thread with personal attacks.

 

[harris25]

thanks...I am going to go visit with Dave Hebbert tomorrow afternoon about some bulls.

 

[katrina]

thanks...I am going to go visit with Dave Hebbert tomorrow afternoon about some bulls.

Good deal... he is a good fella..

 

[balestabber]

i agree with the fact there are some good char breeders, but be cautious when selecting the bulls.my first investment would be a good heavy set of calf pullers..just MY experience.

 

[Grassfarmer]

Now't wrong with Charolais - cross them onto angus or any British females and you'll get an in demand calf that benefits from hybrid vigor. The calving difficulty stories likely hark back to some bad experiences around 1960 - Charolais have come a long way since then. Somewhere along the way they even passed the Angus breed going the other direction on calving ease :wink:

 

[Doug Thorson]

Some Char breeders like the big BW cattle that really perform, just like some of all breeders. There are Char breeders out there that really pay attention to keeping BW down and keeping the cattle functional in the real world of calving large groups where you can't help even every 10th one. I know a father/son who breed everything Char including heifers and with over 1000 head, they don't have the manpower to help them in bunches. I also know a guy who breeds Char and he helps cows on a daily basis during calving. Find a breeder that shares your philosophy and buy into his genetics, and that goes for all breeds.

 

[Triangle Bar]

Charolais & Angus are a terrific cross! I know from my own experience, switching from straight angus to a char/angus cross, that I gained 100 lbs. of weaning weight per calf. Bull selection, as with any breed, is a critical factor. When I choose Char bulls, either for my white heifers or black cows, they have to meet 3 basic criteria; calving ease (70# to 75# birth weight), sound functional structure, and good disposition. I realize I'm probably giving up some weaning weight with smaller birth weights, but I feel I realize more with unassisted births, live calves, and cows that breed back faster; all benefits of smaller birth weights. I've pulled fewer calves out of char bulls than I did the angus of hereford bulls I used previous.

A downside maybe if your going to maintain your Angus cow herd you will have to buy replacements. This is entirely up to you, I've saved many of the first cross heifers and they have made excellent cows.

In the end do what is best for you & yours and your entire operation...as much as I like the char breed, don't chase any trends in cattle or any one aspect of any breed. Well rounded (no pun intended :wink: ) cattle, regardless of color, with good management should work well for you.

Here's a link to some pictures of my calves I posted this fall.
http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40516&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

All the Best

 

[balestabber]

i didnt intend to bash char,i just had a bad experience,several years ago !!
the bull wasnt even mine--it was the neighbors-- also a fence jumper at dark and he would be back home by daylight. kind of a community bull.he crossed himself with my gelbvieh heifers and it was my lesson and loss.

 

[coyote]

An Angus guy that cross breeds? You can't do that, cross a maternal breed with a terminal breed, you'll get a condition called heterosis. :wink:

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

An Angus guy that cross breeds? You can't do that, cross a maternal breed with a terminal breed, you'll get a condition called heterosis. :wink:

Does gargling with Listerine help clear that up? :wink:

 

[Grassfarmer]

When I choose Char bulls, either for my white heifers or black cows, they have to meet 3 basic criteria; calving ease (70# to 75# birth weight)

I'm all for ease of calving but if we go to the extreme of selecting Charolais with bw of 70-75lbs aren't we selecting for what an "Angus" should be? In the great breed identity switch we have had the Charolais calf can now weigh 70-75lbs but an Angus can weigh over a hundred :?
The last Charolais bull I had was an 84lb bw but I'm sure he sired plenty calves over 100lbs out of the larger crossbred cows. I used him for 7 years and never assisted a calf. I believe there is a lot more to calving ease than the bulls birth weight. I don't believe half the bull birthweights you see quoted anyway. Look at how some populous breeds have increased growth and mature size by huge amounts yet the birth weights haven't wavered. :roll:

 

[TSR]

What can you tell me about breeding Charolais bulls to angus cattle the good and the bad? What about breeding Charolais heifers to a Charolais bull? I am looking to maybe get a cross breeding going at the recent sales the Charolais steers and heifers have been selling at a premium over the straight angus feeder calves.

This has been discussed before. Hit the search engine with Black VS Smokies. See what has been said.

 

[Triangle Bar]

When I choose Char bulls, either for my white heifers or black cows, they have to meet 3 basic criteria; calving ease (70# to 75# birth weight)

I'm all for ease of calving but if we go to the extreme of selecting Charolais with bw of 70-75lbs aren't we selecting for what an "Angus" should be? In the great breed identity switch we have had the Charolais calf can now weigh 70-75lbs but an Angus can weigh over a hundred :?
The last Charolais bull I had was an 84lb bw but I'm sure he sired plenty calves over 100lbs out of the larger crossbred cows. I used him for 7 years and never assisted a calf. I believe there is a lot more to calving ease than the bulls birth weight. I don't believe half the bull birthweights you see quoted anyway. Look at how some populous breeds have increased growth and mature size by huge amounts yet the birth weights haven't wavered. :roll:

Well of course there is more to calving ease than birth weight, but still it's a solid indicator don't you think? If my average birth weight is 75lbs naturally your going to have outliers on both sides. I've seen calves from 65 to 95 lbs but having the bulk being an average of 75lbs.

Harris25 is asking about char heifers and angus cows. I certainly wouldn't give him the advice to go buy a 100lb bw bull knowing that outliers of 120 lbs. are probably going to be a reality. If I did the suggestions & comments of him having good credit at the vet & industrial strength calf pullers would be right on.

BW hasn't wavered? You're telling me you can go buy any angus bull & put him in with your heifers? I can remember dad & grandpa's mature angus cows that would barely weigh 900 lbs heavy with calf. There's been migration of weight, frame & corresponding increases in birth weights as the respective breed organizations have modernized cattle and chased specific traits.

I guess in the end what I'm saying is that the genetic potential of individuals combined with cross breeding is greater than having heavier birth weights, IMHO. 8)

 

[Grassfarmer]

When I choose Char bulls, either for my white heifers or black cows, they have to meet 3 basic criteria; calving ease (70# to 75# birth weight)

I'm all for ease of calving but if we go to the extreme of selecting Charolais with bw of 70-75lbs aren't we selecting for what an "Angus" should be? In the great breed identity switch we have had the Charolais calf can now weigh 70-75lbs but an Angus can weigh over a hundred :?
The last Charolais bull I had was an 84lb bw but I'm sure he sired plenty calves over 100lbs out of the larger crossbred cows. I used him for 7 years and never assisted a calf. I believe there is a lot more to calving ease than the bulls birth weight. I don't believe half the bull birthweights you see quoted anyway. Look at how some populous breeds have increased growth and mature size by huge amounts yet the birth weights haven't wavered. :roll:

Well of course there is more to calving ease than birth weight, but still it's a solid indicator don't you think? If my average birth weight is 75lbs naturally your going to have outliers on both sides. I've seen calves from 65 to 95 lbs but having the bulk being an average of 75lbs.

Harris25 is asking about char heifers and angus cows. I certainly wouldn't give him the advice to go buy a 100lb bw bull knowing that outliers of 120 lbs. are probably going to be a reality. If I did the suggestions & comments of him having good credit at the vet & industrial strength calf pullers would be right on.

BW hasn't wavered? You're telling me you can go buy any angus bull & put him in with your heifers? I can remember dad & grandpa's mature angus cows that would barely weigh 900 lbs heavy with calf. There's been migration of weight, frame & corresponding increases in birth weights as the respective breed organizations have modernized cattle and chased specific traits.

I guess in the end what I'm saying is that the genetic potential of individuals combined with cross breeding is greater than having heavier birth weights, IMHO. 8)

That was said tongue in cheek triangle bar hence the :roll: