Breed best suited for me...

[Wolf-Kim]

Okay, so I'm fairly new to cattle. I know just a tad more than the average person, being able to identify some common cattle breeds, such as the Jerseys, Angus, and Belted Galloways. I hope to one day have cattle myself for meat and milk purposes.

I figure I would go ahead and begin my research now. I want cattle that produce quality meat first, first breed that comes to mind is Angus. But as my interest grew I began noticing others breeds, such as the Beefmaster, I know there are tons as with any domestic animal.

I simply thought that I would have a herd of Angus and then a couple Jersey heifers. This way I had my homegrown steak and then the couple of Jersey's for their legendary high-fat milk, heard many a good things about it.

I hope to one day have a farm in Virginia, we visit there occasionally and I've seen both Angus and Beefmaster farms up there, so I wouldn't think it was a climate issue.

Gimme some advice, thoughts, opinions. I am very curious.

-Kim

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Angus are good beef cattle and jerseys are good dairy. It sounds like a sound plan to me.

As for other breeds of beef cattle it really depends on what interests you.

For the dairy, as a home cow, I would go with Jerseys. Now if I were looking for a dual purpose cow, I would go with the Milking Shorthorns. They are a good solid animal that milk well and do okay for beef too. But, if you have done much reading here, you will find that I have a fondness for them so, I'm biased.

 

[amysflock]

Another smaller dual-purpose breed you might check into is the Dexter. They're black, horned, from Ireland, smaller than normal cattle. They have rich milk and good meat. We ended up going with Scottish Highlands ourselves since we're more interested in beef than milk right now; if I ever do decide I have time to milk a cow I'll probably just go with a Jersey or Guernsey.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

In the deep south, Brahman or other Brahman-based cattle like the Beefmaster you mentioned would be good. Virginia is located in a warmer climate which is ideal for breeds like Beefmaster, Santa Gertrudis, and the like. Further north, Angus because of the cooler and drier climate. So climate does in fact have an impact of what breed does best where.

But don't stop there: other breeds to consider starting on are Hereford, Shorthorn, Red Angus, Murray Grey, etc. All of these breeds, with the right selection of the dams and sires will raise good calves that will be easy keepers and will give you a good amount of beef for the freezer and possibly to sell direct. And all of these breeds are great, and recommended not just for carcass merit, but for docility, easy keeping on grass-only, mothering ability, etc. Herefords are the most docile among all these, with Shorthorn and MG close behind, and RA's and Angus as third.

Now for having cattle for both meat and milk purposes (i.e. dual purpose), Dexters, South Devons, Red Polls are three off the top of my head that are best for having dual purpose production.

You failed to mention what your goals for purchasing any cattle were: for starting a breeding herd, or a few steers just to fatten up for the freezer? Size of operation is important too, not to mention market demand/supply where you wish to locate. I know that Angus is a very popular breed down there (way too popular IMHO), so the market down there might be having folks ring the bell for black cattle.

But I always like to tell beginners to not get caught up in the Angus fever. There are other breeds out there, coloured, mind, that are just as good as and sometimes better than Angus. It all depends on what you fall in love with first and what your gut tells you you would rather have than another such-and-such breed.

 

[wynedot55]

i would not reccomend beefmasters to a beginner.an yes im a beefmaster breeder.an ive been around cows all my life.an yes my cows are gentle an easy to handle.but i think they would be best suited to look into herefords.

 

[MReit]

I'd agree, I've heard beefmasters are not for beginners, I've thought that of Angus too, just because they are not one of the more docile breeds.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Thanks for all the input. I hope to establish a small breeding herd, nothing large at all.

I was just curious, what makes the Beefmasters, or Angus for that matter, not beginner friendly? I have years of experience with horses and dogs, and although different breeds have their quirks, they're all generally horses and dogs, ya know? LOL

I'm hoping to achieve all this after I have completed my schooling to become a Veterinarian, so I should have more hands on experience by the time I'm ready to go cattle shoppin.

-Kim

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Thanks for all the input. I hope to establish a small breeding herd, nothing large at all.

I was just curious, what makes the Beefmasters, or Angus for that matter, not beginner friendly? I have years of experience with horses and dogs, and although different breeds have their quirks, they're all generally horses and dogs, ya know? LOL

I'm hoping to achieve all this after I have completed my schooling to become a Veterinarian, so I should have more hands on experience by the time I'm ready to go cattle shoppin.

-Kim

One word: TEMPERAMENT. Beefmasters, with the Brahman blood in them, tend to be a bit high-strung and somewhat agressive in terms of handling bulls, heifers protecting a calf, cows protecting a calf, etc. Similar thing goes with Angus, though this breed has no Brahman blood in it whatsoever. They are typically your average range-cows which turn nice-looking mommas into fighters against a dog, coyote, or even an imposing human. Angus mommas are more protective over their calves (and this goes with Beefmaster too) for that reason. They have been bred over many years to be more or less able to be handled to the point where they will move nice and easy in the chute or on the pasture/range. However, when a beginner gets in a pen with them, they might have a tendancy to a) panic or b) charge, depending on the situation and what kind of cattle are in there.

Angus cattle have really been bred more so on the meat quality and mothering ability than docility, like that in Herefords. Though there are those pessimistic fanatics that bring Herefords down by enjoying pointing out that Herefords are poor milkers and are prone to pink eye, cancer eye, prolapses, and sunburnt udders, among other things, but the whole thing about that is the blood lines that can and are chosen to prevent these factors from happening: and that starts with producers culling cows that prolapse, have no pigment in their eyes, have bad eyeset, poor udders and milking ability, etc. With these problem cows out of the herd, as well as the progeny that were originally planned to be used for breeding but not, the Hereford breed turns out to be the best breed one can have.

I also highly recommend you start with Herefords. This way, with some GOOD cows you have carefully selected for, you can start a herd that will give you minimal problems. And be less of a headache for you to manage as well.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I've dealt with Hereford crosses and would not recommend them. They are not easy to work with!

 

[wynedot55]

beefmasters can be a tad highstrung.an they dont like tobe handled roughly.they have long memories about rough treatment.i can move all of my cows with a feed bucket.i dont rush working around them.mostly they are worked on foot.but they know what the 4 wheeler is.an yes herefods can be highstrung as well.been there done that.