Red Poll or Belted Galloway???

[BW&RAO]

I am hoping in the far future (after I graduate from College (junior in HS) to have a cattle farm) and was wondering what the main differences in these two breeds were. From what I can gather on separate breed specific articles they seem comparable but no one is compairing them...

I want to go grassfed with the ablity to but my dairy calves on my beef cows (who will still be suckling their calves), calm docile animals, and great beef I don't ask for much do I

Also are Dutch Belteds a good dairy breed for me? They also would be grassfed and would need to be: gentle, their milk able to sustaine use as a milk, cheese, yogurt, cottege cheese, and ice cream.

Thanks

 

[herfrds]

Welcome to the board.

First off you would be better suited to put beef calves on dairy cows instead of dairy on beef.
The dairy breed has a higher quanity of milk then the beef breed.
I have 2 calves on my Jersey right now PLUS get 2.5 gallons from her a day.
see what I am saying.

each animal is different regardless of breed. We had a polled bull that decided to flatten one of our gates and missed killing my husband by 3 feet in doing it.

there are several on here that have the Galloways so they can answer your questions on them.

I love my Jersey except when she gets pushy if I'm not feeding her fast enough to suit her.

 

[Jovid]

If you are wanting to raise cattle for beef plus milk them to make cheese then Red Poll would be a great choice. They were used as a dual-purpose breed here in the states for several years. They still milk them and make cheese in England and other countries.

 

[BW&RAO]

I had read in my research that they had, but they had gotten away from breeding for milk so I didn't know if that was still true... and Herfrds I see what your saying, however that seems like a small yeild as far as a dairy would need... But I could be mistaken... Thanks for your imput... I am pretty set on the Dutch Belted and TWO breeds of belted cattle just seem colorwise boring when the Belties and the Red Polls are so comparable... And in someways the RP's seem better...

 

[Royd Wood]

Cant answer the milking questions but we have Galloway cattle for strictly grass fed beef - some belted, some black and some dun. The tenderness, marbling and taste results are very very good, our steers are aged to around 28 months for slaughter to allow natural body growth. The belted tend to be smaller in size than the solids. All our cows and bulls are easy to handle and work with, they are exceptional mothers and cycle really quick - 3 to 6 weeks after calving (we leave it longer though). They will eat anything from lush to bush and thrive in tough conditions hot or cold.

See some links for more info
http://www.galloway.ca/
http://americangalloway.com/index.php

 

[Jovid]

I had read in my research that they had, but they had gotten away from breeding for milk so I didn't know if that was still true... and Herfrds I see what your saying, however that seems like a small yeild as far as a dairy would need... But I could be mistaken... Thanks for your imput... I am pretty set on the Dutch Belted and TWO breeds of belted cattle just seem colorwise boring when the Belties and the Red Polls are so comparable... And in someways the RP's seem better...

We have several Red Poll cows that you could milk if you wanted to and still raise a calf at the same time.

 

[herfrds]

BW I'm not feeding her to max production. Got 3 gallons out of her yesterday.
Friends of mine would have 3-4 calves on their Jersey plus milking the cow. I just had the 1 bum calf this year.

Glad to know you are doing some serious research on this issue.
Best of luck to you finding the breed you want.

 

[BW&RAO]

Maybe what I should do when it is time is get half my herd in one breed and half in the other. Then see which one does better on the land that I have and which I just plain perfer... I had thought of that but also thought it would be best to put my money in the actual breed that I truly would have. But I suppose I could always resell the breed that I didn't want... Thanks for your imput and keep it coming!!!

 

[herfrds]

Just a thought.
Find a breeder in your area that raises the breed's you are looking at and ask if you can come see their operation and their stock. See about spending some time around these breeds.
That should hopefully help you pick the breed you really want and help you make up your mind on them.

 

[Royd Wood]

Maybe what I should do when it is time is get half my herd in one breed and half in the other. Then see which one does better on the land that I have and which I just plain perfer... I had thought of that but also thought it would be best to put my money in the actual breed that I truly would have. But I suppose I could always resell the breed that I didn't want... Thanks for your imput and keep it coming!!!

That will be throwing your money away - Try to do what Herfrds says and good luck