|
Columbia City, Indiana | Interesting article on the Drovers page Jim linked to in another thread got me thinking about my own situation. I noticed an interesting situation developing as my calving season progresses. Out of 19 cows who should calve this spring, I have 10 on the ground so far. Of the 10 who have already calved, 2 are Herefords and the rest are crossbred, either black or black baldies. Also have 1 all red Shorthorn/Angus cross who has calved. Of the 9 left to calve, 7 are Herefords and 2 are black baldies. (1 of the baldies is a heifer, none of the Herefords are heifers.) What conclusions can be drawn from this, if any? The article says crossbred cows are 25% more productive in their lifetimes than purebred cows. It looks to me like my crossbred cows cycled and bred back faster than most of my purebreds. Several of the purebreds are registered Herefords. None of them have calved yet, though they could go about any time.
Of 5 heifers I bred last year, 4 have calved. The 5 heifers were all crossbred, 2 black baldies, 2 all black, 1 all red. 1 of the baldies is yet to calve, but she is out of what was an extraordinarily fertile cow, and she has an older sister who delivered her 2nd calf 3 days ago.
Of the 4 heifers I'll breed this summer, 2 are black baldies who have a lot of eye appeal and are out of productive cows, 1 is a black baldie who isn't as showy but I kept because her mother has been a solid cow (1 of the registered Herfords), and 1 is a purebred Angus I purchased to feed out but who I decided to keep because she's a nice heifer and so far seems to have a decent disposition, for an Angus. (ZING!)
I may try and post some pics this week-end if anybody cares to see any... but don't count on it, the last time I tried it seemed to be a major PITA! :) | |
|
Crossbred cows vs Purebred cows
