Blonde d'Aquitaine

LivInt20

Anyone any experience of using Blonde d’Aquitaine Sires on their Suckler Herd.

What are the advantages/disadvantages?

I see the Teagasc Grange herd "DERRYPATRICK HERD" used Blonde bulls on heifers last year and again this year.

Is a Blonde Bull the way to go for Heifers?

What are Blonde weanlings like for selling in the mart?

Are Blonde Bulls suitable for use on Blue Heifers, or would there be too much muscle involved and therefore difficult calving?

leg wax

pm sent.

blue5000

Bought one this yr to use on 2nd calver aax heifers, I'll have to wait and see what calving will be like, prices, etc.

leg wax

blue5000 wrote: »

Bought one this yr to use on 2nd calver aax heifers, I'll have to wait and see what calving will be like, prices, etc.

what market are you aiming for with this cross.

blue5000

I'll try selling the heifers live either straight off the cow or as yearlings, bulls,I'll try them as weanlings, but would prefer to slaughter them at 18-20 months after grazing them for the second summer,(UK trade).

I think so far with blondes you have to slaughter them, as buyers in the mart are not sure what breed they are yet.

Depends on my own circumstances, really.

LivInt20

blue5000 wrote: »

Bought one this yr to use on 2nd calver aax heifers, I'll have to wait and see what calving will be like, prices, etc.

Keep us posted

hoodrats

blue5000 wrote: »

I'll try selling the heifers live either straight off the cow or as yearlings, bulls,I'll try them as weanlings, but would prefer to slaughter them at 18-20 months after grazing them for the second summer,(UK trade).

I think so far with blondes you have to slaughter them, as buyers in the mart are not sure what breed they are yet.

Depends on my own circumstances, really.

baXaax heifer weanlings would not be big money spinners. i think with a muscly blonde bull you need at least a good quality u grade cow such as red limousin or simmental. you could end up with weanlings an exporter might want.

blue5000

I wanted Angus cows for hardiness, I've a lot of rough land, Sims are too big and too hard to keep, don't get me started on red lims, lovely to look in at over a ditch BUT I've been stuck to a wall once, and walked on (chest, not my foot) enough said.

pakalasa

For all ye Blonde lovers;
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/beefcattle/3621326

jay gatsby

pakalasa wrote: »

For all ye Blonde lovers;
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/beefcattle/3621326

There will be bids flying for that group I'd imagine. Lovely looking bunch

yellow50HX

got my hand on an old blonde bull a few years ago to clean up the herd in mid summer he was huge animal drawfed the lim bull we had (our bull had hurt his leg so we needed another one for a short time). had no bother with the calving the calf pratcilly popped out and that was even with a few BB cows. so no bother from a caving side.

they are a good long calf but from what i've heard from local lads finishing them you need to leave them longer than lims or AAX's even up to 28 months for them to fill out. but they weight well as long as you are prepared to leave them longer before finishing.

DMAXMAN

blue5000 wrote: »

I'll try selling the heifers live either straight off the cow or as yearlings, bulls,I'll try them as weanlings, but would prefer to slaughter them at 18-20 months after grazing them for the second summer,(UK trade).

I think so far with blondes you have to slaughter them, as buyers in the mart are not sure what breed they are yet.

Depends on my own circumstances, really.

I am a great fan of blondes and have been for a number of years.as blue said they used to be poor sellers because no-one was sure of them but now they sell fierce well around here with exporters and bullbeef men bidding up for them if they are shapy enough.i finish them as steers and do find them hard to get what you would call fat but they are always ok by the grid. no other cattle i ever had would put on the amount of weight that blondes do for age.any i have killed under 30 months have always killed out 450 kilos plus

blue5000

I sold all my BA x AA heifers to a neighbour who is going to put them in calf to a lim.

flatout11

LivInt20 wrote: »

Anyone any experience of using Blonde d’Aquitaine Sires on their Suckler Herd.


Are Blonde Bulls suitable for use on Blue Heifers, or would there be too much muscle involved and therefore difficult calving?

3 words for ya 'limmy limmy limmy' best option on bb heifers,
wouldnt go the blonde route with them but there are others who might differ, are you AI'ing or goin to buy a bull?

Bizzum

pakalasa wrote: »

For all ye Blonde lovers;
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/beefcattle/3621326[/QUOTE]

Nice looking heifers. If they bring enough milk they'll make super cows.

Anyway...Gentlemen prefer Blondes:)

Saint Sonner

My brother recently acquired a pure bred springing blonde approx. 9 months ago.

As part of the deal the seller took her back to run with his blonde bull to get her in calf. He took her back kept her for a few months to scan and see if she was in calf. Apparently she never looked away and hasn't since.

Got Vet out to possibly give her injection to bring her on but he checked her and said not to bother as this can happen and that she would eventually look for the bull.

Is this advice right or has he bought an expensive dud heifer?

PS sorry for any poor terminology above!

blue5000

What exactly did vet say?

Saint Sonner

blue5000 wrote: »

What exactly did vet say?

Not exactly sure - I wasn't there at the time - just enquired of my brother who said the Vet seem to think that it would be okay! Man of little words I guess! lol

blonde10

We have a blonde bull running with our herd of limmy cross and blonde cross cows very quiet bull,calves are very long and growthy,heifers make fantastic sucklers,we bought him to put milk into the heifers and that he did,bull weanlings go well enough at the Mart too,

Base price

Saint Sonner wrote: »

My brother recently acquired a pure bred springing blonde approx. 9 months ago.

As part of the deal the seller took her back to run with his blonde bull to get her in calf. He took her back kept her for a few months to scan and see if she was in calf. Apparently she never looked away and hasn't since.

Got Vet out to possibly give her injection to bring her on but he checked her and said not to bother as this can happen and that she would eventually look for the bull.

Is this advice right or has he bought an expensive dud heifer?

PS sorry for any poor terminology above!

Unless you know exactly what the vet said then it is hard to know, although he seems to be positive in the long term. After him handling her then you can discount that she is a free martin.
The heifer may not have had a good enough condition score at the time to go in calf.
What age is she now and can up put up a pic of her.

Genghis Cant

blonde10 wrote: »

heifers make fantastic sucklers,we bought him to put milk into the heifers and that he did,

What BA would you recommend to inject milk?

Base price

Genghis Cant wrote: »

What BA would you recommend to inject milk?

Couldn't recommend one as I have been out of the scene for the last 12 years.
However, in my opinion BA's are the ultimate terminal sire as the have the length to carry carcass weight. Someone posted a pic the other day of a BAxBB calf and most comments were about the length of the calf.
That would be normal in BAx's.
Carcass length equates to money in the pocket and it all depends on the grades and what side of the fence you are on.
FR/HO also produce a lengthy carcass

Genghis Cant

Base price wrote: »

Couldn't recommend one as I have been out of the scene for the last 12 years.
However, in my opinion BA's are the ultimate terminal sire as the have the length to carry carcass weight. Someone posted a pic the other day of a BAxBB calf and most comments were about the length of the calf.
That would be normal in BAx's.
Carcass length equates to money in the pocket and it all depends on the grades and what side of the fence you are on.
FR/HO also produce a lengthy carcass

Yeah, we've bred some nice Blondes ourself, cracking cross with Ch.
I was interested in a milky Ba, Landais was good for milk but no longer available. Jockey looks good on paper but I haven't heard much about him first hand.

Base price

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Yeah, we've bred some nice Blondes ourself, cracking cross with Ch.
I was interested in a milky Ba, Landais was good for milk but no longer available. Jockey looks good on paper but I haven't heard much about him first hand.

Will have a look at their back breeding tomorrow. As I said I have been out of the scene.
Too much UK bloodlines with emphasises on muscle have been introduced to Ireland over the years.
If you want to see what true BA's are then go to SW France.
In my time some of us Irish breeders stayed true to the origin of the species. Thankfully some of those breeders still exist

RobinBanks

Genghis Cant wrote: »

What BA would you recommend to inject milk?

I was talking to one of the lads in powerful genetics and he recommended Blackwater Ainsley. I have a couple of Kilboy frank heifers and he is supposed to be good for milk.

Dawggone

I live close to the Aquitaine and know some top breeders of Blondes.

I don't know much about the breed but there seems to be two distinct types:
1. Light boned and fine types. These are mostly used by Charolais breeders on heifers. Good length on these crosses.
2. Strong heavy boned "Charolais" types. Make super animals but a bit longer to finish.

Most top breeders keep the two lines but keep them genetically separate for the most part.

blue5000

RobinBanks wrote: »

I was talking to one of the lads in powerful genetics and he recommended Blackwater Ainsley. I have a couple of Kilboy frank heifers and he is supposed to be good for milk.

KOY is -6.5kg for milk. https://webapp.icbf.com/bull-search/view/108374135

Had a daughter of his and she wouldn't have had enough milk for a cup of tea! Killed out well though:p

Bodacious

blue5000 wrote: »

KOY is -6.5kg for milk. https://webapp.icbf.com/bull-search/view/108374135

Had a daughter of his and she wouldn't have had enough milk for a cup of tea! Killed out well though:p

hi blue, she calved down with v little to nothing in the way of milk? ive 2 KCE heifers here and he is -6.85KG for milk ,, .. not looking good from his side of things

mike hilux

Hello,

Im thinking of getting a blonde bull to put to my heifers in December.

My heifers are charolais out of British freshen and I plan to calf them from next September onwards at an age of 30 months or so.

Does anyone use a blonde on maiden heifers and how did they find them for ease of calving?

It's a choice between blonde or limousine but I was thinking of holding off on lims on this turn because I wondered would it be a better option to cross lims back to the progeny that will be born next September when there time comes, (they will be calving @ 24 months!)

Does anyone have any opinions on this?? All comments and advice are welcome

Sincerely, Mike.

blue5000

Ya used my blonde bull on aubrac x heifers, you'd want to be there or have them on camera when they are calving TBH. Lost one calf the first year, was ok this year. Aubrac is an easy calving continental breed, small calves and good to get up and suck quickly. Jeez hard to believe this thread is 5 years old!

mike hilux

Thank you for the reply.

Im getting out of my dairy cows after they calf next year so will be left with about 35 frXch heifers (10 breeding this year, 15 for next year and hopefully 10 more the year after)

After calving the dairy herd next year I have no more replacements until I can source them from this new suckler herd! Eventually I want to cross back to sims so just thought the blonde cow might calf a sim easier than a limousine cow (this would probably be for her third calf)

I have no problem being present at calving, or using a jack if needs be but I just don't want sections (as a result of the size of the calf) does this idea sound workable??

Mad4simmental

We use blonde for first calvers and I find them brilliant. Small pups at calving that are as hard as nails and get up and suck in minuets.

They grow into lovely animals. We have a few sim x ba and they would make a nice export producing type cow.

Genghis Cant

Mad4simmental wrote: »

We use blonde for first calvers and I find them brilliant. Small pups at calving that are as hard as nails and get up and suck in minuets.

They grow into lovely animals. We have a few sim x ba and they would make a nice export producing type cow.

Yep, same here. Cracking cross with Charolais. If you get the cross right you won't be sorry!

Miname

I wouldn't use blonde on a dairy cross again. The calves come too narrow. Lim on a ch x fr will throw a nice mix and you should get a fair few reds with the a splash of white and a few with sim type markings. Also in general the Ba will pop out like rats but Ba have a habit of going well over, when you get that bull calf that goes over 300 days you'll be tying a tractor to its feet to pull him. My recommendation is nice muscly limo, you won't go wrong.

Farrell

Miname wrote: »

I wouldn't use blonde on a dairy cross again. The calves come too narrow. Lim on a ch x fr will throw a nice mix and you should get a fair few reds with the a splash of white and a few with sim type markings. Also in general the Ba will pop out like rats but Ba have a habit of going well over, when you get that bull calf that goes over 300 days you'll be tying a tractor to its feet to pull him. My recommendation is nice muscly limo, you won't go wrong.

Agree they can go 300 days, but had no bother calving.
Do Blonde not add width? Or is there only a few that add that characteristic?
Like Mike I'd like to add BA to the mix

Miname

Farrell wrote: »

Agree they can go 300 days, but had no bother calving.
Do Blonde not add width? Or is there only a few that add that characteristic?
Like Mike I'd like to add BA to the mix

Width wouldn't be something I'd associate with blonde. Lenght, fine bone and a very hit and miss colour with a fairly giddy temperament, I've been completely put off blondes with my own experiences.

Farrell

Miname wrote: »

Width wouldn't be something I'd associate with blonde. Lenght, fine bone and a very hit and miss colour with a fairly giddy temperament, I've been completely put off blondes with my own experiences.

Only had a few calves from first calving heifers, compared with LM counterparts, there was little difference.

mike hilux

Hello again.

Once again, thank you for all replies and comments.

Personally my original plan was freisien to charolais, then add the limousine to these for 2 calvings to open up the cow before introducing the larger sim through A.I. also I would know which cows are delivering the goods consecutively after 2 calves!! What would I calf the limousine maiden heifers to?? I would have calved the blonde heifers to a limousine!!

I've never kept a heifers progeny to breed off before so was wondering if these limousines would be able to calf down the likes of a sim or charolais for say their third calf (@ 5 years old).

I don't want to cancel out the prospects of breeding replacement stock from these animals in the future, nor have to always be searching for the next super easy calving bull every year until all I can use is an Angus, and lastly im not looking to have to pick out a different sort of bull for every type of cow I have.

Ideally it would be limousine stock bull for heifers, sim A.I. For charolais X, charolais A.I. for sim X, and maybe a larger limousine stock bull for clean up if not the original one after he's done with the heifers!!

A long post there I know but as always and ever, all help is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Mike.

blue5000

Don't forget to keep milk in there.

Farrell

blue5000 wrote: »

Don't forget to keep milk in there.

With the strong milk from the FR, the CHX could work with a slightly negative LM bull for milk.
Been on a farm recently where the cows were 12th generation LM, @ crossed to BB for terminal & SM, LM & SA for maternal.
Personally I stay away from AA due to sale value, & giving a good diet up to 6 weeks before calving a 6% bull shouldn't cause issue

mike hilux

What are the chances or likelihood of the limousines out of my charolais X being black??

tanko

mike hilux wrote: »

What are the chances or likelihood of the limousines out of my charolais X being black??

I'd guess about 35%.

Farrell

tanko wrote: »

I'd guess about 35%.

But 2nd cross should be red.
Even 3rd cross LM from the FR should be red & some even 2nd

Farrell

Was thinking of a BA for this lady, 50%SI 46.9% HO 3.1% FR
€41 Ter, €124 (5star) Mat, 3.7% calving, 8kg carcass, 7.3% daughter calving, 16kg milk, I was thinking Aisley/Jockey.
Calf is LAO CH, generally calves not muscled enough, ODY daughter below

Farrell

Any thoughts on this guy

tanko

Farrell wrote: »

But 2nd cross should be red.
Even 3rd cross LM from the FR should be red & some even 2nd

The heifers are going to be 25% FR, I'd expect 1/3 of them to throw black limo calves. I have plenty of 3/4 bred limos which are black or BWH. It's not always that easy getting rid of the black colour when there's FR blood in them imo.

mike hilux

Iv heard that about the black colour coming through several generations, that was a reason for thinking about a blonde just to try to dilute it more!!

Is there any other continental breed that could be recommended for heifers? Besides limousine, blonde or aurbrack.

P.S. What does "BWH" mean??

Mad4simmental

I wouldn't worry about holding out untill the third calf to go sim or ch, if she's going to do it she should calve it on the second calf IMO. They should make lovely cows the ch x sim out of bf cows.

tanko

mike hilux wrote: »

Iv heard that about the black colour coming through several generations, that was a reason for thinking about a blonde just to try to dilute it more!!

Is there any other continental breed that could be recommended for heifers? Besides limousine, blonde or aurbrack.

P.S. What does "BWH" mean??

BWH means black whitehead, limos can often come that colour when there's a bit of FR and HE in the mix. Anyway there's nothing wrong with black limos as long as there good quality. Black limos can make super cows.

Mad4simmental

Farrell wrote: »

Was thinking of a BA for this lady, 50%SI 46.9% HO 3.1% FR
€41 Ter, €124 (5star) Mat, 3.7% calving, 8kg carcass, 7.3% daughter calving, 16kg milk, I was thinking Aisley/Jockey.
Calf is LAO CH, generally calves not muscled enough,

That ch Calf will make a nice cow if it's a heifer.

I wouldn't mind going with a very twrminal type bull on that cow to add size and musle to a heifer for a good cow as you have loads of milk in her allreddy and if you get a bull you should still have a good animal.

Our blonde is sired by BUH also and I like what he produces for us. Very feminine heifers with style. Slightly lively but ok.

Miname

I'd four black limos calve blondes last year, every one came black, turned horrible looking as yearlings. The same cows calved to a limo this year and all came red. Blondes will come any colour and rarely can be predicted correctly on dairy cross cattle.