Angus cattle

case5130

I've had two forms on here on cattle breeds and the info I've got has been much appreciated 😀 just one last question for ye ... Purebred Angus cattle how do ye find them ... Caving ...milk and quietness and what kinda markets do ye supply to
Cheers for any advice in advance 😀

tanko

case5130 wrote: »

I've had two forms on here on cattle breeds and the info I've got has been much appreciated 😀 just one last question for ye ... Purebred Angus cattle how do ye find them ... Caving ...milk and quietness and what kinda markets do ye supply to
Cheers for any advice in advance 😀

I've never had purebred Angus only cross breds but any I've had were very quiet and had lots of milk. Angus bulls are mostly easy calved but recently there are more English and Canadian Angus bulls appearing which can be harder calved. If you're breeding Angus cattle you really need to be finishing them yourself.

charolais0153

case5130 wrote: »

I've had two forms on here on cattle breeds and the info I've got has been much appreciated 😀 just one last question for ye ... Purebred Angus cattle how do ye find them ... Caving ...milk and quietness and what kinda markets do ye supply to
Cheers for any advice in advance 😀

if you're buying pb angus make sure you go to Carrick on Shannon or some sale and get a right good one if you have good stock you'll sell them no bother to a dairy man or a fella bulling a lock of heifers.we have one angus and one ch cow we sold the last angus bull on donedeal and he was only up on it 46mins ,way easier to sell than charolais.cows are good milkers though they can be a bit wicked at calving no dehorning the calf very easy calving our own cow calved 3wks ago in the slats by herself calf was up sucking of a shot id prefer them over continental any day

Future Farmer

I agree with Tanko you need to be finishing them yourself...

Most PBR Bull breeders seem not to be breeding for the dairy man - using longer gestation and higher calver difficulty bulls - I'd just say know your market.

whelan2

there have been a few threads on here recently on pb angus cattle, we have them. Feck all work with them apart from at calving etc, no problem getting customers for bulls etc, we are now reducing our numbers and we are getting a good price for the ones we are selling

Bellview

Future Farmer wrote: »

I agree with Tanko you need to be finishing them yourself...

Most PBR Bull breeders seem not to be breeding for the dairy man - using longer gestation and higher calver difficulty bulls - I'd just say know your market.

Hi I'm not sure how you have arrived at that stat. there are a small number of breeders who practice this policy. These folks often use Uk bulls that will do great at shows but are not easy calving ie Bosullow Elmark, Rommels etc. The majority of angus have calving stats of less than 2% with short gestation.

we have pedigrees and our focus is purely on the dairy man as they are the bread & butter

case5130

Looking at buying heifers now and getting them used to the place bull them back end

As I said on a earlier post I wrk 6 days a week so need cattle that are hardy I be looking at them morning/evening but I don't want stock that will go wild and busy every fence the come too

Cattle are mad dear at the moment wonder should I hold off ... Already held off but just as well with the weather

wiggy123

angus cattle// are in my bias opinion, great stock--easy kept! I keep purebreds..small herd, but I could sell 10 bulls with ease every year-great demand for them.. true can be feisty when calf.. but are great mothers + calves are hardy bucks..have had them calf by error on slats.. cow/calf 100%.. also a buyer for a angus bull..even females can sell good
true.. some of cow, maybe to strong..re angus bulls.. to me still easier calved breed than most..
milkiness maybe a losing in some of the breeding...to me, most important trait in a pb cow... milk will outdo meal anyday.. and is cheaper

case5130

Do u see private or at the mart ... Are you using a stick bull or Ai

wiggy123

I use all ai, have done this last few years--to me is best.. get use top/good bulls..
sell private.. word of mouth is great

case5130

True wen people know you have good stock it's easy ... What made you choose Angus ..

wiggy123

true... also few dairy men around me helps..who like using angus!
eh--there a hobby for me, I find them easy to work with + is some money in them..

case5130

Pretty much the same reason in looking at them ... Debating weather to hold out till market weakens

wiggy123

say pick up a nice cow/heifer calf at gd money--soon enough..

when buying gd stuff--always be dear

Bellview

case5130 wrote: »

Pretty much the same reason in looking at them ... Debating weather to hold out till market weakens

another option is you may come across a dispersal sale. I'm aware of one coming up with cattle going to Kilmallock in the next 6 weeks approx. The guy is emigrating short term for work and is selling cows with calf at foot etc.

case5130

Don't mind spending for quality ... Things bit inflated at the moment

wiggy123

suppose.. still gd value out there

case5130

Must head few sales and get feel for things

wiggy123

should do.. keep an eye re dd also.. where u based?

case5130

Based in west mayo ... No there a breeder in Sligo and clarmorris ... Was on to the Angus society they sent me out a copy the journal ... Dd or farm sale my best option cos I'm working 6 days a week

wiggy123

hear ya,, yep=few breeders over that way.. i'm with Aberdeen angus society.. ur also not to far away from carrick on Shannon!

case5130

Not to far surely just hassle of getting there with trailer ...ya seems to be a few in the book surely ...

wiggy123

http://abri.une.edu.au/online/pages/ukaa_intro.htm
check here also.. re breeders

case5130

Cheers will do ...

Future Farmer

Bellview wrote: »

Hi I'm not sure how you have arrived at that stat. there are a small number of breeders who practice this policy. These folks often use Uk bulls that will do great at shows but are not easy calving ie Bosullow Elmark, Rommels etc. The majority of angus have calving stats of less than 2% with short gestation.

we have pedigrees and our focus is purely on the dairy man as they are the bread & butter

Just looked at the AA top ten most used sires of 2013 (on pedigree herds)- average gestation length 284 days (which I thought would be higher).

Shortest: KYA at 280 (No.2 on usage)
Longest: LZE at 286 (No. 8 on usage)

Perhaps it's because these longer gestation etc bulls are more visible on social media, Donedeal and at shows etc.

Bellview

Future Farmer wrote: »

Just looked at the AA top ten most used sires of 2013 (on pedigree herds)- average gestation length 284 days (which I thought would be higher).

Shortest: KYA at 280 (No.2 on usage)
Longest: LZE at 286 (No. 8 on usage)

Perhaps it's because these longer gestation etc bulls are more visible on social media, Donedeal and at shows etc.

On pedigrees the majority of calves born are from stock bulls (62%) rather than AI. I have attached the link from ICBF on the actual 2013 stats and LZE is not showing on pedigree... he is red angus more suited to commercial sucklers rather than ped and KYA is No 8 on usage (with 1% difficulty).. all data on page 8 of attached. I would be surprised if either of those two bulls have bred many show winners as LZE is ugly while KYA literally breeds rabbits
http://www.icbf.com/publications/files/2014_Journal_Statistics.pdf

I would be slow to use the top 2 that appear on the list on dairy heifers(jumbo King & Mogeely Joe) along with Rossiter & Lisduff Dandy , these 4 are ok on cows.

The gestation period at 284 appears long for angus as majority of easy calving bulls are closer to 280. The bull we use ranges 277 - 284 for the majority

Future Farmer

Bellview wrote: »

On pedigrees the majority of calves born are from stock bulls (62%) rather than AI. I have attached the link from ICBF on the actual 2013 stats and LZE is not showing on pedigree... he is red angus more suited to commercial sucklers rather than ped and KYA is No 8 on usage (with 1% difficulty).. all data on page 8 of attached. I would be surprised if either of those two bulls have bred many show winners as LZE is ugly while KYA literally breeds rabbits
http://www.icbf.com/publications/files/2014_Journal_Statistics.pdf

I would be slow to use the top 2 that appear on the list on dairy heifers(jumbo King & Mogeely Joe) along with Rossiter & Lisduff Dandy , these 4 are ok on cows.

The gestation period at 284 appears long for angus as majority of easy calving bulls are closer to 280. The bull we use ranges 277 - 284 for the majority

Sorry I looked at overall use of AA bulls not PBR use my bad. What's the average gestation length for the top 10 on PBR cows and heifers?

Mac Taylor

Bellview wrote: »

On pedigrees the majority of calves born are from stock bulls (62%) rather than AI. I have attached the link from ICBF on the actual 2013 stats and LZE is not showing on pedigree... he is red angus more suited to commercial sucklers rather than ped and KYA is No 8 on usage (with 1% difficulty).. all data on page 8 of attached. I would be surprised if either of those two bulls have bred many show winners as LZE is ugly while KYA literally breeds rabbits
http://www.icbf.com/publications/files/2014_Journal_Statistics.pdf

I would be slow to use the top 2 that appear on the list on dairy heifers(jumbo King & Mogeely Joe) along with Rossiter & Lisduff Dandy , these 4 are ok on cows.

The gestation period at 284 appears long for angus as majority of easy calving bulls are closer to 280. The bull we use ranges 277 - 284 for the majority

Bellview, are the Angus pure breed breeders going down the same route as some of the contential pb breeders, their biggest market is the dairy lad and a suckler farmer looking for easy calving, yet they seem to be moving away from these animals to harder calving less maternal types or am I wrong.

Bellview

Mac Taylor wrote: »

Bellview, are the Angus pure breed breeders going down the same route as some of the contential pb breeders, their biggest market is the dairy lad and a suckler farmer looking for easy calving, yet they seem to be moving away from these animals to harder calving less maternal types or am I wrong.

There are a small number of breeders who specialise in showing and they will use the more terminal sires with the aim of getting the first prize etc. These sires have their place but mostly in sucklers. The majority of ordinary breeders will focus on the dairy. My personal opinion is that Dovea are doing a much better job in the AI on getting a balance of sires between bulls that work for dairy & suckler. A lot of these bulls with calving problems are Uk and are also hard cattle to finish. In my opinion a significant number of these bulls are damaging what the breed is about ie easy calving & fleshing

On breeding side at home we would always focus on what may be considered more traditional bloodlines. All bulls I have for sale this year are calving difficulty lower than 2%... but are 'softer' type cattle. the theory being that their calves would flesh easier... saying that we have one lad at approx. 800kgs at 15 months... getting 3kgs of feed upto a month ago he has been built up now to 5kgs a day. He calved easy as did his full brother this year. The guy was always growing ok as a calf ... nothing exceptional but at 10 months he just turned inside out lengthening & putting on weight. He has just been sold to suckler farmer & I will be interested in him over the next 2 years to see will he do a good job.... if his younger brother follow the lead of this guy I could have a serious show calf later next year as this year lad is a classier animal... but genetics are strange

Bellview

Future Farmer wrote: »

Sorry I looked at overall use of AA bulls not PBR use my bad. What's the average gestation length for the top 10 on PBR cows and heifers?

no prob. I'm not sure if these stats are kept by ICBF... would be a great question for ICBF across all breeds especially where a number of the larger continental breeds now claim short gestation and easy calving..

There are so many variables to gestation as the Bull is only one part, the age of heifer/cow will also impact. If using commercial I guess the breed of the dam will also impact ie the longer gestation continental breed dams of CH & Lim may take a few more days than native UK breeds HE & AA

If you see any stats do share as would be some great reading