# Best breed for Beginners?



## BrentnTX

I have 10 acres and am just getting started in cattle. 

Any suggestion on which breed I should go with?


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## Flywheel

I would recommend Angus. Find a purebred.


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## cattle

From what I've read Angus are the go to for beginners.


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## hazelfieldherd

I have 15 acres here in Ireland and started with Dexter cattle this time one year ago (1 in-calf cow with heifer calf at foot & 2 bullocks). As a novice we find their size makes them very easy to handle for dosing, scanning etc.. I halter trained the heifer in readiness for hand milking. They've done very well on my 'poorer' upland grass (I don't use any artificial fertilizer). We tried Dexter beef before we started & it is second to none! Try some! Our 1st beef is now hanging in the butcher's cold room, only 18 days to go! I found a good book for a beginner 'Small Cattle for Small Farms' by Margo Hayes.


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## cattle

Do you have any pictures of your farm?


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## Flywheel

Brent have you started looking for your cattle?


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## ecamplair

I've been doing allot of research and I'd recommend Lincoln red cattle. There like red Angus, are suppose to finish on grass n water. There suppose to be extremely quiet and good milkers.

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## colliverj

To me it depends on the person and what they want to do with the cattle 


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## Krooked_S

If you want fast growing cattle go with the braunvieh 


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## farm_boy_7610

I would recommend red and/or black angus. On our farm we run both and find them well worth having.


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## cattle

Why do you like angus?


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## Alice

Hello, I'm new to this cattle thinking and am trying to find out what would be best to start with. 

My father in law had cattle that looked like this type of cow. Do you know what type it is and would it be easy for a beginner? I just remember him confining it and feeding it corn and grains for the last 30 or 60 days before turning it into wonderful roasts and steaks.


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## Krooked_S

Hereford and they are usually docile and grow quickly and big


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## Alice

Thanks for the information Krooked_S

What would be the best advice you could give me about having that type of cow? Would it be best to get a young adult type cow or a baby cow. Do you have to have more than one, or is one okay to have?


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## jbcreech

Krooked_S said:


> Hereford and they are usually docile and grow quickly and big



Choose cattle that fit your environment. By environment I mean weather, forages available, etc. Look around your area to see what works best there.


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## Krooked_S

Usually all animals do better with more than one and yes research your area


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## bvanderwege

We raise purebred Herefords at the the ranch where I work and we get along pretty well with them. They're more docile than angus.


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## marquiseb

We have Red Angus (fairly large, fairly docile, excellent quality beef) Hereford (extremely docile, very good quality beef) my neighbour has Simmental (very high headed but good mothers) Limousin (quite aggressive but excellent parents) I have one Murray Grey (extremely docile but very very large animals that eat alot, and excellent quality beef). I find the Herefords the toughest in inclement weather, the Murray Grey hates poor weather.


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## Alice

I will have to research for N. AL/S Central TN area of the country. I know FIL was about 45 minutes south of Nashville, so pretty much the same type of weather. I just know he had the best roasts and hamburgers and steaks! 

Do you think about 40 miles difference will make a huge change in what is acceptable for the type of cattle?


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## ElleAnnFFAlover

Hereford are very friendly and are great mothers.


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## Fairfarmhand

Alice said:


> I will have to research for N. AL/S Central TN area of the country. I know FIL was about 45 minutes south of Nashville, so pretty much the same type of weather. I just know he had the best roasts and hamburgers and steaks!
> 
> Do you think about 40 miles difference will make a huge change in what is acceptable for the type of cattle?


There's plenty of hereford and hereford angus cross in that area. Not a huge difference in the climate, and I do know because I have relatives in the Franklin County TN Area.


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## cattlewoman

Would recommend Herefords. Docile and very hardy. As you become more confident you could also cross breed. I know we run black angus and black angus X blk simmentals bulls.


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## jbcreech

I made the original environment comment not noticing where you were. I am a Hereford seed stock producer in North Carolina so I certainly agree with the Hereford recommendations. By matching cows to environment i mean temperature, available forage - feed, etc. You would not want a Scottish Highland in South Florida or a Brahman in North Dakota. Shorter haired breeds are generally more heat tolerant and you can even select for this within a breed. 
You would also not want a big frame, high milking breed on only endophyte infected tall fescue grass. If your stocking rate (animals per acre) is low enough you may be able to get by with the larger, higher milking cow, but if you have average grass, I would choose average production cows. 
The Herefords would be my choice, but I admit I am biased. They are docile, easy doing cattle that are a pleasure to be around and handle. You can choose Herefords that will fit your environment using EPD's. Find a good Hereford breeder near you and he or she will help you to select cows you will be pleased with. Let me know if I can help.


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## goose835

lets not forget about the good ole Holstein. quite docile, great milkers, bulls, as always, gain weight and size a little faster, and i have read many rave reviews about the quantity and quality of the beef. i decided on holsteins because they are a local breed plus my reasearch had shown that for my area the best breeds for beef were hereford, angus, and holstein. I lucked up and found a local (2hrs away) dairy farmer that was increasing his herd and was selling all young bulls born to his cows. All of his stock is 100% purebred and he uses no unecessary antibiotics, no steroids, and no growth hormones and thats exactly what i was looking for to raise healthy beef for my family.


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## cattleman1253

Black angus or a black baldy( black angus/Hereford cross) very good beef with lots of growth and meat marbeling DON'T GET A HOLSTEIN!! I'm not downing the dairy industry but they take FOREVER to gain weight I don't care what anyone says don't get milkers for feeders stick with beef breeds for best results this is from personal experience and research on cattle. And one more thing Holstein bulls are one of the top dairy breed for a very mean bull that all he wants.to do in life is kill you I'm not kidding as an employee at a stockyard and friends with dairy farmers I would know please just stay away from dairy especially bulls. Just trying to keep someone from getting burned out on a deal and/or getting hurt.


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## DoubleR

Alice said:


> Thanks for the information Krooked_S
> What would be the best advice you could give me about having that type of cow? Would it be best to get a young adult type cow or a baby cow. Do you have to have more than one, or is one okay to have?


Herefords are awesome cattle. We grew up raising them. Still have a couple half Herefords (black white faces) in the commercial herd. They are generally very docile and easy keepers. If your looking for Herefords try and get polled Herefords. No horns by genetics.
The reason we don't still have a herd full of them is because the money is in black hided non Brahma style cattle.
Are you planning on having babies? If so I'd highly recommend NOT getting a first time heifer. Maybe a 3 way? (A cow with a calf at side and bred (pregnant)). 1st calf heifers are so much more susceptible to calving problems. We never recommend them for beginners. 
One cow can be fine by itself. We have lots of clients that raise one by it self. They are generally more happy with more than one. They are herd animals.
Hope this helps a little


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## CROWEmtnFARMS

Dont get a bull without a heifer or cow. When he hits a yr old he will find him one in heat. In my case it was 3 miles away and 2 cars later. Bad 2 months


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## DoubleR

cattleman1253 said:


> Black angus or a black baldy( black angus/Hereford cross) very good beef with lots of growth and meat marbeling DON'T GET A HOLSTEIN!! I'm not downing the dairy industry but they take FOREVER to gain weight I don't care what anyone says don't get milkers for feeders stick with beef breeds for best results this is from personal experience and research on cattle. And one more thing Holstein bulls are one of the top dairy breed for a very mean bull that all he wants.to do in life is kill you I'm not kidding as an employee at a stockyard and friends with dairy farmers I would know please just stay away from dairy especially bulls. Just trying to keep someone from getting burned out on a deal and/or getting hurt.


Very much agree!^^^^ 
Number one killing bulls are Holsteins. 
The amount of feed needed to feed up a Holsteins (dairy breed) is far more than a beef breed. They are a dairy breed. Designed for milk production. They are built to put everything they have into milking. A large portion of there body weight is bone. That's why dairy cows that milk well are thinner. They are designed to produce milk not meat.


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## Angie

CROWEmtnFARMS said:


> Dont get a bull without a heifer or cow. When he hits a yr old he will find him one in heat. In my case it was 3 miles away and 2 cars later. Bad 2 months


My goodness, that is one determined bull.


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## RanchWife

Most common American breeds are Angus (red and black), Herefords, and the mix of the two, black baldys. Do you want them for meat? If you're new to calving the angus breed has less incidence of prolapses. If you do plan on calving you need to think strongly about getting a neighbor who has experience and learning from him. There are things you'll need and signs you need to look for. Subscribe to progressive cattlemen magazine, it has tons of extremely useful information in every issue. If I were starting and didn't know much about calving I would star with a cow, less chance something would go wrong over a heifer. And for a small herd I would AI, bulls are expensive and tend to be hard on your property.


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## NDSTRUCTABLE

I am in FL just North of Tampa, are Herefords a good choice for the climate here? I started out w Holstiens my first go around, the vet had to help a lot, and recommended against for next go around. Many calves died and I was told they are not very hardy. The previous post is correct, they require more feed and grow slower.


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## Fairfarmhand

NDSTRUCTABLE said:


> I am in FL just North of Tampa, are Herefords a good choice for the climate here? I started out w Holstiens my first go around, the vet had to help a lot, and recommended against for next go around. Many calves died and I was told they are not very hardy. The previous post is correct, they require more feed and grow slower.



I think Herefords will be okay there. You may in time want to breed them with black angus and get some breckle faced cows. The black around the eyes means less eye cancer. The pink skin around a Hereford's eye can get sunburned more easily. I used to live near Tampa in the Riverview area.


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## LymanCreekSalers

I would recommend Salers. Cows have larger pelvic areas then most breeds makes it easier to calve. They calve easy and the calves get up and eat quick. when they were first getting established here in the USA they were known to have not very good dispositions, but that has really been breed out of them for the most part. You will get wild ones in any breed you just have to watch what you buy. Our Salers have Just as good if not better dispositions as a lot of the Angus cattle I have worked with. I would recommend Salers based cows for their calving ease and then use a Angus bull on them to get a nice cross.


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## Dion

I have registered Angus. I believe that with the amount of space you have (ten acres) you might have more fun and more flexibility in your operation if you tried the American Lowline. Here is a link for you.

http://www.usa-lowline.org

Full size breeds of cattle often require three acres or more of grazing on moderate pasture. Great pasture might require less. I've heard that the Lowlines are comprised of Angus and require less space per head. So It might be good for you. I think if you attempted to run a full size cattle operation on ten acres the feed bill might put you out of business.


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## enjvdh

Murray Greys are really good for small acreage farms. They are smaller, hardy and have awesome temperaments. Good luck!


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## steerboy

Get black angus they are a bit more expensive but are worth it!!!


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## DoubleR

LymanCreekSalers said:


> I would recommend Salers. Cows have larger pelvic areas then most breeds makes it easier to calve. They calve easy and the calves get up and eat quick. when they were first getting established here in the USA they were known to have not very good dispositions, but that has really been breed out of them for the most part. You will get wild ones in any breed you just have to watch what you buy. Our Salers have Just as good if not better dispositions as a lot of the Angus cattle I have worked with. I would recommend Salers based cows for their calving ease and then use a Angus bull on them to get a nice cross.



I have been working with a young saler bull this year on the large ranch I work for. Just one of many different breed bulls they own.
Have one calf out of him this season. My only non AI calf. 
So far VERY impressed with it crossed on my black angus heifer. 68# BW. Matching all of our black angus calves and just as docile.


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## NDSTRUCTABLE

I am now preparing to invest in starting my own herd. Up until this point, I have just bottle babied steers. I currently have, apart from steers, 2 Hereford heifers and 2 brown Angus heifers. I need expert opinion, should I bring in more brown Angus or Herefords? Which will grow fastest?


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## DoubleR

Welcome to the forum!
It really depends on the market in your area and what your desire is.
Here black is king. Herefords get docked hard at sales around here. BWF (black white face) do well.
Do you know what sells well in your area?


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## NDSTRUCTABLE

I am in the central west Florida area (between Tampa and Ocala), and not sure. Anybody have an idea?


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## smokingsixgun

. 
Brent you should consider angus cows with a herford bull they have done well for me . I have manage 12 cows and a bull on my small 15 acres . It is cross fenced so that I can irrigate one area while the cows graze another and as you can see from the pics the cattle are healthy and I only have to feed hay in winter


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## smokingsixgun

The little black baldy calves are born around 65 to70lbs and grow off good they will sell about 10 cent a pound higher at the market and will wean at about 550 to 600 depending on the age you wean


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## NDSTRUCTABLE

How often do you switch pastures?
No feed ever?


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## smokingsixgun

I have very good Bermuda jiggs and water irrigate it and fertilize while they aren't grazing it . I rotate them about every three weeks depending on how well the grass has bounced back . I do feed a 10 % protein creep feed in a feeder that only the calves can get to and give some range cubes to the cows mostly only when I want so spray with fly spray . This plan has worked well for me to get the most out of a cow calf operation on small acrage. 


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## keeley1351

smokingsixgun : what state do you live in that you only rotate every three weeks and only feed hay in the winter? I WANNA MOVE SOMEWHERE LIKE THAT!


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## smokingsixgun

I'm in south east Texas if you have good enough pasture and fertilize it irrigate it and don't let the cows graze it shorter than 6 inches it will bounce back even in the heat of summer.


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## DoubleR

smokingsixgun said:


> I'm in south east Texas if you have good enough pasture and fertilize it irrigate it and don't let the cows graze it shorter than 6 inches it will bounce back even in the heat of summer.



Agree! We do that here in CA. Works really well.


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## Dion

You all are some fortunate people! Six gun those are some great looking cattle.


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## smokingsixgun

Thanks the cows were all pen of three show heifer that I bought from the youth fair sale I payed a little more for them at the time than what the market demanded but it was to help out the kids . At the time I didn't know the market was going to sky rocket . The calves off of them will sale for more than what I have in these excellent cows. They where the grand champion , reserve champion, and third place pens .


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## NDSTRUCTABLE

What do you recommend as far as hay goes? I have been using coastal and mixing in some alfalfa, but have gotten mixed advice from different sources. I know the alfalfa has highest protein value, but I am afraid if I give too much I will cuase bloat.


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## Dion

Bloat can be a concern. Although it is more of a concern if they are grazing alfalfa rather than feeding hay. A product called rumensin has been found to be useful. Coastal bermuda grass can be very effective, especially depending on the protein content. If I was concerned about bloat I would just decrease the alfalfa and go with more bermuda and not risk it. Bermuda is usually less expensive. One other thing I've considered and implemented is using feed that is processed less. i.e....larger feed particles. More texture, less pellets.


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## Dion

And yes Sixgun, I believe it. You will make money on those cows. Its an example of when good acts pay off. Good for you.


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## smokingsixgun

My hay is Bermuda grass that is grown next door to the pasture that the cows are in it does great for me but the climate hear is mild in winter .Even in the worst winters we rarely stay below 32â€¢ for more than a day or two . Mostly it stays in the mid to upper 40' s .


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## NDSTRUCTABLE

I am still a little lost on the differences in hay and want to make sure I am getting the best out if my feeding. Which is better, Coastal or Tifton 44? I have both available to me fresh and for the same price. What is the difference between the two?


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## smokingsixgun

It depends on how the hay was cared for . If it was fertilized properly spayed for weeds , cut at the proper time , not let lay to long after cutting yet not baled while still to moist . There are a lot of variables to consider . Coastal is good hay tifton is a high bred it is suppose to have more protein but that is if it is cared for properly good coastal will be better than poor quality tifton and vise versa . Know who you buy the hay from have some tested to see what it content is if good stay with that supplier if not seek other options


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## Dion

*hay*

Thats real good advice. Know the quality of hay you are getting.


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## rene

NDSTRUCTABLE said:


> I am now preparing to invest in starting my own herd. Up until this point, I have just bottle babied steers. I currently have, apart from steers, 2 Hereford heifers and 2 brown Angus heifers. I need expert opinion, should I bring in more brown Angus or Herefords? Which will grow fastest?


I live on the fla panhandle. Here in fla they loooove black baldies , black hides and charlois. U will get top dollar on any of these.


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## Dion

Ndstructable - my recommendation is to use a low birthweight polled black bull (that preferably possesses some Angus influence) on those heifers. Don't try to get fancy and spend lots of money. Just get your heifers bred to something black that you wont have to worry about pulling the calves from. Make some money.


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## trianglesranch

Salers would be a great breed for a beginner because they have outstanding maternal characteristics, their calves are very vigorous and don't fall to illness easily.


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## LymanCreekSalers

trianglesranch said:


> Salers would be a great breed for a beginner because they have outstanding maternal characteristics, their calves are very vigorous and don't fall to illness easily.


I agree Salers are a great breed. They are easy keepers and you cant beat their calving ease. Our last herd sire we used for 4 years on both heifers and cows and we never had to pull a single calf.


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## LymanCreekSalers

These are some of our Salers bulls. Hopefully I have the pictures attached right.


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## Dion

Good looking bulls. I like the first one. Thats the royalty bull isn't it? What are your usual birth weights?


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## LymanCreekSalers

Yes Royalty has been a great bull for us. His calves have an average birth weight of about 78 lbs. We have used him on heifers and cows for over 4 years and have not pulled a single calf. His daughters have been some great cows producing some of the best bull calves we have this year.


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## feedjake

Yes beautiful bulls! Nice birth weights to!


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## rene

Fine bulls


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## feedjake

I would recommend... don't break the bank on your first few pairs... get some cattle that are efficient grass eaters... and a proven track record of calving.. start small, and grown organically. So in order to accomplish those few things, would need to be in good communication with the rancher/farmer you are buying from. Start there. If you're new like me, you can focus on getting fancy breeds later. Also if you haven't already.. read Joel Salatin's book "Salad Bar Beef". his chapter in there about getting started is great, and really tells it like it is. Don't break the bank on some fancy, expensive breed when you are just starting out. 

That's all, my two cents.


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## kerr_ranch

Angus, hands down best breed. I'm running a herd of 22 and they're great!


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## gumcreek

Take some time to look at bigger operations in your area. There is a reason they are raising the type they are. Visit a few local sale barns and see what type of calf sales the best. Just starting out I wouldn't worry as much about the breed as much as getting good functional cows. Crossbred cows work well in a commercial herd because you take advantage of heterosis. Here in east texas I raise Brangus and braford cows bred back to angus, Hereford and limo bulls. Farther north you could get rid of the Brahman. Good productive cows with good feet, udders and capacity(guts) will be a good start.


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