Are Simmental cattle easy calving?
Richard Brown explained: “Simmental bulls are robust, easy calving, and have a great temperament. They also have good legs and feet and can walk to the fields and graze with cows. These are attributes highly desirable by many dairy farmers.”
Are Simmental cattle gentle?
Those red and white animals were highly sought because of their “rapid growth development; outstanding production of milk, butter and cheese; and for their use as draught (draft) animals.” They were known for their gentle nature, impressive stature and excellent dairy qualities.
What is the most efficient breed of cattle?
Productive efficiency The Afrikaner has the lowest and the Shorthorn the highest efficiencies. Efficiency was furthermore independent of breed mature size. The Shorthorn, Angus and Simmentaler were the most efficient breeds, while the Afrikaner was the least efficient breed.
What is unique about Simmental cattle?
Simmental can be horned or polled, if horned horns are up turned, another distinguishing feature is that they have a heavy dewlap. They have a large frame with good muscling with cows at approximately 135-150cm tall and the bulls at 150-160cm.
What is the easiest calving beef breed?
Table 3
| Breed of sire | Calving difficulty | Birth weight |
|---|---|---|
| Hereford and Angus | 2.9 percent | 78.7 pounds |
| Jersey | 2.9 percent | 68.6 pounds |
| Red Poll | 3.7 percent | 78.7 pounds |
| Tarentaise | 6.0 percent | 82.7 pounds |
What is a good calving ease EPD?
If the bulls used on first-calf heifers have averaged a +6 for the CED EPD for several years and you have yet to pull a calf, then a +6 CED bull is a safe option.
What do Simmental cattle eat?
After weaning, cattle are fed hay, silage, grain and food processing by-products such as cottonseed meal, citrus pulp, tomato pulp, potato peels, sugar beet pulp, almond hulls, cereal by-products, soy hulls, or canola seed hulls. Most cattle feed is produced on non-irrigated land.
How do you identify Simmental cattle?
Recognize general Simmental coloration. Most Simmental cattle have a white face with a brownish-red body. Other Simmental cattle will be lighter in color, while some will be all black, and others mostly brown or mostly red. Some that are otherwise all black or all red will have a white face.
What is the most docile beef cattle breed?
The more docile beef breeds are Blonde d’Aquitaine, Beefmaster, British White, Devon, Galloway, Gelbvieh, Hereford, Lincoln Red, Maine Anjou, Murray Grey, Pinzgauer, Red Poll, Simmental, and South Devon. You provide the land, water and shelter (which can be minimal) and the cattle work (graze and grow) on their own.
What cattle are easy to raise?
Beef cattle are generally the most profitable and easiest livestock to raise for profit. Beef cattle simply require good pasture, supplemental hay during the winter, fresh water, vaccinations and plenty of room to roam. You can buy calves from dairy farms inexpensively to start raising beef cattle.
What Colour are Simmental cattle?
Color varies from gold to red with white, and may be evenly distributed or clearly defined in patches on a white background. The head is white and often a white band appears over the shoulders.
Is Saler easy calving?
Salers cattle offer: Easy calving with quick to suckle calves. Milky females producing fast growing calves. Readily crossed to a ‘terminal sire’ breed.
Where did the Simmental breed of cattle come from?
The Simmental cattle are a very old breed of cattle, and their history dates back to the Middle ages. They are a versatile breed of cattle originating in the valley of the Simme River, in the Bernese Oberland of western Switzerland.
Why are Simmental cattle good for crossbreeding?
In crossbreeding, the Simmental has proved very successful. It provides good growth, a large frame and thus a better beef yield to its crossbred progeny. It improves the quality of the meat with white fat and excellent marbling. It improves the milk yield, resulting in strong development of the calves in suckler herds.
Can a Simmental cow be a good milker?
Cows are excellent mothers and have very long production cycles. Cows and bulls reach sexual maturity early, in contrast to other Continental breeds that may take longer to develop. Though their milking abilities have not been selected for, the Simmental continues to be an above average milker.
What’s the average weight of a Simmental cow?
Average height of the bulls is about 150-160 cm, and 135-150 cm for the cows. The bulls on average weight around 1300 kg, and average body weight of the cows is around 700-900 kg. Photo and info from Wikipedia. The Simmental cattle are versatile animals.