Aubrac...any in the UK?

[Tim W]

Main udder issue we found they had was there was bugger all milk in it

We had 120 W Blacks at one stage & they were damn good efficient small cows, graze anything and thrive on it
Only udder problems i saw were large teats which i thought were a throw back to the old dairy type of W Blacks?

If i went back into sucklers they would be high up on the list

 

[MJT]

We had 120 W Blacks at one stage & they were damn good efficient small cows, graze anything and thrive on it
Only udder problems i saw were large teats which i thought were a throw back to the old dairy type of W Blacks?

If i went back into sucklers they would be high up on the list

Against dairy x Herefords they looked good but Didn’t get close to competing with 550-600kg beef bred Angus and Hereford x cows running alongside them. Cows looked well but Calves were always in bottom couple of pens at store sale . Once the grass was gone and they had to be outwintered on average silage and barley straw they stopped milking and looked after themselves .

 

[Agrivator]

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These wouldn't have topped the sale at St Boswells last Thursday.

Go on. What breed are they supposed too be? Doesn’t look something too get excited about?

I cheated a bit. They were stolen from a photo of Aubracs in the US of A. But to be fair, photos of Limousins in the US of A can be equally unrepresentative of the breed.

 

[Zoofarmer]

I cheated a bit. They were stolen from a photo of Aubracs in the US of A. But to be fair, photos of Limousins in the US of A can be equally unrepresentative of the breed.

One of my bulls!
No temperament issues here. Lovely cattle, have them over twenty years now. Great cattle.

 

[ImLost]

View attachment 916767

One of my bulls!
No temperament issues here. Lovely cattle, have them over twenty years now. Great cattle.

Any pictures of new calves?

 

[Zoofarmer]

Any pictures of new calves?

MO

 

[Woolless]

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What sort of system are you running them on?

 

[ImLost]

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How do you find calving ease?

 

[shearerlad]

Alistair Smart at Alford in Aberdeenshire imported some incalf heifers a few years ago. Not sure what happened to them as there is no cattle at the Sheil now

 

[Tim W]

The man who said they were wild also said they had good points!
Great tasting ---best he had ever had apparently
Easy calving
Good mums & good growth

They certainly looked the part

 

[JP1]

https://www.facebook.com/100008775427114/posts/2443426119293212

 

[Woolless]

https://www.facebook.com/100008775427114/posts/2443426119293212

That link is coming up as broken.

 

[Rob Garrett]

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Nice looking cattle, thank you for posting the pics. [emoji106]

 

[Woolless]

Nice looking cattle, thank you for posting the pics. [emoji106]

The bulls are fantastic, exactly what a bull should look like

 

[John Chance]

Thought long and hard about them, but it seemed like they were designed for hot and dry, not cool and wet.

 

[Ribble]

Has this breed made any progress in the UK since 2013? Watching a very interesting US you tube video the other night where Johann Zietsman (visiting grass-fed cattle expert) gave the breed a big shout. Maybe of interest for inclusion in a crossbred suckler?

That's also what sparked my interest in looking at this breed. A big compliment from him.

Looking at an aubrac bull that has the darkening skin like @Zoofarmer s bull seems useful to help identifying a good one. Wouldn't get that hint with a solid colour.

 

[John Chance]

My impression is that they are suited to drier ground.

 

[farmer JD]

Do they milk as good as a Simmental

 

[Woolless]

Resurrecting this thread!

On a long car journey today I listened to the latest episode of 'Working Cows' podcast. The cattleman being interviewed on it was talking about breeding composite cattle. His latest genetic addition the the herd had been to use an Aubrac bull and this had been a great success: better body condition, fertility and carcase traits.

So, any expansion of the breed in the UK in the last four years?