Culard Charolais - Double muscled

[Baling Hay]

Just had Genus in, as it happens, and subject to the usual barrage of tests etc, there may be another NewPole on the roster - a half brother to Easy! They were gutted as they walked through out bulls as we have an equal number of coloured as well as white bulls when they saw three very dark bulls they would have put a reserve on. However, we IBR vaccinate everything except any white bull we think may go for AI, so they can't take them! Even though we use a marker vaccine...

@billthebass - Blues have never been easier calving than thry are now and I am afraid your contention that there are still the numbers of sections there used to be some fifteen-twenty years ago is rubbish. In fact, you'll find more evidence that there are more current issues with hard Charolais calvings! In the end, as store cattle get ever tighter, you will find that heavy boned stores will not be looked on as favourably as lighter boned, well-fleshed ones - who wants to pay for an item they can't use?. Plus, the market for dairy beefers is now approaching 60%, with the lions share of that market being Blue crosses. With pure commercial sucklers herds on the decline, even if you don't go for a Blue bull, at some point you'll find Blue dairy crosses appearing in your herd for sure. As said elsewhere on this thread, you don't eat the air between the top of the leg and the ground!

However, if a Charolais is your preference because you like the breed, then don't hold back - each breed has the its plus points and you have to like what you are going to end up working with, imo and so much depends on your type of farm, handling systems, age etc for there to be a one size fits all solution. I've seen some cracking Charolais cows I wouldn't mind having here and to condemn a whole breed because of a few you've seen you don't like would be crass.

You mention how you can't use bone etc. which is true but what really matters is carcass gain per day and feed efficiency. Charolais comes out on top for this.

 

[chipsngravy]

What I would say IMO is the charolais animal is different market to your limousin and blue butcher type animal getting killed at 575/600kg. Charolais grow the biggest so killing it at that weight so young would be a waste of its growth potential. Keep em longer and take up to big weights and make more money. Yes weight will pay in the end.

 

[Bill the Bass]

Just had Genus in, as it happens, and subject to the usual barrage of tests etc, there may be another NewPole on the roster - a half brother to Easy! They were gutted as they walked through out bulls as we have an equal number of coloured as well as white bulls when they saw three very dark bulls they would have put a reserve on. However, we IBR vaccinate everything except any white bull we think may go for AI, so they can't take them! Even though we use a marker vaccine...

@billthebass - Blues have never been easier calving than thry are now and I am afraid your contention that there are still the numbers of sections there used to be some fifteen-twenty years ago is rubbish. In fact, you'll find more evidence that there are more current issues with hard Charolais calvings! In the end, as store cattle get ever tighter, you will find that heavy boned stores will not be looked on as favourably as lighter boned, well-fleshed ones - who wants to pay for an item they can't use?. Plus, the market for dairy beefers is now approaching 60%, with the lions share of that market being Blue crosses. With pure commercial sucklers herds on the decline, even if you don't go for a Blue bull, at some point you'll find Blue dairy crosses appearing in your herd for sure. As said elsewhere on this thread, you don't eat the air between the top of the leg and the ground!

However, if a Charolais is your preference because you like the breed, then don't hold back - each breed has the its plus points and you have to like what you are going to end up working with, imo and so much depends on your type of farm, handling systems, age etc for there to be a one size fits all solution. I've seen some cracking Charolais cows I wouldn't mind having here and to condemn a whole breed because of a few you've seen you don't like would be crass.

I never once said that C-sections were as prevelant in BB's as they were 15 years ago, to be honest I dont care, I simply said there are commercial herds in our neck of the woods stopping using Blues because of the hastle they cause at calving amongst other reasons, its not rubbish its fact. At no point have I condemned Blues or the breed, I have simply repeated my experience of them and that of people I know.

I am sure your Blues are just the ticket, if you are in to that kind of thing.

 

[Riddle]

Someone once told me that there is more variation within a breed then between breeds, (Use the wrong bull in any breed and your going to have c sections) we use many Charolais but have a few blue calves a year. The charolais works well for us as we sell all our calves liveweight as stores at weaning and your not going to bet a Charolais for growth. We have also used some culard Charolais (on sim x BF cows) and had no problems. All the bulls we use are chosen for ease of calving and we've never had a C-Section, so think its more to do with bull choice then the breed themselves.