South Devons

[welshy]

Anyone using a charolais bull on them? Was wondering what sort of calf they'd have and if they would be a good quiet cow to keep

 

[Uggman]

Anyone using a charolais bull on them? Was wondering what sort of calf they'd have and if they would be a good quiet cow to keep

There be grand cavles should do quiet well and finish off grass forage I would think but I would have thought a sim xsouth Devon or saler x south Devon might make a better cow

 

[Cowslip]

Anyone using a charolais bull on them? Was wondering what sort of calf they'd have and if they would be a good quiet cow to keep

Wissington charolais also have a south devon herd i have never seen them so can't comment but we cross south devons with saler and limousin and they are quite.

 

[JP1]

Wissington charolais also have a south devon herd i have never seen them so can't comment but we cross south devons with saler and limousin and they are quite.

When I was there last year they were running a Limousin bull over their SD cows and the Charolais were retained pedigree

 

[Cowslip]

I have never been there, I did see them at suffolk show but they only show their charolais.

 

[egbert]

Anyone using a charolais bull on them? Was wondering what sort of calf they'd have and if they would be a good quiet cow to keep

outstanding suckled calves, but personally I'd keep pure for replacements.
(by crikey you'll have big cows keeping that cross)

 

[Poorbuthappy]

I'm not sure the op meant to keep the cross? Just what were SD cows like?

 

[BrianV]

Anyone using a charolais bull on them? Was wondering what sort of calf they'd have and if they would be a good quiet cow to keep

Think it depends how you plan to winter them, we have some pure SD & they don't take to cubicles very easily, big & gangly they struggle, we cross them with a lim & keep the first or second crosses as cows which put back to a lim produce very saleable stock whether as stores or fat.

 

[BrianV]

Calves growing well, Lim cross & Angus on heifers, always strip graze as cows are like horses & never stop eating, round bale roughage available if they get hungry, strip grazing saves so much grass & makes checking calves much easier

 

[Woolless]

Anyone using a charolais bull on them? Was wondering what sort of calf they'd have and if they would be a good quiet cow to keep

I would think that the suckled calves would be belters to sell. But keeping Char X cows out of anything would be just about the last thing I'd do. Out of an SD they will be massive!

 

[egbert]

I'm not sure the op meant to keep the cross? Just what we're SD cows like?

yup, looking again, I think you're right.

OK, SD cows are about the easiest things in the world to live with.
They don't have to be enormous great things. Lots around here grazing peat through the summer, sensibly sized cows.

 

[Cowslip]

@welshy Some photos of our homebred south devon crosses.

South devon cow with limousin sired calf

South devon x limousin cow with limousin sired calf

South devon x lim cow left, south devon heifer right

south devon x lim cow

saler x south devon heifer with her saler sired calf

 

[Guiggs]

Several very respected South Devon heards here, cracking beasts, fair sized cows that do the job very well on their own, I think adding a char to the mix would take a good cow and take away from her...
Seen some simm calves out of SD cows and if I was going to cross anything that would be my choice, cracking looking animals.

 

[egbert]

Several very respected South Devon heards here, cracking beasts, fair sized cows that do the job very well on their own, I think adding a char to the mix would take a good cow and take away from her...
Seen some simm calves out of SD cows and if I was going to cross anything that would be my choice, cracking looking animals.

I used a sim bull once, unable to find a char I liked.
Found there wasn't enough of a jump in calf price - they were a lot like the SDs pure calves, only with white on the head.

The bull decided the future course of action by dropping dead.

 

[welshy]

I was thinking of keeping the cows pure and just putting the Charollais on to be some good matching calves

 

[egbert]

I was thinking of keeping the cows pure and just putting the Charollais on to be some good matching calves

Not a bad plan.
Mind, in the Westcountry, pure calves sell like hot cakes anyway, and there isn't a big difference.