Breeds of Beef Cattle
Cattle
are considered to have been one of the first animals domesticated
by man for agricultural purposes. They were tamed
to provide milk, meat and hides and for draft purposes. The
exact time and place this happened is hidden in the mists
of antiquity, but it is thought they were probably first
domesticated in Europe and Asia about 8500 years ago.
Domesticated cattle are in the family Bovidae which includes ruminates with paired, hollow, unbranched horns that do not shed and an even number of toes. They belong to the genus Bos and the subgenera Taurine which includes the two species tarus and indicus.
Cattle are ruminants (as are sheep, goats, deer, and giraffes), which gives them a unique digestive system that allows the digestion of otherwise unuseable foods by regurgitating and rechewing them as cud. They thrive on grasses and other low quality plants built predominantly of cellulose. Cattle have one stomach that has four compartments. They are named the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The rumen is the largest compartment and is like a fermentation tank, providing the anaerobic environment, constant temperature and pH, and constant mixing that allows microbes to break down the cellulolse. The reticulum, known as the "Honeycomb", is is the smallest compartment. The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients and is known as the "Many Plies." The abomasum is most like the human stomach; this is why it is known as the "True Stomach."
All breeds of British and European cattle like Angus, Hereford, Charolais and Simmental belong to the tarus species. The humped cattle of the tropical countries like Brahman and Africander belong to the indicus species. Many contemporary breeds are the result of crossing two or more of the older breeds. Most of the new breeds originating in the United States were developed in the Southern states where the standard breeds lacked resistance to heat and insects and did not thrive on the native grasses. Other Bovidae that are so closely related to true cattle that they can interbreed include the bison, buffalo, and yak.
Purebred cattle breeds have been selectively bred over a long period of time to possess a distinctive identity in color, size, conformation, and function and have the prepotency to pass these traits to their progeny.
The world cattle population is estimated to be about 1.3 billion head, with about 30 percent in Asia, 20 percent in South America, 15 percent in Africa, 14 percent in North and Central America, and 10 percent in Europe. The 10 states in the US with the largest cattle populations are Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky, and Florida.
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Woman Problems
by inyati13 (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:51:25 GMT)
Ok, here is the truth. Unknown to anyone, Red Bull Breeder and I set out a few months ago to see who could be the most eccentric character on CT. I think I am ahead. Don't you?
A few pics from today
by hillsdown (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:49:51 GMT)
Good looking group 3way !
I like your favorite gal too, she is put together very well !
cattle drive
by denvermartinfarms (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:46:14 GMT)
I won't ever laugh at a longhorn producer, I'm buying as many as I can right now, I'm putting Charolais,angus and Hereford bulls back on them, but I will do good on the cows.
Mount Evans in Colorado?
by inyati13 (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:36:15 GMT)
I have and that was a long time ago. 1980.
How did you get started
by presmudjo (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:35:26 GMT)
Going on 8 years now. We only do it for our own meat. First one was a bottle fed bull. Hubby's birthday gift from my ex (good guy, just wanted to go different ways in life) he knew I would bottle feed it, he didn't have time. Comments were he was the size of a big dog. So my son called him A1, the big dog. Didn't even have a fence. He was a calf on a rope with a pop up tent. So fences started and as he got bigger, ex said he couldn't be alone, so he brought baby girl to us. Well, they beget Jethro. A1 went to the freezer just before Jethro arrived. She prolapsed pretty bad about 4 months later, so she went to the freezer. Jethro couldn't be alone, so along comes Cocoa. Those two steers went to freezer. Got some calves again, Rudolph and Chugger. Pit Bulls from who knows where got Rudolph early one morning. One dog is no longer with the world. The other got away as the bullet casing stuck between hubbies bare toes and it was hard to shoot as he hopped. So being he needed a friend, ex had one he didn't have time to bottle feed and he also was a little lame as he had been stepped on, so he would never stay up with the heard. Now Chugger and Charlie we have, well until this fall and in the freezer they go. After the dry weather on these last two, unsure if we are going to do it again. Yeah, that's what he says, but I bet he will. It gets into your life and is rather enjoyable, except that somehow calves seem to draw pit bulls. Cocoa had his ears ripped apart by one as a small lad too. I thank these boards for a whole bunch on knowledge during these years.
Buddhists are maybe TV evangelicals
by john250 (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:32:56 GMT)
I can't find the thread where TB and myself discussed the similarities between Buddhists and Baptists. With a smile, of course. But here is a video indicating that Buddhists may be most closely related to Jimmy Swaggart.
Ommmmmmmmmm.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... e-jet.html
Weanling Black Simmental Bull
by 3waycross (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:29:54 GMT)
FlyingLSimmentals wrote:His birthday was 10/02/12 and pic was taken 5/20/13. I thought his mom and him really did well considering the drought, and the low quality hay we fed this last winter. His full sibling's have done well in the past, I hope he can follow suit.
What did he weigh at ? days?
Murray Grey bulls
by cmf1 (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:28:31 GMT)
Good to hear from you again "Jeanne".
Hope things start looking up for you.
I miss seeing pix of your stock on here.
Really, I hope things improve for you.
Lead Cow Behavior
by inyati13 (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:23:19 GMT)
fitz wrote:I agree that in a group the boss cow will often times try to take over one in heat. But here, when things are ready and the time right the old Bull takes over and everyone else needs to step aside as he's all business.
Looks like a Heeler I had. One of the best dogs I ever owned. They seem to be a one person dog.
fitz
fitz, he is always at my side. I truly love him. Yes, he is bonded to me only. No one else can control him. I can stop him in his tracks with a forceful command. There is no equal on earth than the devotion of a dog. Really. I don't know of anything that compares to it.
Interesting Dilema
by houstoncutter (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:16:06 GMT)
Yea, CB with no cows to eat it , I got grass out the wazoo . Hay should be cheap this year , cause few people here in Liberty county have any cows to eat it
7mm-08
by Jogeephus (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:59:42 GMT)
I have a .270WSM that is the same way. I thought it might add a little something in the power range but all this is thwarted by accuracy loss due to the kick. I really hate to admit that. Would love to blame it on the rifle but put it in a vice and the thing will drive tacs. I just can't shoot it worth a dam because I'm weak, soft and just all around unworthy of the round.
Another good thing about the 7-08 is the speed you can shuck another shell in it since its short. Its not often you go into semi-auto mode with a bold action but it does happen occasionally.
Lime Spreader HP
by dun (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:54:03 GMT)
The lime spreaders I'm familiar with around here have a sma;; gas engine one them to actaully spread the stuff. 35 hp for a tractor to pull it seems a bit light, I used a 50 hp long with no problems.
When do you become an "artifact"
by john250 (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:49:58 GMT)
I'm a little older than most, here at CT. Joni Mitchell was never my fave, but when did she become an "artifact". Man, we're just not cool anymore.
"Artifacts" are found in Egypt and Iraq.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon ... facts.html
Winner "Oh Shucks"
by Putangitangi (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:44:36 GMT)
Our fert spreader says he doesn't like them though, so I'd guess they're not great for heavy machinery. That particular crossing has never worked properly; I'm not sure if it's because of the tires or because of the way the water seeps down from the slope upstream. But they did enough good for enough years when we didn't have enough money to buy something better! Now it's just a case of prioritizing that job to get in and replace them with a proper culvert pipe. Too busy this summer with the new tractor fencing off a big wetland.
Horse nettle
by ga.prime (Posted Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:38:32 GMT)
shaz wrote:ga.prime wrote:Shaz, if you use Remedy or Surmount I suggest you use water with a minimum amount of surfactant and not diesel.
Why is that? I never use diesel anyway.
It's good that you don't use diesel. I didn't think you did but I said that because somebody said they were going to spray Remedy+diesel on horsenettles and subsequent readers of that post might have gotten the notion that diesel was a good thing to use instead of water. Two other reasons diesel should not be used (in addition to what dun said) are (1) Diesel kills grass. Neither Surmount nor Remedy + water + surfactant will kill grass if used at the recommended dosage. (2) Diesel costs a lot more than water.