Buy Baldy White Faced Calves

The Black Baldy is traditionally produced by crossing Hereford bulls with Aberdeen Angus cows. The reverse cross, of Angus bulls on Hereford heifers, may also be employed in an attempt to produce smaller calves and thus reduce dystocia during birth.^[3]: 256

The first-generation calves from this cross uniformly exhibit the three principal dominant traits of the parent breeds – the polled (hornless) characteristic and the black coat of the Angus, and the white face of the Hereford. If first-generation Black Baldies are then bred together, the resulting calves are highly variable.^[4]: 107 The skin is black, which in sunny climates can reduce the prevalence of sunburn on bare skin, such as the udder of the cow. Buy Baldy White Faced Calves

Baldy calves exhibit heterosis (hybrid vigour), and may be healthier and faster-growing than comparable purebred stock.^[3]: 256 Black Baldy cows may reach sexual maturity sooner and have increased fertility.^{[2]: 190 Buy Baldy White Faced Calves}

Disadvantages-Buy Baldy White Faced Calves

• Difficulty and expense of continuing a crossbreeding program if using Baldies for breeding.
• Occasional calving problems.
• Tendency to put on fat at the expense of muscle.
• Bland beef.

Advantages-Buy Baldy White Faced Calves

The advantages of hybrid vigor have long been acknowledged in the beef world. Compared to purebred or line-bred systems, the advantages include improvements in areas such as weaning weight, and cow longevity and fertility to name a few.

Oklahoma State University (OSU) researchers have been studying factors that affect cattle efficiency. They wanted to understand how the total calories the cow intakes influence her calf’s weaning weight. But beyond feed intake, they wanted to know that If they selected the second breed in a crossbreeding system based on its merits to reduce costs or improve an operation’s overall profitability would it make a difference?

While there is ample data existing on efficiency factors related to the feed or environment, OSU researchers came up with a research question for which there is not much data: “What is the influence of crossing a breed known for lower feed intake (the Hereford breed) with the popular angus breed?”

The study that resulted examined how crossbred cows could reduce annual cow maintenance costs. Researchers looked at maintenance energy requirements and voluntary feed intake. They wanted to know how well do black baldy cows retain body condition compared to Angus cows. At the same time, they looked at forage intake differences between the crossbreds and the straight angus cows. Buy Baldy White Faced Calves

Overall, results showed that the crossbred black baldy cows kept better body condition scores throughout the study. This finding could help producers increase stocking rates. Buy Baldy White Faced Calves