BRAHMAN CATTLE

The brahman cattle are amazing.  I was fortunate enough to acquire brahman bulls from a stud owner.  The fathers are all stud registered.  

 
   White brahman bulls...Super hungry...Was left overnight for viewing the next day.

 
   Good stretch!

  
  My favorite bull.  Slighly more than 2 years old.  Weaned very well.

I love the breed.  The thing I love the most is that it makes a very good crossbreed.  They good looking, hardy and perform well with the Simmentaler ( to yield Simbra) and with the Santa Gertrudis.  Only disadvantage is that they take quiet long to reach puberty, about 2 to 3 years.  But once they have reached puberty, they can breed for the next 15 years, bearing a calf each year.  That's a bonus!  The brahman cattle adapt easily to different conditions. They both browsers and grazers with good fertility and mothering skills. They not too heavy on the scale for the 'dollar man' though. Which is why I prefer crossbreeds.  

Below are my crossbreeds at my ranch.

 Thriving brahman tolly and cows.  

    

   More crossbreeds.  Pregnant heifer. 

  

  Pregnant brahman heifer.

 Brahman crossed with Santa Gertrudis.  Beautiful and huge.


Videos below shows how the brahman performs, both in Namibia and in other areas. 







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SANTA GERTRUDIS BREED

The Gertrudis is an obvious breed of exceptional quality.  My love for this breed started when my late grandfather had purchased a bull from a breeder near Grootfontein about ten year ago.  We kept the bull for roughly seven years and sold it.  As of now, the blood line is still very much preserved in the herd together with other breeds such as the Simmental and Braunvieh.  My grandpa's bull was tall, huge and very muscular in frame. He was very very calm and went into the 'mangaa'  easily.

What is Santa Gertrudis?

The Santa Gertrudis is a beef breed of cattle developed in Southern Texas on the King Ranch.  The breed resulted from mating the Brahman bull with the Beef Shorthorn cows.  Now what in the world is a Beef Shorthorn?  This is a breed from England and Scotland developed in the 1820s.  The development was primarily for diary and beef production. The Gertrudis is 3/8 Brahaman and 5/8 Shorthorn. 

The breed is cherry red in color with a short, smooth, silk coat.  The ears are medium to large.  One of the major characteristics of the Gertrudis is its hooded eyes.  This results in the resistance to cancer and pink eye sickness. My favorite key characteristic is the lines on the neck and navel.   Really cute!

Why farm with the Santa Gertrudis?  

• A very good mascular medium sized frame.  The mature bulls can weigh up to 900 kg and 500 kg for females. The more the KGs the more the dollars, the happier the farmer. 
• These animals are very hardy and adapt very well to various climatic conditions.  They easily adapt to extreme cold climate and very hot conditions in Southern Africa.
• These cattle have a lifespan of 13 to 15 years, conceiving yearly.  WOW!!  
• The are excellent mommies with good milk production and good udders. The calves have a larger birth weight compared to other breeds.  This results to increased weight at weaning. 
• Very fertile with few rates of abortions or still births. 
• Perform very well in the veld and under feedlot conditions.
• Have very dominant genes.  Can crossbreed with 'simple' cattle and produce a good line of calves. 

I absolutely love this line of cattle.  They are just true beauties.

For more information about the breed in Namibia visit http://www.santagertrudis.com.na/

The above pictures were taken from http://www.santagertrudis.com.za/

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