(The following was originally written for my old and now-gone Bovine Practicum. While this was intended for cattle, the bulleted questions to ask yourself apply to those considering raising sheep and/or goats. Remember the breeds mentioned that may require more TLC versus others that are “easier” to raise and more hardy, such as when comparing Dorper versus Katahdin sheep or Kashmere versus Kiko goats.)
Back when I used to peruse a few online cattle forums, this very question was always asked by every newbie cattle keeper to the veteran cattle folks. And the answer that was always given to every single novice was, “It depends.” However, there was always an opportunity for more than one cattleman on those forums to push their favourite breed, especially if they were raising a particular breed for seed stock sales. A Hereford breeder would play favouritism to the Hereford breed over Angus Simmental or even Brahman and give out their little bit of “propaganda” to anyone who will listen. (Cattleman’s joke.)
Did you know that there are over 900 different cattle breeds in the world? Every single breed was created to serve more than one purpose, more than one context, for a particular environment and climate, meat and/or milk production qualities, body size, aesthetics (primarily coat colour and horns), foraging capabilities, attitude, reproductive capabilities, and so on. Many breeds should show you that what works for one person or operation doesn’t necessarily work for someone else–or you. It should also go to show you that there, quite honestly, is no such thing as a single “best breed.”
A few breeds have become more popular than others for their ability to quickly adapt or meet certain industry “needs” for a high-producing animal. Look at the dairy industry, for example. The Holstein (or Holstein-Freisian) breed is the single most popular breed in the world primarily because it has been developed to be the highest-milk-producing breed of any dairy breed in the world and because it helps keep up with the demand for milk. Jerseys come at a distant second, mainly because of their high butterfat milk content which is great for making butter, some cheeses, ice cream, yogurt, and other dairy products that need the butterfat from the milk.
In the end, to choose what is the best breed for you, it’s absolutely imperative to look at your entire context in a holistic manner. Here’s a little checklist of some of the more common questions to ask yourself when deciding on what breed[s] to focus on for your first cows:
- What breed is most common in my area? What breeds are being raised and advertised for sale within a 100-mile (160 km) radius?
- Do I want a breed that is naturally polled (hornless) or one with horns?
- How much am I willing to spend? Am I willing to spend more on a rare heritage breed or less on a breed that is very common to the area and regularly seen on sale day at the local livestock auction mart?
- Do I want to go pure breed, or could I be just as comfortable with a commercial composite-breed cow (far more common with beef cattle than dairy cattle)?
- What kind of climate do I live in? What are my summers and winters like as far as temperature and humidity?
- Do I want this breed for beef production, milk production, or both (dual purpose)?
- What temperament do I want to work with? High-strung, flighty and nervous, or very calm and easy-going?
- Do I want a breed that is notorious for having to be pulling calves, or one where the cows have little to no trouble calving on their own?
- Do I wish to have a breed that has very good mothering instincts or one where I must intervene between the newborn calf and mother cow to get things going as far as the cow-calf relationship is concerned?
- How comfortable am I around large breeds versus small breeds of cattle? Knowing that all cattle are certainly bigger than even the biggest dog breed, I should know that a big cow is one that weighs between 1,400 to over 2,000 pounds (635 to 907 kg) and stands at least 6 feet (2 metres) at the shoulder. Am I comfortable with those sizes of cows, or do I prefer ones much smaller, standing no more than 4 feet (1.5 metres) at the shoulder and topping out at only 1000 pounds (450 kg)?
- Would I prefer a breed that is quite “grass-based” or able to thrive on primarily rough pasture with preferably no grain to supplement or one where I don’t mind balancing rations and feeding grain to my cows regularly as needed?
- Would I prefer a breed that is quite hardy and doesn’t need much in the way of shelter and protection from predators (low maintenance or easy-keeping) or one that needs a bit more care and works on my part to remain productive (high maintenance or hard-keeping)?
- Do I care much about having cattle with showy horns and/or unique coat colour patterns? Do the aesthetics of one or more choice breeds fit within my context or even matter?
- (For those living in northern/cold climates:) Would I like to have cattle that are really good for very cold winters and tough winter conditions? (Such as Galloway and Scottish Highland)
- (For those living in southern/warm climates:) Would I like to have cattle that are well-suited for hot, humid conditions and are resistant to insect pests? (Such as Zebu breeds such as Brahman, Nellore, Nguni, Afrikaner, and Guzerat)
- (For those interested in dairy breeds): How much milk do I need for myself and for my family? Will the breed of choice meet this demand, plus more for her calf?
- Would I like a breed that produces an average amount of butterfat in the milk or one that gives milk that is very rich in butterfat content?
- (For those interested in beef breeds): How much meat will I and my family go through in a year? Will a steer of this breed be able to supply this amount of meat when it is ready to go to slaughter?
- How quick of growth to maturity (also called “rate of maturity”) am I wanting from this breed? Am I comfortable with slow growth, or would I prefer a breed that grows quickly?
- How much intramuscular fat would I like? While I understand part of this has to do with what and how the animal is fed, I understand that certain breeds produce fatter or leaner carcasses than others, even if they’re on the same feed ration. What do I prefer?
Answering these questions should really help narrow down your search for the best breed you can have for your operation. The key thing will be that you really need to do your research and ask even more questions than what I am able to help you out with here.
I realize that this list of questions seems very daunting to the absolute beginner who has no prior experience with cattle of various breeds. So, how about I lighten the load a bit by providing some more tidbits of advice to help you make your decision from my own experiences?
Those cool-looking, best-producing, sexy breeds are not as they appear!
I want to save you all from making the mistake of purchasing some animals just because they look nice, or look cool to have. Often the modest-looking animals are the best ones to start with, not the ones that have the best muscularity or the prettiest coat colour. A big reason is cost, not just for the animals themselves, but also for the amount of care that has to go into keeping these critters.
Another outstanding reason is temperament, perhaps the most important of all. I really do not want any novice cowkeeper to be saddled with some animals that are so damn flighty and crazy that they threaten life and limb every time said newbie has to get in the corral or barn with them.
A few notable breeds notorious for their craziness and flightiness are Charolais, Limousins, and Salers. The first two certainly have the “good looks” about them with the muscularity, but don’t let that fool you. I’ve known, personally, too, that most cattle of these two breeds aren’t easy to deal with and can be exceedingly intimidating for the novice to work with. In my own experiences, I’ve found that Limousin is much more challenging to work with than Charolais.
You’ll get breeders of these breeds to tell you that their cows aren’t a problem temperament-wise. But do you want to know a little secret? It’s because those producers have been very diligent in selecting those cows and bulls to have a good temperament and culling those animals that do not. My advice: DO NOT end up with those culls!
Even so, I helped a local veterinarian do some bull breeding soundness exams on some Limousin bulls, and to this day, I’ve never worked with anything crazier than them. And I’ve never heard the head-gate slam louder when they hit the bars with their shoulders at full speed, nor had to stand back as long to wait for those crazy buggers to calm themselves down. Holy hell, I tell you!
What about those breeds that aren’t nearly as crazy but still have that really nice muscling and big, beefy bodies about them? Like Simmentals, Gelbvieh, Maine Anjou, Piedmontese, Belgian Blue, Chianina, or most of those other “Continental” (primarily European except those from the British Isles)?
Okay, sure their temperaments are pretty good, for the most part, but for the newbie that’s looking for a smaller animal, they don’t make the cut. Most of these cattle have mature weights of just their females alone upwards of 1500 pounds (680 kg) or more and stand over 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 2 metres) at the shoulder. For the novice who already gets plenty nervous enough around animals that are obviously and just can’t help but be bigger than a dog, owning some pretty big girls doesn’t help that much, even if they’re the calmest, sociable, petting-zoo-perfect cows on the planet.
The other significant factor running against these big girls is the cost of feeding them. The bigger the cow, the more she’ll eat. Also, most of these breeds that I mentioned tend to be not so hardy and “easy keeping” or “good on grass alone” as one would want them to be. Most of these are going to be needing a daily helping of grain to keep them from losing condition; or, some better quality pasture than scrub brush and weeds. Simmentals do tend to be a bit on the end of being higher maintenance. And that can have a hefty–pun intended–impact on your wallet.
Speaking of high maintenance, what about dairy cows? Well, let me tell you something: The Holstein breed is undoubtedly one of the most high-maintenance breeds on Earth. To keep a Holstein cow happy and healthy, you really need to be careful about what you feed her and make sure that she really is getting what she needs to produce enough milk and keep her body in good function. (Jerseys can be just as bad.) That means regular graining, silage, high-quality hay, the works. If you don’t feed her right, she will “go downhill,” as they say (farmers speak). She will get even thinner than she already is, really reduce milk production, not breed back, and just look not all that well. Unless you’re willing to put the time, money, and energy into keeping a Holstein as a family milk cow, I recommend avoiding this breed when starting out.
If you’re going to get into having a family milk cow and want to be as “grass-based” as possible, then find a dairy farm that is as grass-based as you want to emulate on your operation, and purchase a cow or two from them. Don’t buy from a farm that practices dry-lotting, conventional-style feeding operations where they readily feed their cows a high-quality ration (including grain) and expect one or two animals you purchased from them to suddenly do as well on your farm without such necessary tender love and care. It’s a mistake I’ve seen a few times by some small-farmer folk, and it’s a mistake I do not want you to make yourselves.
Finally, there’s the rarity and uniqueness factor. I have nothing against raising heritage breeds or owning certain breeds that are rare or threatened and are needing some special care to bring them back from near-extinction, but for the beginner, I don’t recommend starting with those types of breed[s] UNLESS it fits perfectly within your context to do so, and you have someone lined up with whom you have made an agreement to purchase some animals from. Be aware, though, that purchasing these animals at the start will not be cheap. It won’t be like purchasing cull cows or a few commercial calves from the auction mart. The next steps will be planning out a way to breed them, and then sell offspring to other interested parties aside from setting aside those for beef.
Ultimately, it’s about the size, temperament, and ease of keeping. It’s also important to do as much research as you can–without getting that sense of paralysis by analysis–so that you know what you’re getting yourself into, and so that you are armed with the information you need to have before getting your first bovine.