Besucher seit dem 01.01.2004:

Last update:

19.07.2008

The following text is reprinted with the friendly permission of Holstein UK.The original was published in the December 2006 issue of their holstein magazine “Holstein Journal”.

RED & WHITE HOLSTEINS

Participants:

Tony Hack, Santamaria Holsteins, UK

Andrew Bailey, Baileys Holsteins, UK

Richard Green, Greenlea Holsteins, USA

Christof Baldus, Baldus Polled Holsteins, Germany

Why Red & White?

Tony Hack: My first involvement with Red & White cows was when we purchased one in a sale in the late 1980’s.  She went on to produce a 100 tonnes of milk and bred three EX daughters. Her name was Harfat Bevel 144. One of her EX daughters was also a Red & White cow.

Andrew Bailey: A good Red & White always stands out in a crowd and we like to do things a little but differently. I worked with Dairy Shorthorns in Lancashire as a child, so that’s where my love of Reds comes from.

Richard Green: About 10 or 12 twelve years ago I saw a small ad in the Holstein World of a picture of a super udder on a red cow, Kross Farm Graffiti-Red. After seeing the cow and some negotiation, I was able to purchase her. I took her to Madison (Expo) the next year where she stood second and I was hooked on Reds and Expo. She was first the following year. This also resulted in several lasting friendships.

Christof Baldus: We traditionally have a Red & White herd with a few Red Carriers. About eight years ago we started to add the polled gene. So today we are able to offer very special and unique genetics. More details can be found on my homepage at www.holsteinzuechter.de/html/baldus.html

Are there any differences in behaviour/production/health between Red & Whites and Black & Whites?

Tony Hack: I feel that Red & White cows do seem to have a greater will to fight for themselves. However, as far as production and health is concerned, they are very much the same as Black & Whites.

Andrew Bailey: Components seem to be better on our Red & Whites, they certainly produce more fat!

Richard Green: I see no differences.

Christof Baldus: I don’t see a difference in behaviour and with good management and the right genetics, production of the Red & Whites is the same as Black & Whites. I would say our Red ones are a little bit healthier and have better fertility because of better heath resistance in the summer. Our cows are outside most time of the day from May to October.

Which is your favourite Red & White female family?

Tony Hack: I probably have two or three favourites. My first one is Molli and I have four females from this family. One is EX-2E six-year-old that is the daughter of the famous Morwick Range Molli Red 2.  Another favourite is the Mitzy going back to Hunday Star Mitzy.

Andrew Bailey: Molli! We had the cow (Morwick Range Molli Red 2 EX95-4E) and her pedigree was just so consistent with six generations of EX then Molli’s dam, the VG87 Blackstar Molli who was lost fresh after her third calf and would have gone EX. Molli also produced a lot of milk with good fat and protein. The Renita Ranger cow is my second favourite, followed by Richard Green’s Caramac.

Richard Green: TheBlackrose cow has been the one with several great sons.

Christof Baldus: In our herd it’s definitely the Mony/Moncherie family. Internationally it’s hard to name only one. I like the Helen’s from Ja-Bob, the Roxie’s at Arron-Doon and Golden-Oaks, the Brilliant/Brilliance family from West Port, the Savina’s from Burket-Falls, theT family from Hickorymea and in Germany the Natalie’s plus many more.

Is there a Black & White family you would like to introduce Red into?

Tony Hack: Yes I would be tempted to use a Red & White bull on my Dellia family. The other family is the Spottie family that goes back to Sunnylodge Prelude Spottie.

Andrew Bailey: The one for me is the Rhapsody family, with 12 generations of straight EX. We put Riverdane Lystel Rapture in calf to Rampage to get a Red Carrier and she’s due this month. Richard Atkin (Yatehouse) bought her at our sale.

Richard Green: Most, if not all, the great Black & White families are being converted to reds and/or Red Carriers. Why? Reds are financially more rewarding at this time.

Christof Baldus: Yes, we are actually doing this with the Comestar Laurie Sheik family. We have pregnancies out of a descendant of this family by top German bull Rubens-Red and the polled bull Perplex-Red P due this winter. The Braedale Gypsy Grand family would be interesting too.

Which sire has been the most influential in your herd?

Tony Hack: Ladino Park Talent has been one of the most influential bulls in my herd. We now have six Red & White heifers from this bull, which are coming up to 15 months old. Fradon Inferno is another bull we are currently using on the herd

Andrew Bailey: Despite the short period, I’d have to say Roesbett Lakeside. He sired the EX93 Baileys RL Matrix and two 86 point two-year-olds here. I also think that Storm as a Red Carrier did a good job for me. As for the future, the first Rampage, Redwood and Avanti calves suggest they are ones to watch.

Richard Green: Rubens, then Red Marker or cross them.

Christof Baldus: Definitely Needle-Lane Juryman-Red (Paclamar Majuro x Triple Threat), who saw heavy use in our herd several years ago. Today every homebred animal has Juryman-Red blood in it. He was a specialist for very deep ripped cows with lots of milk.

Would you use a Black & White sire on a Red if you thought it was the correct mating?

Tony Hack: I probably would, but very reluctantly.

Andrew Bailey: We’ve used plenty of *RC bulls: Storm,Red Marker, Rubens, Talent, Kite and September Storm. The only disappointment was the number of Black & White calves. I’m reluctant to use Black & White bulls that aren’t Red Carriers.

Richard Green: Yes,Durham, Skychief, and other fine sires are often used.

Christof Baldus: We do this sometimes (but it’s very limited) if the bull offers something very special we are looking for, like that hard to find combination of high type and high protein percentage. For this reason we used Goldwyn semen this year. Previously, we have used bulls like Tonic, Charles and Bonatus.

Has the increase in Red Carrier sires made any difference to your breeding policy?

Tony Hack: Yes, it has made my choice of bulls far more difficult. I tend to find that a lot of the Red & White bulls go back to the same families.

Andrew Bailey: Yes! I used many of them because of the higher quality and the lack of good proven Red & White sires. We’re now seeing a generation of sons from Red Carrier daughters that look very exciting, like Rampage and Redwood to name two. I was at Madison and there is a big improvement now in the junior two-year-olds compared to six or seven years ago.

Richard Green: Yes, I often use Red Carriers over Black & Whites for the opportunity to get a red calf. To find out more about my herd, visit my website at www.holsteinworld.com/Greenlea/

Christof Baldus: No. Like Black & Whites, Red Carrier sires see only limited use in our herd. They have to offer something very special, too. Red sires are definitive preferred. We used in the past *RC bulls like Talent, Rubens and the young homebred polled bulls Felix-P, David-PP (homozygous polled) and Josef-P.

Are the AI companies in your country testing enough Red & Whites?

Tony Hack: The tendencies of Red & White bulls coming on to the market aren’t as much as I would like. There is a market out there to exploit.

Andrew Bailey: No! That’s why I’m setting up my own company, Red Hot Genetics, to market semen and embryos from the best Red & White families. We’ll be bringing in semen from top US young sires, including the first Advent son and a Red from the Dellia family amongst others. We’re also looking at UK-bred bulls plus our own pair of Baileys RL Matrix and Baileys Red Rock.

Richard Green: I do not know how many Red & White bulls are tested. I believe that the bull studs get comfortable with a few breeders and they do not go out to find others.

Christof Baldus: In Germany we are in the happy situation that we have a large Red Holstein population with many young Red bulls tested every year. I hope this will remain the same in the future! The number of polled Red young bulls should be higher.

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