Brahman cattle for CynthiaM

CynthiaM, this, as far as I know is fairly close to accurate and what I understand about the breed. We did not have them, but have worked with them on a number of occasions. They are highly intelligent and handle more like horses. Many people do no like them but we do. We had a small herd of Santa Gertrudis along with our Black Angus. They are a stabilised breed whose origin was Brahman and Shorthorn. These were very cool cattle too and crossed very nicely with the Angus.

Anyways, here is the info you wanted about the Brahman cattle.

Brahman cattle have very thick skin and lots of it. Their short, thick hair coat and skin texture prevents penetration by many insects and blood sucking pests. In addition, Brahmans and Brahman crosses have a well developed subcutaneous muscle layer which enables them to dislodge many insects by shaking their skin. They also secrete sebum, an oily substance, from their skin, which is effective in repelling insects. Another interesting thing is they have the ability to sweat freely and it allows them to withstand high temperatures better than most breeds.

There you go, hope that satisfies your curiosity.

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My parents had Dorpers - and I had no idea the leather was a commodity!

I am not a fan of lamb meat, and don't particularly enjoy the personality of sheep, so it wasn't really my thing.

Some of them, though, had *some* wool - but they would shed it off, and you could pull it off in big clumps quite easily. Weird.

I enjoy lamb, actually I prefer hogget. Dorper are a nice eating sheep. I had heard about them having a good hide for leather. Nice to have a secondary use, they don't have wool for shearing.

Texel is my favourite for the table. Something about the flavour is different and to my palate, lovely.

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Well, with all this talk, I had thought steaks for supper, but I think it will be lamb chops now!!   Love them grilled on the Barby.

coopslave....I really agree with you on Brahma's. We raised them on the island. Bred them with some pure brahman semen,

The cows weren't purebreds, but we upgraded them to 7/8th's. But when we vaccinated they had the toughest skin!

Ended up with a few bent needles. Also had one Santa Gertrudis cow and calf, but they had no personality? The Brahman's

were my babies. You can spot a brahman cross so easy in an auction ring or pasture, also tell by their mooing, much different.

I just "love" the ears. I used to play with

the calves ears, bucking stock they never would have been.   They were just big babies. I really miss them.

If I could ever do it again, they would be what I would have for cattle. Love those ears and big jowly necks.

Probably won't happen in this lifetime though. I gotta win a lottery, lol

I have eaten Boer goat, prefer it over Dorper lamb!

We had Brahmas and Santa Gertrudis. Those Santa Gertrudis were some of the meanest cows we ever had! Run you down as soon as look at you.

The personality of the Brahma is quite pleasant.

CynthiaM, they have big floppy ears that hang down and a hump on the shoulder, sort of camel like. Look very much like the holy cows that populate India. Those poor, starved animals might indeed be Brahmas, or a close cousin.

Coopslave, I find it interesting that a Brahma can sweat since sweat glands/ducts are not common in cattle. Will have to look into this.

Have heard that due to their extra massive skeletal frame, in slaughterhouses, Brahma bulls are difficult to kill since the captive bolt gun often does not render them unconscious. This leads to unacceptable slaughter practices for those with a heavily boned head.

Oh Coopslave, you are a doll. I love it when people pay special attention to me     , thank you for taking that tme to tell me of the animal, I do appreciate it. And oh so many other things I have learned too this morning from our friends that are putting in their few cents to make an interesting topic. Now I want to have steeers and a cow. Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.