Everything you want to know about Black Herefords!
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Black Herefords Most Asked Questions Answered Here
for Breeders, Buyers and the Curious!
What is a Black Hereford?
A Black Hereford is a breed up breed, not a composite breed. By that we mean; instead of staying in a perpetual cross between a Hereford and an Angus, the idea behind the Black Hereford is to breed them up to 87.5% or greater Hereford blood to create a pure-bred Black Hereford.
What can a Black Hereford do for me?
If you have an Angus based herd and use a high percentage Black Hereford bull, you will get the advantages of the heterosis, which will add pounds to your calves! It will also increase your feed efficiency, fertility and docility, all while making a highly marketable product. It will eliminate the 10% red baldy calves in comparision to what you would get if you used a Hereford Bull.
What is a Purebred Black Hereford and what is a Percentage Black Hereford?
A purebred is 87.5% or higher. As an example, a Registered Black Hereford Dam that is 75% or greater and a Registered Hereford Bull, which would be 100% would give you a Purebred animal. 75% + 100 = 175 divided by 2 = 87.5% Purebred. A Percentage animal is 62.5%- 87.4%. If you have a 50% F1 Female and you bred her to a 75% Black Hereford Bull, then you have a 62.5% percentage calf. If you have a 50% F1 Female and you bred her to a 90% Black Hereford Bull, then you have a 70% percentage calf.
Why are some of your registered Black Herefords Red?
A registered Black Hereford Female that comes out with a red hide, is a product of a mating of animals that are eligible in our registry, is called a HX. If the red hided animal is a bull calf, it is NOT eligible to register. You can use the HX females for breeding.
How do you get a Black Hereford?
There are many ways to make a Black Hereford.
Step 1: Use a Registered Angus Bull to a Registered Hereford Dam or a Registered Angus Dam to a Registered Hereford bull. That animal is a F1 Cross, more commonly known as a Baldy, which it’s lineage can be traced in the Association but this animal is NOT a registered animal. A F1 animal is a vehicle to get to a registered animal.
Step 2: Then you can take that F1 female and breed it back to a Registered Hereford Bull or a 75% or greater Black Hereford Bull. The offspring from that pairing can then be registered. Animals must be 62.5% or greater to be registered in the ABHA.
You can also breed:
1. Registered Black Hereford Female to a Registered Black Hereford Bull of any percentage, that is an approved herd sire.
2. Registered Hereford Female and a Black Hereford Bull, that is an approved herd sire.
3. Registered Black Hereford Female and a Registered Hereford Bull. *Red Hereford Bulls must be nominated into the ABHA and be a walking herd sire in the AHA with EPD’s to qualify.
Can you make a Registered Black Hereford by mating a Black Hereford Female to a Registered Angus Bull?
The answer is NO.
Can I use an F1 Bull to create a Black Hereford?
The answer is NO.
Can I enter a F1 Bull in the BH registry?
No. The scientific reason for not using a F1 Bull in the mating of Purebred animals is because the F1 Bull has used up all the heterosis. He has nothing to offer the breeds he was built from (Angus and Hereford)
Is a F1 a Black Hereford?
No. A F1 is a cross between a Hereford and an Angus or also referred to as a Baldy. We use these F1's to create our Registered Percentage Black Herefords.
Why do Black Hereford Breeders have (Red) Herefords and Angus?
Some Breeders use Red Hereford Bulls & Females and Black Angus Bulls to diversify the genetics to make our herds better. We also use them to make our own line of Black Herefords. We pair up what we think are the best combinations during breeding season to create great Black Herefords!
Do I have to do the genetic testing certified herd sire/approved herd sire to register it?
No. You only have to have the bull tested if you so desire as a marketing tool, or if that bull will be used as a sire of calves you would like to register. It is the responsibility of the owner (at the time of breeding) to make sure the bull is a Certified Herd Sire BEFORE breeding him to your females. If you are gong to be buying a Registered Black Hereford Bull to use for breeding, it is important to ask the seller about the Approved Herd Sire Test.
More on what a Black Hereford can do for you!
-Black Hereford cattle give producers the advantages of both the Hereford and the Angus that are valued in today's Marketplace.
-Produce offspring with both direct and maternal heterosis, which will increase your production at no additional cost.
- You can improve your calving rate in the heifers you retain in your herd as replacements.
- Eliminate red baldies. The black hair colors is the preferred color for many value-based marketing programs.
- Certified Herd Sire rule that eliminates lethal genetic defects from the Angus & Hereford breeds.
- Produces offspring with a docile temperament.
- Increase Meat Quality
- Produce Offspring with Un-Equaled Feedlot Feeder Demand
- Feed Efficiency
Do I need to take weaning weights and yearling weights and other data points to register my animals?
No, However if you would like to be taken seriously in the seed stock business, the more data you have on your animals, the higher the prices they will command from the registered and commercial buyers alike! Plus, if you want a registry that has good EPD’s, you have to contribute to those EPD’s. EPD’s are created because of data that is submitted, and that is part of why it is so important to collect as much data on your animals as possible.
Do I have to register an animal in order to put them in the digital beef system?
No. You can enter them as an NX animal and register them at a later date, at the time of your choosing.
What can a Black Hereford female do for a commercial cattleman?
Increase fertility and docility, give you more live calves over the lifetime of the female.
Why should I use a Registered Black Hereford bull on my commercial herd?
The primary purpose of any commercial operation is to put pounds on the ground. There is no better way to do that than cross your angus-based herd with a Black Hereford. You will get the same heterosis out of a Black Hereford Bull without suffering with the 10% Red Baldy calves. It will bring more fertility and docility to your herd as well! What if you have a red based commercial herd? You will have to use a Homozygous Black Hereford Bull, unless you want both black baldy and red baldy calves, then you can use a Hetro Black Hereford Bull.
Things to consider with low birthweight Black Hereford Bulls.
We believe that a low birthweight bull has a place with a group of young heifers, but we also believe it can be detrimental to the calving ease of your cow herd by shrinking their pelvic opening. We believe in using larger birthweight bulls on our cows so that we can pass along calving ease and larger pelvic openings, as well as other traits related to growth.
What is the difference between Homozygous and Hetrozygous?
Homo means that all the Black Hereford Bull’s offspring bred to a red or black based cattle herd, will come out black white faced. This only works on red or black based herds. A Hetro bull carries a red gene so on red cattle you have a chance of having red white faced calves.
How do I know the accuracy of an EPD?
It is the small number under the EPD. Anything under a .6 is basically a guess. 60 means 60% accuracy. The lineage of the animal and the data that has been collected from those animals is how you get the accuracy percentage. Again that is why it is important for everyone to report all data on these animals!.
How do you know what the average Black Hereford EPD is?
We do NOT know. For whatever reason this has not been published on the American Black Hereford Association Page as it once was.
info@mobha.org