SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION — The Cattleman — June 2013
almost totally heat tolerant. Quar- ter-blood cattle will be a little less tolerant of heat, and 1/8 Brahman cattle will likewise be even less heat tolerant, but still will not suf- fer greatly even on the hottest days of the year. So there is no need to look for
signs of heat stress in Brahman cattle as there will be none to see. Very honestly, the very best thing a producer can do to help his cattle through a hot summer is to infuse Brahman breeding into his herd.
Robbie Hamilton, H&M Cattle Co., Wharton I run a herd of registered Polled
Hereford cattle in Wharton. Here the summer is very hot and humid. I breed these cows to Brahman bulls to produce Golden Certifi ed F-1 Bra- ford replacement heifers. The Hereford cattle head to the
pecan trees by midday and don’t come out until late afternoon. The F-1 heifers will lie out in the
middle of the pasture in the sun and seem to enjoy it. Very seldom do they go to the shade. On the Gulf Coast, it really helps to have Brah- man infl uence in your cow herd.
Bob Hudgins, J.D. Hudgins Inc., Hungerford In all my years with Brahman
cattle, I have never seen a Brahman cow or bull showing heat stress at anytime, even in mid-summer when temperatures are 100-plus degrees with high humidity. Never have I seen a Brahman in water looking for relief. I think a half-blood Brahman
cow would react the same. As you reduce the amount of Brahman blood, you would more likely see some form of stress.
I have seen Brahman calves, in
the mid-summer heat, that are a week or 2 old, show signs of stress by “panting.” But soon after that, I guess that their “radiator” kicks in and you see no future problems. The answer to your question as
to how to deal with the problem of heat stress would be to increase the percentage of Brahman blood in your cow herd. In commercial herds, I would recommend having no less than one-quarter Brahman blood in the cow herd, but would personally prefer no less than one- half Brahman blood in the herd.
Rachel Williams, V8 Ranch, Wharton I asked this question of my
granddad, Sloan Williams. His re- sponse was that in his 70-plus years working cattle he has never seen a Brahman have heat stress.
tscra.org
June 2013 The Cattleman 75
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