Red Brangus

The breed took shape in Texas in the 1940s, and the founding story is specific: a Texas rancher ran a gray Brahman bull on black Angus cows, saw the matings throw both black and red calves, and selected the red ones. The American Red Brangus Association names him as Malcolm Levi and dates the work to 1946, at the Paleface Ranch; some references give his first name as Matthew. The association was chartered in 1956.

A polled, red-coated animal of medium size. The composition is the Brangus formula, but the two books define it differently: international registration requires five-eighths Angus and three-eighths Brahman, while US registration permits any mix of the two breeds, subject to inspection.

The reasoning behind the color is the same as it is for Red Angus, and it compounds here. A red hide reflects more solar radiation than a black one, and these are cattle bred specifically for hot country, so the two choices point the same direction.

Docile is the American Red Brangus Association's word, and it says the cattle handle easily on foot, on horseback or from a vehicle. Its breed standard asks for bulls and cows alike to be mild, tractable and easily managed, counts a tendency to nervousness against an animal, and disqualifies one that is extremely wild or nervous, a trait the standard calls highly heritable.

That is a standard, not a guarantee. University of Missouri Extension says cattle with Bos indicus breeding are often more excitable during handling than Bos taurus cattle, and the association credits its cows with the Brahman's maternal instincts. Cornell's general guidance on beef cattle safety holds here too: a cow with a newborn calf can be very aggressive, so avoid walking between her and the calf, and no bull can be trusted.

They carry the Brahman-cross package: heat tolerance, insect resistance, long-lived cows, and enough British influence to raise a calf that finishes. The job is commercial beef in country where summer is the limiting factor.

The association says the breed has adapted everywhere from the cold Northwest to the arid Southwest and the humid Southeast, and that breeders tune it to the climate: more Brahman for arid and tropical country, more Angus for colder regions. Ask a seller where on that scale an animal sits.

The rest of the list is the association's own: a solid red coat that reflects the sun, eye pigmentation it says virtually eliminates pinkeye and cancer eye, pigmented udders that do not sunburn, and calves of 70 to 75 lb at birth for easy calving.

The trade is market depth. Red Brangus is a smaller population than Brangus, which is already smaller than Angus, so both breeding stock and buyers take more finding. The US registered population fell from 5,205 animals in 1990 to 2,647 by 2000 to 2001, which is the honest scale of the pool you are shopping in.

Because US registration allows a range of Brahman-to-Angus mixes subject to inspection, ask for the animal's actual composition and how it was recorded, not just the breed name on the papers.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.