Purebred Cattle Pages - Santa Gertrudis

Santa Gertrudis Beef Cattle

About 1910 the King Ranch of Kingville, Texas, one of the largest ranches in the United States, became interested in the possibilities of using Brahman cattle to improve the performance of the range cattle in their area. Tom O'Connor, who obtained some Bos indicus cattle from the Pierce Ranch in Pierce, Texas, gave a half blood Shorthorn-Brahman bull to the King Ranch. He was mated with a group of purebred Shorthorn females. All male calves from this cross but one, a red bull called Chemmera, were castrated and the heifers were turned out with Shorthorn bulls. In the fall of 1918 about sixty descendants of the O'Connor bull and his son were placed in a high quality pasture and their performance was such that the Kings Ranch became interested in crossbreeding Shorthorns and Brahmans.

Since no purebred Brahmans were available, the King Ranch secured fifty-two of the best three-year-old bulls that they could obtain from the Pierce herd. These bulls were three-fourths and seven-eighths Brahman. The bulls were divided among eight different herds with a total of approximately 2,500 Shorthorn cows. Two bulls were specifically selected and pasture mated to fifty cows each. These bulls were referred to as the "Chiltipin" bull and the "Vinotero" bull. One of the females in the Vinotero bull's group was a milk cow with one-sixteenth Brahman blood that she carried as a descendant of the O'Connor bull through his son Chemmera. The result of this mating was a bull called Monkey, who became the foundation sire of the Santa Gertrudis. All present day Santa Gertrudis descend from Monkey.

The name of the Santa Gertrudis breed is from Rincon de Santa Gertrudis, the name of the original land grant purchased by Captain Richard King from the heirs of Juan Mendiola. This land grant is where the first headquarters of the King Ranch was established.

In 1940, the United States Department of Agriculture recognized the Santa Gertrudis as a purebred.

Modern Santa Gertrudis cattle are approximately five-eighths Shorthorn and three-eighths Brahman. A deep cherry-red color has been established in the breed. The breed shows a relatively high degree of both heat and tick resistance. Their characteristics include ease of calving, good mothering ability and abundant milk supply. They also show very little evidence of a hump and have improved beef quality over most purebred Brahmans. Steers can be turned off at any age depending on environment and conditions, and are noted for their weight for age and ability to achieve high weight gains both on pasture and in feedlots.

There were 283 herds recorded in Volume I of the Herd Book. The King Ranch herd was designated as the Santa Gertrudis Foundation Herd. Other herds that had attained the purebred status by continuous grading up were designated as Foundation Herds. An official classifier of the Association inspects Santa Gertrudis and classifies the females as either certified or accredited and certified for bulls, for those animals meeting the classification requirements. Animals that do not meet the minimum requirements are rejected.

You can see an excellent Santa Gertrudis Beef Cattle program at Five Oaks Ranch, Valley Mills, Texas

Shorthorn

Home

Farm Supply Stores

◦	Animal Feed
◦	Animal Health
◦	Beef Cattle Supplies
◦	Beekeeping
◦	Chains
◦	Dairy Cattle Supplies
◦	Fencing
◦	Hog
◦	Horse
◦	Poultry
◦	Sheep and Goat
◦	Other Farm Supplies

Farm Tractor Implements

◦	History
◦	Bale Spears
◦	Blades and Box Blades
◦	Cultivators
◦	Disc Harrows
◦	Hay Rakes
◦	Hitches
◦	Manuals and Books
◦	Manure Spreaders
◦	Mowers
◦	Parts
◦	Planters
◦	Plows
◦	Post Hole Diggers
◦	Seeders and Spreaders
◦	Snow Blowers
◦	Sprayers
◦	Tillers
◦	Other Farm Tractor Implements

Bull Selection and Management

◦	How To See and Select A Fertile Bull
◦	Bull Breeding Soundness Exam
◦	Young Bulls Care Management
◦	Bulls After Breeding Season
◦	Bull To Cow Ratio
◦	Bulls Nutritional Needs
◦	Scrotal Circumference
◦	More Bull Selection and Management
◦	Bull Management 101
◦	Bulls Age At Puberty
◦	Scrotum and Testicles
◦	Bull Carcass Selection
◦	Bull Selection For Temperament
◦	Bull Selection Is Foundation For Profitable Herd
◦	Bull Talk
◦	Bull Test What Is It
◦	Error Proof Bull Selection
◦	Genetics and Reproduction
◦	Heifer Bulls

Beef Cattle Breeds & Breeders

◦	Angus
◦	No Name Cattle Bells, TX
◦	Stone - Bells, Texas
◦	Blonde
◦	British White Cattle
◦	Murray Grey
◦	American Murray Grey Association
◦	Murray Grey International
◦	Beaver Creek
◦	Parthenais
◦	Santa Gertrudis
◦	Shorthorn

Beef Cattle Heifers Management

◦	Heifers Buy Raise
◦	Heifers How Many Keep
◦	Heifer Development
◦	Heifers Growing
◦	Heifers Breeding Weight
◦	Heifers Heat Sync
◦	Heifers Preg Check
◦	Heifers Breed Back

Beef Cattle Marketing

◦	Goals Setting In Beef Cattle Marketing
◦	Herd Reputation In Beef Cattle Marketing
◦	Herd Visibility In Beef Cattle Marketing
◦	Beef Cattle Marketing Sales Plan
◦	Building A Network Of Potential Buyers
◦	Consignment Sales
◦	Consignment Sales Possible Downsides
◦	Advertising and Beef Cattle Marketing
◦	More Beef Cattle Marketing Ideas

Beef Cattle Reproductive Management

Big Farm Store

Cattle Associations

Cattle Services

Country Living And Beef Cattle

◦	Beef Cattle Alliance
◦	Beef Cattle And The Label
◦	Beef Cattle Basics
◦	Beef Cattle Body Condition Score
◦	Beef Cattle Bull Selection and Management
◦	Beef Cattle Business Techniques
◦	Beef Cattle Sales Which Is Best
◦	Cattle Breeds In Brief
◦	Consumer Trends and Beef Cattle
◦	Cooperative Extension and Beef Cattle
◦	Corn Versus Hay For Beef Cattle
◦	Corrals and Beef Cattle
◦	Country Fresh Green Lawn
◦	Crossbreeding Beef Cattle
◦	Deciding To Raise Your Own Beef Cattle
◦	Energy Decrease In Winter and Beef Cattle
◦	Feedlots and Beef Cattle
◦	Forward Pricing Beef Cattle
◦	Fresh Milk
◦	Good Qualities Learned From Beef Cattle Farming
◦	Grass Feeding Beef Cattle
◦	Hay Versus Ground Feed
◦	Introduction To Small Beef Cattle Ranching
◦	Keeping Cows Cool
◦	Keys To Successful Ranching
◦	Mad Cow
◦	Marketing Beef Cattle
◦	Modern Milking Machines
◦	National Animal Identification
◦	Nutrition Basics For Beef Cattle
◦	Nutrition Crucial To Success
◦	Pasture Basics
◦	Pasture Blends
◦	Raising Chickens
◦	Ranching And Internet Use
◦	Record Keeping Basics For Beef Cattle
◦	Reproduction Basics For Beef Cattle
◦	Resources For Beef Cattle
◦	Salt And Beef Cattle
◦	Specialized Grazing Systems For Beef Cattle
◦	Starting Small
◦	Stress And Beef Cattle
◦	The Beef Cattle Chain
◦	The Facts About Corn
◦	USDA Conservation Programs
◦	Water For Beef Cattle
◦	Women And Farming
◦	Wild Days Of Ranching

Health

Terminology