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Why the Boran

We have witnessed over many years how over feeding, over management, greed and shows (a desire just to breed pretty animals) has led to the downfall of many cattle breeds. There is disillusionment of the commercial breeder in our stud animals and a desperate search began for breeds that will meet the challenges of world in the 21st Century.

Consumers are scared of hormones and growth stimulants. Commercial farmers are desperate to lower their input costs and the price of feed has became unaffordable for annual use.

To the rescue we believe has come the Boran breed:

“A true gift from God to cattlemen!”

Having been improved under the natural conditions of Africa, the Boran offers breeders exactly what they are looking for today.

The society has vowed never to allow the Boran to be shipwrecked like so many other breeds by breeders with short term interests of greed but that they will protect at all cost the wonderful attributes of the Boran Breed we received as a gift. They will further improve the Boran traits but never change the gifts they were given.

The genetic composition of the Boran is unique, making it your best choice for cross breeding:

  • European Bos Taurus - 24%

  • BosIndicus - 64%

  • African Bos Taurus - 12%

So, why choose the Boran?
The Boran is the mothering cow of Africa

  • Boran cows have very good udders with well-formed teats.

  • They produce enough milk to wean calves that weigh more than 50% of dams weight at weaning.

  • Their good mothering instinct provides a deterrent against predators.

  • Borans have an excellent survival rate of calves.

  • Cows produce small calves at birth, male calves average 28kg and female calves average 25kg. Calving problems hardly exist.

Resistance to ticks and diseases

  • The Boran thrives and reproduces in areas where foot-and-mouth disease, Rift Valley Fever and other diseases make it impossible to farm with other breeds.

  • Less cattle are lost to red water, heart water and other diseases, less immunisations are required for ticks, and less calves require abortions from disease. All leaving you with money in the pocket.

  • A loose but very motile skin with a very short covering of hair and a high secretion of an oily substance makes the Boran a less desirable host for ticks and flies.

  •  Thick eye banks with very long eyelashes and a long tail with a big well-formed twitch all protect this indigenousness breed against insects.

Longevity

  • With Boran cows calving comfortably to 15 years and beyond, this will save a lot of money because fewer unproductive, replacement heifers of 1 to 3 years will need to be kept at added expense on the farm.

  • Boran bulls are also lighter than other breeds which enables them to serve lighter heifers and produce smaller calves. Big bulls are less impressive if they can’t produce calves with the range of cow sizes that lighter Borans can!

  • It isn’t uncommon to have Boran cows still sound mouthed, healthy and fertile at 18 years old, and it has been documented that a 23-year old bull had a 64% pregnancy rate with a herd of 60 cows!

 

Fertility

  • It is acknowledged that the greatest attribute of the Boran is its fertility.

  • Even under harsh conditions the Boran cow will continue to breed and rear calves and do this without punishing herself.

  • One explanation for this high fertility is that the cow has relatively low body weight loss over the suckling period, thereby maintaining a good condition, thus able to conceive again.

  • Boran’s mature early with heifers reaching puberty at an average age of 385 days.

 

Herd instinct and temperament

  • The very strong herd instinct of the Boran makes it easy to manage in bush country.

  • It is almost impossible to steal a single animal out of a herd or lose an animal to predators

  • Locating and counting the cattle is easier, less labour is required, and day to day farming is simpler

  • Boran cattle are recognized as being generally, quiet, docile and easy to handle. This trait has developed over many generations of cattle living close to man.

Good conversion of roughage to quality beef

  • The unique tremendous rumen capacity of the Boran as can be seen in its exceptional depth of body, which allows the breed to be successfully fattened off the veldt with no energy supplement

  • The Boran is also a good browser and under difficult circumstances it has the ability to stay in a good condition

  • Being a good grazer and browser allows the Boran to make use of all vegetation at its disposal

  • Trials in Nebraska, U.S.A, show that the Boran and its crosses score consistently better than other Zebu Breeds for meat tenderness, carcass marbling and rib eye area.

 

Resilience

  • Its short shiny summer coat and its excellent heat tolerance allow it to outperform other breeds in hot humid climates

  • It also however has the unique ability to withstand extremely cold and wet conditions as during winter it is protected by an excessively thick loose skin and a covering of very dense oily hair that is shed with the commencement of summer

  • The Boran can take in large amounts of low-grade roughage and have a rumen ability to better digest this low grade feed, they can take you much further in times of stress before licks or feed become necessary.

  • In times of shortage, the Boran is able to pull back on production and reproduction in order to survive, and later return to the standard rate when conditions are fairer

  • Being bred largely through the help of survival of the fittest, Boran are able to withstand periodic shortages of water and feed, and walk long distances in search of it.

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