The Big Black Bull Co. produces commercial bulls off grass, no grain, no silage,  no assistance – no extra costs.  Our hybrid bulls are mostly black with a very low percentage of red bulls.  Bulls are sold privately.
Bookings are essential.

If you are looking for the easy-care alternative Contact Us,  you will be pleasantly surprised at how affordable your next bull could be.

A brief history

Cattle and my family’s ancestors arrived in Australia on the 26th January, 1788.  Since that time cattle have spread to every state.  Our family have mainly moved around the semi arid zones of New South  Wales and Queensland and their cattle, mostly Herefords and Shorthorns, moved with them.  Over time we have adapted our cattle to fit our environment and our markets.  We have descendants of our forebears’ cattle in our herd to this day.

In more recent times we have added genetics from around the world to develop our hybrid herd, with a single focus: – DO IT ON GRASS!

Adaptor heifers at 18 months old, PTIC.  To calf at 24 months.  Feminine, long & sleek coated.  [Click images to enlarge.]

Why hybrid cattle?

It is often stated that there is more variation within a breed of cattle than there is between different breeds of cattle.  If you believe this bull you are away with the pixies, and probably should buy a herd of Scottish Highland cattle and a hobby farm in the sub Sahara.

Many years ago we tried traditional crossbreeding with various breeds;  terminal sires etc.  as recommended by Government agencies; DPI etc.  However we found we had differing and smaller lines (lots) of cattle to market and less replacement heifers to select from, to take our herd forward.

In the early 1990’s we started developing an open, self replacing composite herd, with a strong maternal focus.

The U.S. Meat Animal Research Center has shown that composite beef cattle provide a very efficient alternative to more complex systems of cross breeding while retaining high levels of hybrid vigour.

By utilizing composite breeding, production can be increased by 25%.  “Composite breeding is simple and predictable”.

Cattle efficiency

The most meaningful way of measuring the efficiency of beef production is not in terms of the size of the cow, size of the calf or size of the slaughter steer, it  is in terms of kilograms of calf per kilograms of cow.  “Mature cow size needs to be optimized.”

The Big Black Bull Co. breeds Bos Taurus hybrid cattle that give explosive results when crossed with Bos Indicus cattle and increased production and adaptability when used with British cattle in arid  or tropical climatic zones.

To develop our hybrid or composite cattle as they are often called, has taken time and research.  We have used British breeds, European (Continental) breeds and Sanga (African) breeds.  We believe out composites are unique.

Cattle Breeds

  Download list of the Bos Taurus cattle breeds that we believe have a lot to offer beef producers in the Rangelands of the World.

At the Big Black Bull Co we like our heifers’ calves to ‘hit the ground and bounce’.  If we see a heifer starting to calve we like to go past in fifteen minutes or so and see the calf up and sucking vigorously.  This minimises predation and enhances calf survival.

There is not one cow retained in our herd that has had a calf delivered – period!

[Photo: 5 month old composite bull calf.  Note hooded eyes & sleek sanga coat type.]

Contact:
Michael Allen
Ph: (02) 6724 1707     Fax: (02) 6724 21747
Mob: 0429 231 529    Int: +61 2 6724 1707
Email: bigblackbull@bigpond.com