Red Brangus

Red Brangus

A bull
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 145  DAD-IS (2022): unknown/at risk[2]
Country of origin	United States of America
Distribution	Panama, Peru, USA, Vietnam[3]
Standard	American Red Brangus Association
Use	beef
Traits
Coat	red
Horn status	polled
Cattle Hybrid Bos (primigenius) taurus/indicus

The Red Brangus is an American breed of hybrid beef cattle, with both taurine and indicine genetic heritage. Development began in Texas in the 1940s.^[4]: 752 It is a colour variant of the Brangus, a hybrid of American Angus and Brahman cattle, and differs from it only in colour. There are two herd-books, one international and one American. For international registration the animal must be of 5/8 Angus and 3/8 Brahman descent; in the United States, it may be any mix of the two breeds, but registration is conditional on inspection.^[5]: 138

History

The American Brahman breed of indicine cattle was established in 1924.^[5]: 137 In the early 1930s, development of the Brangus taurine-indicine hybrid breed through cross-breeding between American Angus and Brahman stock began in Louisiana.^[5]: 138 The idea was to create a hybrid combining some of the meat qualities and polledness of the Angus with some of the resistance to heat and disease of the Brahman.^[5]: 138

In the 1940s a Texas rancher named Matthew Levi, who had a grey Brahman bull and a herd of black Angus cows, found that matings yielded both black and red calves. He preferred the red hybrids, and bred from them.^[4]: 752 The Red Brangus was recognised as a breed in 1956.^[5]: 138

There are two herd-books, one international and one American. For the international association the animal must be of 5/8 Angus and 3/8 Brahman descent; for the other, it may be any mix of the two breeds, but registration is conditional on inspection.^[5]: 138

In 2000–2001 the total population in the USA numbered 2647, down from 5205 in 1990.^[6]: 40

Characteristics

The Red Brangus is polled, red-coated and of medium size.^{[4]: 752 [5]: 138}

References

1. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
2. Breed data sheet: Red Brangus / United States of America (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed May 2022.
3. Transboundary breed summary: Cattle: Red Brangus. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed May 2022.
4. Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. ISBN 9789054390176.
5. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
6. Harvey D. Blackburn, Terry Stewart, Don Bixby, Paul Siegal, Eric Bradford (2003). United States of America: Country Report for FAO's State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. Agricultural Research Service, USDA; National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation; National Animal Germplasm Program. Annex to: Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 10 January 2017.