Use : Santa Gertrudis are beef Bos taurus design to thrive in hot , arid climates around the globe .
History : The name of the Santa Gertrudis breed of red-faced beef cattle is from “ Rincon de Santa Gertrudis ” , the title of the original 15,500 - Akka land concession purchase by Captain Richard King from the heir of Juan Mendiola of Camargo for the elevated join of $ 300 . Thus in 1858 , the King Ranch was born . As the years passed , extra land was added until at its extent , the cattle farm encompassed 1.2 million Akko , making it one of the large ranches in recorded history . The first cattle that roamed the vast Kingdom were aboriginal Longhorns . They were full adapted to the coarse South Texas climate but they yielded a poor carcase . So , in the early class the ranch make for in British breeds like the Hereford and Beef Shorthorn to improve their stock but it was n’t until 1918 , when high - percentage zebu bulls came to the vast ranch to be bred to its Shorthorn cows , that material improvements take place . In 1920 , a red sura was bear . Part Brahmin ( zebu ) and part Shorthorn , he was the best sura carry at the ranch to date . During his 12 eld on dry land , he sired more than 150 bruiser and became the foundation of the Santa Gertrudis stock . In 1940 the United States Department of Agriculture recognize 3/8 brahman and 5/8 Shorthorn Santa Gertrudis as a typical beef strain . The Santa Gertrudis Breeders International was form in 195 . Since then , 11,500 Santa Gertrudis have been registered in the United States alone .
Conformation : Santa Gertrudis are cerise - red with red - pigment cutis . They have cryptic , muscular , unattackable - bone body and great , semi - cernuous ears . Cows weigh in the neighborhood of 1,400 to 1,600 British pound sterling and the medium cop , 2,000 pounds or better . Some have short hooter and some are naturally polled .
Special Considerations / Notes : Santa Gertrudis are exceptionally ripe foragers developed to fly high on the thin native grasses of the South Texas brush country . Cows breed young and bring on well into their stripling . They are very fertile and have exceptional mothering instincts . Calves are small at birth ( so calve problem are rare ) but due to their mothers ’ heavy Milk River production gather up to three pounds of exercising weight per day . Santa Gertrudis are noted for their even temperaments , hardiness , and disease resistance . Thanks to their zebu heritage , they have more lather glands than most strain of cattle , thus they dissipate oestrus in red-hot mood . They are , however , extremely adaptable , with herd kept as far to the south as Argentina and as far north as Upper Canada .
