Instructions
Keep your breeding herd healthy, making sure they are at a normal weight, vaccinated, wormed and regularly checked by a veterinarian. Black Angus heifers optimally breed at 900 to 1,000 pounds. Cull any sick or underweight heifers prior to breeding season.
Choose large, wide heifers for your breeding herd. According to the National Angus Association, Black Angus cows are known for calving easily and having ̶0;excellent maternal instincts.̶1; Heifers with large pelvises will support easier pregnancies.
Select a mature bull with sound breeding characteristics that has been shown to produce good, well-rounded calves. In the Black Angus breed, bulls sexually mature at around two years of age and physically mature around four years of age, showing a burly, masculine head, a cresty neck, heavy muscling, and well-balanced scrotum and testes.
Check your bull for sexually transmitted diseases, such as trichomoniasis, prior to breeding. Have your veterinarian evaluate his semen for motility, sperm count and any abnormalities, and note the circumference of his scrotum. In beef cattle, like the Black Angus, the size of the scrotum is proportional to the amount of live semen he produces.
Track your breeding dates to determine the length of gestation and birthing dates. All cattle pregnancies run approximately 280 days.
How to Breed Black Angus
Black Angus cattle were first imported into the United States from the northern regions of England in 1873. The National Angus Association says that although American cattle ranchers originally discounted the breed, once it was crossbred with the Texas longhorn, the Black Angus became the hardy, docile breed it is today. Cattlemen and backyard breeders of Black Angus cattle need to follow recommended guidelines for the health of their herds and the preservation of the breed.