Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Salers?

Anyone raising Salers?

I've heard of them, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen one. Suppose to be a really good breed of beef cattle, from France IIRC.

Why are you asking?

Thinking about buying some? Breeding to a Salers bull or buy a Salers bull?

I have a lot of experience with them and most other breeds.

There were a few around here at one time, but haven't heard anyone mention them in years.

From a practical standpoint, I don't understand why anyone would go to the trouble of raising beef cattle to sell, and raise any type cattle other than those that consistently bring higher prices.

+20 years ago my dad crossbred some of his (primarily)black Angus cows with Saler bulls.


I don't know if it was 'herd specific' to the breeders bulls but they were a handful.


Needless to say the replacement heifers we kept that had Saler in them were high headed and didn't do our herd any favors regarding disposition. They were 'racy' out in the pasture and aggressive come calving time, just generally hard to handle.


Lesson learned I guess.

There is a ranch near Whitlash, MT that raises them. They take the cold weather really well. Like to taste some.

A friend had pictures of a bird hunter that was attacked by one. I mean that guy was f--k up.

I've hear of the breed, I'll stay with Angus.

I've got a couple of heifers that are out of a Salers bull (crossed w/Angus). One of them is a handful. Purchased those two from a friend that's been crossing Salers bulls over angus cows for a lot of years as his preferred mix. I've not asked him why he prefers them....but he's a pretty sharp fellow so there's probably a reason or two.

Larger pelvic, smaller heads and 90 pound calves. Also do well in cold weather.

There is good in the breed.

As some stated, disposition has been the breed's biggest problem starting back soon after the first were imported from France.

The breeders that weathered that storm and are still in the business can have some decent cattle.

They are long-haired. But that can be a problem in the summer because some won't shed their hair in the heat of summer.

They have sold themselves as larger pelvic area cattle. Reality is, pelvic is a frame measure and it is generally positively correlated with frame score. So any bigger frame breed will generally have larger pelvic areas.

I can send you contact info of a breeder that raises some really good percentage salers bulls, pm me and I will get you phone contact info to you. Guy raises good cattle with really good performance.

Angus people saying Salers are ornery and "racy".

Don't need to know anymore.

If Salers have a disposition anything like Charolais, I really don't want be around them.

What's with the French cattle?

Sounds like you’ve run into some other disposition issues.

There are really calm Salers was it there as well as Charolais.

I work purebred cattle though a chute most days from early January through mid April. I can assure you, there’s no 1 breed that dominates when it comes to disposition.

I can certainly direct you to breeders that place an emphasis on calm dispositions for about any breed you might be interested in.

Where are you located? I work cattle all over the west and have worked cattle throughout the country so I am pretty well versed on where to look and where to avoid.

My experience with hard to handle cattle lends me to believe that is all relative to how the cattle are handled.

Lot of truth to that.

Those that have experience with Angus might recognize the bull EXT. He had/has a reputation as being high-headed. I have worked some that are dog gentle and others that are approaching being feral.

No doubt the handling has an impact. But there are cattle wound so tight that it doesn't matter how you handle or raise them. They are going to be wild.

Yep. Some are.


Those are the ones that promptly go to the sale. (If you can pen and load them.)

Years ago, a friend of mine bought 20 red heifers, that had a little ear. I figure they were about 1/4. He brought them home and unloaded them right at dark in a lot that was built of cross-ties and 2x6's, 6' high. Called me that night to know if I could help him with them, the next morning. I showed up shortly after daylight and when we finished coffee, we walked to the lot and counted a total of 3 still in there. The others had jumped out.

As it turned out, these were some mighty good mama cows. Raised fine calves, gentle as could be in the pasture, but if you penned them, they was gonna jump out. I believe they had a little deer in them from somewhere back down the line.

I had a white Brahman cow like that once.

Had to take her to the sale in my covered horse trailer.

She would get in your hip pocket when she was penned too.

Made a believer of the sale barn hands!

A neighbor friend of mine bought a Saler bull several years ago after being told he would produce easy calving calves. We pulled 20 plus of those calves one season and I don't remember even one being under 100 lbs. But they always say there is more difference within breeds than between them.