Tom O'Connor, who obtained some Bos indicus cattle
from the Pierce Ranch in Pierce, Texas, gave a half blood Shorthorn-Brahman
bull to the King Ranch. He was mated with a group of purebred Shorthorn
females.
All male calves from this cross but one, a
red bull called Chemmera, were castrated and the heifers were turned
out with Shorthorn bulls.
In the fall of 1918 about sixty descendants
of the O'Connor bull and his son were placed in a high quality pasture
and their performance was such that the Kings Ranch became interested
in crossbreeding Shorthorns and Brahmans.
Since no purebred Brahmans were available,
the King Ranch secured fifty-two of the best three-year-old bulls
that they could obtain from the Pierce herd.
These bulls were three-fourths and seven-eighths
Brahman. The bulls were divided among eight different herds with a
total of approximately 2,500 Shorthorn cows. Two bulls were specifically
selected and pasture mated to fifty cows each.
These bulls were referred to as the "Chiltipin"
bull and the "Vinotero" bull. One of the females in the Vinotero bull's
group was a milk cow with one-sixteenth Brahman blood that she carried
as a descendant of the O'Connor bull through his son Chemmera.
The result of this mating was a bull called
Monkey, who became the foundation sire of the Santa Gertrudis. All
present day Santa Gertrudis descend from Monkey.
The name of the Santa Gertrudis breed is from
Rincon de Santa Gertrudis, the name of the original land grant
purchased by Captain Richard King from the heirs of Juan Mendiola.
This land grant is where the first headquarters of the King Ranch
was established.
In 1940, the United States Department of Agriculture
recognized the Santa Gertrudis as a purebred.
Modern Santa Gertrudis cattle are approximately five-eighths Shorthorn
and three-eighths Brahman. A deep cherry-red color has been established
in the breed.
The breed shows a relatively high degree of
both heat and tick resistance. Their characteristics include ease
of calving, good mothering ability and abundant milk supply.
They also show very little evidence of a hump
and have improved beef quality over most purebred Brahmans. Steers
can be turned off at any age depending on environment and conditions,
and are noted for their weight for age and ability to achieve high
weight gains both on pasture and in feedlots.
There were 283 herds recorded in Volume I of
the Herd Book. The King Ranch herd was designated as the Santa Gertrudis
Foundation Herd. Other herds that had attained the purebred status
by continuous grading up were designated as Foundation Herds.
An official classifier of the Association inspects
Santa Gertrudis and classifies the females as either certified or
accredited and certified for bulls, for those animals meeting the
classification requirements. Animals that do not meet the minimum
requirements are rejected.
Reference:
Briggs, Hilton M & Dinus M. Briggs.
1980. Modern Breeds of Livestock. Fourth Edition, MacMillian Company
King
Ranch, P.O. Box 1090, Kingsville, TX 78364-1090, Phone (512)
595-4150
Santa Gertrudis Breeders International, P.O.
Box 1257, Kingsville, TX 78363
Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation,
227 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Postal Address: Box 4129,
GPO Sydney, NSW 2001. Phone: (02) 260-3111 Fax: (02) 267-6620
Photographs:
Santa Gertrudis Breeders International,
P.O. Box 1257, Kingsville, TX 78363
Handbook of Australian Livestock, Australian
Meat & Livestock Corporation,1989, 3rd Edition
