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History of Murray Grey's
| Murray Grey Beef Cattle, a breed
developed in Australia, with a beginning found like no others. In
about 1905 Peter and Eva Sutherland lived on Thologolong property, on the
Murray River in New South Wales. That is how the bred received its
name Murray Grey. Peter and Eva owned a particular roan Shorthorn
cow, every time she was bred to various Aberdeen Angus bulls, she would
give birth only grey calves (not the expected blue roan). Eva would
never allow Peter to sell them because she liked the color of them.
But soon they recognized these calves as something worth saving. Through
selective breeding they ended up with 12 calves. This became the
nucleus of the Murray Greg breed. In 1929, Peter passed on and Eva
could not maintain the ranch, so she sold the grey cattle to a cousin,
Helen Sutherland who then continued to breed the original 12.
Murray Grey’s have proven to be quite adaptable to most climates and conditions. You will find them in all kinds of frigid conditions like you find in Canada and the upper portions of the USA to the heat of Texas and its heat and humidity. Their dark skin pigmentation prevents many of the problems that are finds in light skinned cattle such as sunburned udders, pinkeye and cancer eye. Murray Grey’s are an extremely feed efficient bred. They are able to finish early off grass and make top grade choice. With the push now on all natural organically raised foods, a grass finished beef is in high demand. Murray Grey cows are generally 1000-1200 lbs. They are excellent mothers giving plenty of milk to wean off healthy, strong, heavy calves while maintaining their own body condition. Bulls are around 1800-2400 lbs. with generous scrotal circumferences, high fertility. You will find these bull to be extremely gentle in temperament but strong workers when it comes to breeding time. Because the bulls are calm in docile in most situations you will find them ideal for the small farm application as well as the large commercial operation. The calves weigh in at about 60-80 lbs. at birth. Because the breed is so calve easy rarely do you have to assist with birthing (even to 1st calf heifers). These calves have get up and go and you will see the strength and vigor from the second they drop. Here are the reasons why you will want
to raise and use Murray Greys in your breeding program.
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Top quality traits in Murray Grey Cattle
The cattle
| Ease of Calving/Fertility | These lightweight calves are up and going without assistance. More live healthy calves’ means more beef to sell. |
| Maternal Ability | The cows make excellent mothers giving out plenty of milk to build a strong, healthy calf. |
| Docile | Because this bred is so docile you will
find them very easy to work with. Murray Greys because of their
relaxed, calm temperament they are great for the commercial feed lot. This temperament to the easy finishing on their carcasses. |
| Moderate Size | Frame should run between 5 and 6 |
| Efficient on Grain and Grass | Murray Grey’s are easy to finish on grass alone but you can add a combination of grass and grain. |
| Naturally Polled | |
| Color (trade mark) | Although the main color is varied shades of silver you will also find Murray Greys to in shades of dun and black |
Meat Quality:
| Marbling | Murray Grey’s marble easily producing giving you a tasty, tender meat. They can finish on grass or feed. You use little or no grain for a full, sweet, tast. |
| High Dress Out Percentage | |
| Feedlot Popularity | because of their docile behavior they are busy working while other breeds are fighting |
| Yield / Carcass | Murray Grey carcass are more tenders and loin cuts. Many of the large beef breeds have bigger butts, shoulders and legs, which are not the best cuts. |
| Crossbred | F1 and F2 crosses bring all of the top qualities of the breed to your herd and market value. |
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