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Braunvieh in North America

Approximately 130 head of Braunvieh were imported into the United States from Switzerland between 1869 and 1880. This was the basis for the development of the American Brown Swiss that was declared a dairy breed in 1890, and therefore became a different breed. American Brown Swiss have since spread to Canada, Mexico and throughout the world including Switzerland. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, Original Braunvieh were imported by Mexico where they have flourished as a beef breed. In Mexico, they are used in a commercial capacity to upgrade the beef characteristics of the indigenous Zebu cattle. There, separate herd books are kept for the cattle, sometimes referred to as European type Brown Swiss and American Brown Swiss.

Canada's first importation of Original Braunvieh, the bull Aron, was in 1968. Subsequently, more bulls and females were imported directly into Canada in several importations between 1968 and 1985. These were selected in Europe with emphasis on beef production. In Canada, Original Braunvieh cattle are registered by the Canadian Brown Swiss Association and are referred to as Beef Brown Swiss. They are registered separately from the Dairy Brown Swiss. Many breeders in Canada are members of the Braunvieh Association of America and some of their cattle are registered in the United States.

Physical Characteristics

Braunvieh is a German word which translated into English means Brown Cow. Their hair is various shades of brown, predominately mousy brown, but ranging from light brown with gray to very dark brown. The border of the muzzle is very light, as is the poll, and often a lighter colored dorsal stripe is seen. The udder and inside of the legs and underline also being the lighter shade. A darker, smokier shading is often evident around the shoulders and neck compared to the rest of the body. The switch of the tail is dark brown to black. The skin is pigmented, the muzzle is black, and the hooves are dark and very hard.  The calves are born very light colored with white hair,  they darken to various shades of gray to brown when they get their new coat.

• Body weights range from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds for adult females and 2,100 to 2,500 pounds for adult males.

• Steers at optimum slaughter weight are 1,100 pounds at 13 months of age.

• The Braunvieh is a very docile, long-bodied, well-muscled animal with correct feet and legs, due to generations of natural selection in the Swiss Alps.

• Braunvieh are known as a balanced breed, possessing body confirmation for optimum physiological performance. This and the fact that their hair is sleek and fine in warm weather and can grown heavy in response to extended cold weather makes Braunvieh's adaptable to different environments.

The physical characteristic that this breed is rapidly becoming noted for is the carcass traits that are needed to carry the beef industry into the next century.  Braunvieh sired steers have consistently hung up top carcasses all around the country including renowned steer test like The Great Western Beef Expo, Sterling, Colorado, the Beef Empire Steer Test  in Kansas and Texas A&M Ranch to Rail program.

This is the breed to lead the beef industry into the next millennium.   Braunvieh puts it all together:

Maternal, Muscling, Marbling, & Performance.

Typical udder from a 1st calf heifer.

14 year old Fullblood cow ready to calve.  Still a perfect udder.

3/4 Percentage Braunvieh and Simmental heifer sired by TLC Bud

Why do we raise Braunvieh Cattle in Oklahoma?

       I liked the Braunvieh cattle the first time I saw them.  Their color was something different and they carried good muscle and thickness. They are easy to handle and have great dispositions, excellent udders and can correct about any udder problems in the first cross.  They are great mothers and wean off calves in the 550 to 650 pound range here.  Braunvieh are very functional and adaptable cattle in any region. We live in a climate where we have a lot of high humidity and hot dry summers.  We are also in fescue country and if you know anything about fescue it has to be managed properly or you can have lots of problems.  The Braunvieh cattle have adapted very well to the fescue and thrive on it with proper management and good mineral.   We use Vita Ferm mineral and it does the job for us.  

        The Braunvieh cattle are rarely in the shade taking cover compared to our other cattle.  They have adapted very well to the heat and humidity and it has never hurt their fertility one bit.   They are good foragers and in the heat of the day at 100 degrees and 80% humidity we have seen our herd of Braunvieh cattle right out in the middle of the pasture grazing and gaining pounds... Our black purebred and percentage black Braunvieh cattle are handling the heat well too! If they work for us here in one of the toughest area's for cattle they will work anywhere.

        Braunvieh cattle are some of the toughest cattle I know.  Their udder's don't break down like other breeds I have used either.  The picture to the left middle is a 14 year old Fullblood donor cow that has bred each year and we have also flushed her..  This says something about endurance and longevity in the breed..   Even in our Club Calf program we are retaining at least  25% Braunvieh to maintain a maternal female.

Albert W. Thorne

    What do you get when you use a Braunvieh Bull on Your Cows??

    Braunvieh bulls have the unique ability to pass on usually the color of the dam in the first cross.. If you breed them to black cattle you get black hide, & if you breed them to Charolais or white cattle they retain the white color, the Longhorn cross cows kept their color also... with lots of speckles.  The Santa Gertrudis cross calves looked just like their red momma's.   You may get a few tigers when you cross them with another wild type gene cow herd.    The tiger cross cattle have been some of our best performing cattle.    They are more accepted in the south for their contribution to the cattle industry compared to the north.

Brangus first calf heifer with Black Icon sired heifer calf.  Black Icon is Purebred Braunvieh. So this calf is half Braunvieh and Brangus 

This is a half Angus- half Braunvieh cow that was 16 years old at the time of this picture.  Still a perfect udder and great body shape!  Very good cattle in anyone's herd!