A crossbred animal has several advantages over the purebred, especially in traits important to commercial cattlemen: increased fertility, longevity, feed efficiency and disease resistance—due to the phenomenon of hybrid vigor (heterosis). It also generally provides an increase in growth and carcass yield over what the parents produce.
The more unrelated the parents, the more “kick” you get from hybrid vigor. Zebu (Bos indicus) cattle, such as the Brahman, are the least closely related to most of the other domestic breeds; crossing them results in the most hybrid vigor. …
