Bull Sale catalog

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I always go through the catalog before a sale and see what I totally rule out. Numbers are fudged, as the conformation of the bull is what sells him as far as I am concerned. But, if he has some real bad numbers, I can walk away. I want his birthweight close to the 75-80 or a little lower marker if I can get it. If his Weaning weights and Yearling weights are so so low, I would pass. Today, it says Angus WW averages for current sires is 63. YW is 110. I want those numbers or higher. Such as Angus, I do mark high the numbers.

Check the registrations at the Associations before the sale to make sure of the actual numbers. And I look for a good Marb and Ribeye although I have yet had them to pay me for that when it goes across the scale. But if you are looking into freezer beef sales, it may make a difference. Then when I have all my animals circled, I walk the bulls and I will see some out there that I did not circle, and I start going back over the catalog. Some will be outstanding, and why did I not mark him?? Some you marked, you would not let it loose on your worst cow. Some have major defects. It is a lot of fun.

I love a bull sale because it is such a ritual to me. So many bulls so close to the same, but you never know how the prices will run and you have to be ready for those that you don't want to pay 10 prices for. So you have to choose alternatives. Then some of the alternatives are sold before the ones you feel will cost an arm and a leg. So, I get a bit nervous when the auction starts.
 
EPD's are a tool. And you have to look at them for a while before you go to a sale really. So much like what Ken says to consider. They had one new bull come on the scene in the Angus I was so excited about seeing how he turned out. And at the first sale I saw one of his calves, I was very disappointed because they had him ranked higher than any bull across the board on his EPD's. But he was only a 2 year old. I knew that those numbers had to be inflated, but goodness, some had to be true. But they AI'ed a cow that was close to his EPD's, and the bull calf did not exceed my expectations. The bull calf dropped numbers so I had to think that numbers were inflated on this new bull they were advertising. I am anxious to see what his numbers drop to after this first season of calves. I meant to find out what the calf sold for as I know how those auctioneers can build up the lowest EPD bull in history in the sale and make you think he will produce the heaviest crop ever recorded.

So study those EPD's and the percentages of what is real and what is assumed. Then when you start going through the sale books, it will be real easy for you to see it all. Difficult to go to a sale and not know what you are looking at.
 
First two bulls pictured are decent bulls, a couple more later on acceptable. The rest are not seedstock material and makes one wonder what the offering not pictured is.
 
gcreekrch said:
First two bulls pictured are decent bulls, a couple more later on acceptable. The rest are not seedstock material and makes one wonder what the offering not pictured is.
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They are supposed to get pictures on the bulls not pictured in the next couple weeks. I really do like the first two that are pictured, to back they are not homo polled and black.

A lot of the bulls listed will only be 14 or 15 months old by the time I would turn them out with the cows. I have been thinking that they should at least be 18 months by the time they are turned out. Should this even be a concern.
 
714H and 859H? I too always wondered what the bulls that they did not picture in the catalog look like. They must be dogs, but that was not the case. They had some really good looking bulls that you don't see. Hopefully they will post more pictures for you and maybe even a video which would be nice.
 
CowboyRam said:
They are supposed to get pictures on the bulls not pictured in the next couple weeks. I really do like the first two that are pictured, to back they are not homo polled and black.

A lot of the bulls listed will only be 14 or 15 months old by the time I would turn them out with the cows. I have been thinking that they should at least be 18 months by the time they are turned out. Should this even be a concern.
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14 months is fine. Just don't expect them to breed more than 20 or so cows. I like a few yearlings in the mix as they keep the old bulls hunting too. Often times when two older bulls are fighting the yearling will get the job done.
 
If you have a computer screen, pull up the two bulls beside each other. Bull # 747H and 805H. These bulls look a lot alike, and scanning fast, they almost look identical. But 805H weighed 1333 lbs at his Yearling weigh in. 747 weighed 1153. Try to figure out why the one weighs more by his conformation, where does 805H store those pounds.
 
I would turn a 15 month old bull out with my cows if they were bred now, and everybody was just hanging out. But I would want him to be the only bull. And too, I like to know what calf was from each bull and if I have more than one, and they are both the same breed, I won't know. Or if you keep replacements, you can determine which bull you can breed back to. I would be a bit afraid to go sink $3,000 or more on a bull and then a larger bull twirl him in the air because he can. He can do some damage. Mostly if I had a good older bull and he is having to work really hard to hold his spot. He can damage his back legs and pencil. I like to keep them healthy as I can. And they can wear the cows down bad and if they have calves and it is a gang bang as the calves cannot even get up to nurse. Lot of stress on them all.
 
Warren Allison said:
HZ black and HZ polled. I wouldn't use a BH bull that wasn't both, myself.
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That is my plan. I have already gone through and marked all the bulls that are both. I am a little concerned about some of those being turned out with the cows at 14 months of age. The desert can be a little hard on cattle; a lot of territory to cover for them to get feed. I thought there was something in the numbers that you liked. All those number just confuse me. I do really like the looks of the first two groups sire's. Nice flat back, they look thick in the heart and flank, and don't have a high tail.
 
CowboyRam said:
That is my plan. I have already gone through and marked all the bulls that are both. I am a little concerned about some of those being turned out with the cows at 14 months of age. The desert can be a little hard on cattle; a lot of territory to cover for them to get feed. I thought there was something in the numbers that you liked. All those number just confuse me. I do really like the looks of the first two groups sire's. Nice flat back, they look thick in the heart and flank, and don't have a high tail.
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I don't pay a lot of attention to EPDs, unless maybe looking for a heifer bull for smaller breed heifers. Just because a bul wieghed 80 lobs at biorth, 700 at weaningm etc, doesn;t mean his cavles will be similar. The cow itself, and how she is fed durinmg gestation, and how she is fed after birth,..lots of other factors come into play in addition to the bull's EPDs. How many cows, and how many acres are they on? What breed(s) are your cows?
 
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Warren Allison said:
I don't pay a lot of attention to EPDs, unless maybe looking for a heifer bull for smaller breed heifers. Just because a bul wieghed 80 lobs at biorth, 700 at weaningm etc, doesn;t mean his cavles will be similar. The cow itself, and how she is fed durinmg gestation, and how she is fed after birth,..lots of other factors come into play in addition to the bull's EPDs. How many cows, and how many acres are they on? What breed(s) are your cows?
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Mostly Black angus and Hereford, a couple Red Angus, couple Charolais, and a few crossbreds. My crossbreds have a white line across the back, and scurs. The pasture I summer on is around 9 to 12 sections. The pasture I start in is only 3 sections. I calve here on the farm before going to the ranch.
 
CowboyRam said:
Mostly Black angus and Hereford, a couple Red Angus, couple Charolais, and a few crossbreds. My crossbreds have a white line across the back, and scurs. The pasture I summer on is around 9 to 12 sections. The pasture I start in is only 3 sections. I calve here on the farm before going to the ranch.
Click to expand...
 

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