2 bull calves to pick at

[Nesikep]

Well, I'm getting close to shipping my bull calf from Tizia (Hector), and I have another young'un I'm keeping intact for now..
Hector is about 675lbs by weigh tape, he was weaned at 6 months, and is now 7 1/2 months old. I think he looks pretty good, I noticed he slowed down growing once the cows were on hay at christmas. I figure if he gets some grass he'll grow well again, he's not going to be used as a bull this coming season, but the year after.
He's 1/2 Gelbvieh, 1/4 Shorthorn, 1/4 herf with perhaps some Simm way back when, He's probably heterozygous polled

Clickable image for full size


Here is the young one Dinero, He's about 10 days old here, his mother is a fantastic cow who needs no help, raises 650 lb heifers and 700 lb steers, breeds well, and has a head shape that I really like (for easy calving), as an added bonus, this mothers side is full of long lived animals (15 year average productive life). He's got the same father and maternal grandfather as Hector, as well as the same Herf cow in the background... so he's 1/2 Gelbvieh, 1/4 Shorthorn, 1/8th Saler, and 1/8th HerfxSimm? Oh, and he's friendly like heck... He'll be wearing a halter for sure
I know it's a little young to make a good judgement on him...
Coming down to price... what's a reasonable price over and above what he'd be worth as a steer?



A day or two old with momma

 

[Nesikep]

250 views and no one has something to say??? C'mon, speak up :P

 

[Black and Good]

I like the older calf O.K. he's a long calf,clean front,I'd prefer a touch more capacity. JMO. But, for me I would not want a bull that crossed up.

 

[KNERSIE]

What do you see as the positives why these calves should reproduce? And possible areas of concern?

 

[double v]

good cross bred calves you should do good at the market.....

 

[KNERSIE]

good cross bred calves you should do good at the market.....

I agree crossbred calves should go to the market.

 

[Nesikep]

He's going to a guy who has a couple cows, and doesn't want to spring the money for a purebred bull... the bull he's got now is a longhorn, his cows, well, they're jersey, longhorn, black angus and herford crosses, so uniformity is not something he can even dream of no matter what bull he has. This guy should give him a bit more meat on his calves either way... One reason he's getting rid of his longhorn bull is it chases his wife around. I think one reason he's lacking a bit of depth is he's a fall calf, and as such hasn't had the benefit of pasture yet.

I know that one of the primary reasons for PB bulls is uniformity in the offspring, and from the PB bulls we've had (all 6 of them), I can't say any one of them has been really consistent in any trait, and several of them were grand and reserve champions. The cows these 2 guys are from are consistent cows themselves, and I don't think there should be too many big surprises with them.

One argument I have for myself to raise one as a bull, is if I get a premium for him over a steer, and he doesn't cause me extra work, why shouldn't I?

 

[AllForage]

You will not see uniformity until you use a linebred bull. One from a 20+ year totally closed herd. The ability of this type of bull to impart his characteristics overwhelmingly would surprise most folks.

I agree he will do well at the barn

 

[Nesikep]

And a herdsman that knows what he's doing...

Speaking for myself, I primarily look for uniformity in colour, after that, the general build of the animal.

 

[Nesikep]

Oh, and the older guy is now at his new home... he wouldn't stand still in the trailer for the entire 200 mile trip, except for coffee breaks, when he'd lay down, as soon as they were moving again, it was back to doing the roundy-round in the trailer again. When he got to his new place, he was left in the trailer overnight, and then Trent put a lead rope on him, and led him to the barn, which worked just fine, the sheep and pigs along the way were intriguing but not scary... but when his big brother saw him and bellered, Trent (6'3, 250 lbs), was just holding on for dear life, there was no way to stop him from going to see his brother, And the big and little brother, and the longhorn resident bull all get along fine.

 

[Nesikep]

Well, I went to the fellows place for a party he was hosting, so I got to see the older bull calf again, he's 10 days shy of a year old.. I think he looks pretty decent...








The younger one is now 5 months old, and he looks really impressive, touching 600 lbs, not a sharp corner on him anywhere, really meaty and wide.... I do think he's the better animal of these two... these aren't the best pictures, and they're from about a month ago...




And yes, he's docile...

 

[inyati13]

Nes, I love the pic of the calf sleeping in your lap. I think you said your old cow would sleep with her head in your lap. You are about like me with your cows. My brother was over to my farm yesterday and remarked that my cows were as genial as his kennel full of B&T coonhounds. Hey, he is right. I got 16 head and I pet all of them but two.

 

[AussieLim]

I like utilizing hybrid vigor but personally I think both these bulls lack depth and muscling.

Just my opinion but you did ask.

It also looks as though the older bull has done in tough at his new home as he hasn't grown out & is all big headed.

 

[glacierridge]

The young one looks good for a "teenager"...
I can't wait to see him at a year old.
There are a few young "teen" heifers that are in my brother's herd that I cannot wait to see as mature cows...
Sometimes you just know, with certain ones, that they will be awesome.

So far I like the little guy more than the older one, even though the older one is more developed.
I do like the length of body tho in the bigger guy.

 

[Kingfisher]

Why does a fellow need 3 bulls with a couple of cows?

 

[Nesikep]

Kingfisher... he doesn't have 3 bulls, the older (year old now) bull is a replacement for his longhorn bull, the guy sleeping in my lap is going to a different ranch

I do like the younger bull better myself, and the pictures really aren't the best... he's really thick and I think he's quite muscled... he's still got lots of milk fat on him.

the older one does have a pretty big head, but I've never had to help calving in any of that line. I think comparing to a longhorn bull, he should still be producing more meat.... I'm assuming most of you have seen my other thread with this bull's brother (4h project steer thread)

 

[Nesikep]

Well, I just got word from Trent, who bought the older bull..

He said that when he brought Hector home, he was beating up on the longhorn bull, and got his number down.. just stay away from the pokey end of him and you're OK.. He'd go running full bore into the side of him. Seems to have paid off for him too.. Trent has 3 calves so far, and by the looks of them, they're all Hector's (they're mocha colored), which means he must have bred the cows when he was about 10-11 months with the longhorn bull in the pasture to boot.

I hauled the longhorn bull (with 4 calves) to the sale barn for Trent about a month ago, and it was kinda funny the way he got everyone sorted out... Hector led the way up into the barn, and everyone followed, then Hector turned around and walked out... Makes you wonder if he knew he was going to be king of the hill if he played his cards right!

This is Hector a month ago at 18 months... He seems to be raring to go anyhow

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Well you know he has some vigor.

 

[Stocker Steve]

The numbers guys project that a cross bred calf (not cow) is worth $20 to $30 more than a straight bred calf. But these bulls are definitely not black :nod: and they don't look like they have a lot of capacity. So I would say they are worth $1,000 less than an unregistered BA bull.

 

[Nesikep]

With the mixup of breeds my buddy has (longhorn, jersey, holstein, and hereford), I don't think it's possible to go backward any more in the meat department