20 month old bull

[Backbone Ranch]

This Murray Grey bull is 20 months old. He weighs 1300 pounds. He was the best from our 2012 calf crop and we are definitely going to breed him to the majority of our herd next year. We will have 5 of his calves hitting the ground in March and we anxiously await them. Any thoughts on him?

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

Nice I would have kept him too

 

[fitz]

I like him. Looks thick. What's his frame score?

fitz

 

[KNERSIE]

Very nice, good type as well.

 

[hillsdown]

Good looking bull !!!

 

[Backbone Ranch]

He is a frame score of 3 to 3.5.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

Fine Murray Grey bull!

This breed is makaing a mark in the beef Industry, and breeding stock such as this bull is the reason why. He displays fine functional traits (legs, skeletal structure, shoulder and spine strength), deep, thick and long hind quarters, which are typical phenotypic Murray Grey characteristics. I would like to see a tighter sheath on this bull. He shows good masculine traits, and well developed bone size for 20 months of age. With his frame score he should sire moderate-sized heifers and profitable progeny.

DOC HARRIS

 

[KNERSIE]

Fine Murray Grey bull!

This breed is makaing a mark in the beef Industry, and breeding stock such as this bull is the reason why. He displays fine functional traits (legs, skeletal structure, shoulder and spine strength), deep, thick and long hind quarters, which are typical phenotypic Murray Grey characteristics. I would like to see a tighter sheath on this bull. He shows good masculine traits, and well developed bone size for 20 months of age. With his frame score he should sire moderate-sized heifers and profitable progeny.

DOC HARRIS

I think his sheath is just fine, not perfect, but fine. We must be careful not to start breeding tight hided animals in search for the perfect sheath...

 

[fitz]

He is a frame score of 3 to 3.5.

Well he sure is a nice one.

fitz

 

[Backbone Ranch]

Thanks for your comments! I have one more photo of him grazing.

 

[Old_man_emu]

Is he a Murray Grey or Square Meater? I'm not great with frame score but at 3 to 3.5 he would be a small to very small bull in Australia and that just makes me think Square Meater.
Anyway I think he is a great bull.

 

[Backbone Ranch]

He is just over an inch too tall to be a square meater. He is 49 inches at the shoulder. They must be within 41.5 to 47.25 inches at the shoulder to be registered at 18 months. In the U.S., I don't think you can register animals as square meaters if they are past the age of 18 months.

 

[Taurus]

He is just over an inch too tall to be a square meater. He is 49 inches at the shoulder. They must be within 41.5 to 47.25 inches at the shoulder to be registered at 18 months. In the U.S., I don't think you can register animals as square meaters if they are past the age of 18 months.

What is a square meater? are they a "mini" version of Murray Grey or what?

 

[Backbone Ranch]

Square meaters are murray greys, but they are quite a bit smaller in size. The cows weigh about 1000 lbs. They originated from Murray Greys, but they were recognized as a different breed in 1995. As a 12 month old, bulls must be between 40 and 44 inches tall to be considered a square meater. They tend to be thicker, better muscled, and earlier maturing.

 

[Old_man_emu]

Thanks Backbone, in Australia Square Meaters have their own society and herd book so they are either born a SM or a Murray Grey, I don't know if you can go back and forth between societies regardless of meeting frame size or other criteria.

 

[highgrit]

That's a fine looking bull. But I have one major question, does Murray Grays have a dink gene hidden in them somewhere?? The reason I ask is how can some be Square Meater and Murray Greys coming out of the same dame or herd?? That don't sound good to me.

 

[Taurus]

That's a fine looking bull. But I have one major question, does Murray Grays have a dink gene hidden in them somewhere?? The reason I ask is how can some be Square Meater and Murray Greys coming out of the same dame or herd?? That don't sound good to me.

From what I am trying to understand, Square Meater is just few inches less than Murray Greys. But then again you got mini highlands, galloways and Herefords since the miniature version can be registered in same book with the standard sized cattle.

 

[Backbone Ranch]

Rick Pisaturo determined in the early 1990's that a market existed for a specific type of beef animal. One which was fast growing and well muscled but very importantly early maturing. To do this, he used murray grey bulls from the pre-1970's such as the one shown below. These pre- 1970's bulls were much smaller in frame, but their progeny dominated carcass competitions throughout Australia. The bull shown below is Thologolong Michael, one of the most significant Murray Grey bulls in the history of the breed. (I found the photo in a book)

Square meaters aren't miniatures or a result of a dink gene. They were kept the same size as the cattle in the 1950's, so they didn't go through the bigger is better phase of the cattle industry. In the U.S., any murray grey that qualifies with the proper shoulder height can be registered as a square meater regardless of their ancestry.

 

[mojaxcow]

Here in the US, the few of us that have Squares have decided to use the American Murray Grey Association as the registration agent. We went back and proved to them that the ancestry of the Squares in this country were all registered as Murrays in Australia and so they have accepted our animals as purebred MGs. They also instituted a program "Square Meater Endorsement" whereby we can apply for designation as "SquareMeater" if they hit the height ranges that are very similar to the requirements of the Australian SquareMeater Assn. I am a member of both groups and have both MGs and Squares. I like the "blokes" in Australia but the cost to maintain registration is too much for us.

 

[MO_cows]

That is a nice looking bull. Congrats to the Murray Grey breeders here in the US, apparently they have really made some progress. I did some work for the MG registry years back and at that time, you would see photos of great looking animals in Australia but the US stock just didn't seem as good. Then an already small association went to feuding and split up into at least 2 miniscule assns. I figured they would not advance past a novelty breed or "pet stock" from that point on. Glad to be wrong!