A (seemingly) novel idea

Help Support CattleToday:

He knows the first several years would be heavy culling.

He would sell a calf crop, just that it'd happen at a different time and for different reasons. All replacements are home grown.

The previous year's bull calves are sold in tact after breeding everything the next year. The fastest growing, best structured, most fertile, highest libido bull calves will breed the majority of the females.

All open females are sold after preg checking.

So open heifers born the previous year are sold at approximately 19 months. Open cows are sold at whatever age they don't breed back.

... maybe he determines a way to sell (say) the bottom half of his bulls to save in wintering costs ...

Again, I'm not interested in his program, but I found the idea quite thought provoking and thought is share it with you.
 
... his argument against this is, "that's how the bison did it for centuries" ... the best structured, strongest and most virile carried their genes forward in the largest percentages ... coyotes, wolves, and big cats would take care of necessary culling ...
 
WalnutCrest":3as8yqei said:
... his argument against this is, "that's how the bison did it for centuries" ... the best structured, strongest and most virile carried their genes forward in the largest percentages ... coyotes, wolves, and big cats would take care of necessary culling ...

The bison weren't restrained to a small group of individuals, concentrating the genetics.
 
It seems to resembles what would happen if you let nature take its course, going feral almost
 
The Wye herd (and others that do line / in breeding) have had intersections of trainwrecks ... but the animals not involved in the wreck were so muck better than before. Or, that's the story as I've heard it.

Culling is critical in a plan like this.
 
Line breeding is taking excellent qualities that you want to perpetuate of KNOWN pedigrees. These (Wye) were registered cattle. If there are any "hidden" genetic defects, this is the quickest way (back then) to get them out in the open & try to eliminate them while you are trying to increase the qualities you are striving for. Just letting unknown pedigrees in-breed (and yes, this would be called in-breeding, not line breeding). The difference between the two is one is planned - the other "not so much".
 
I personally know someone who has done an approach similar to this (starting with unregistered stock) in a commercial setting with over 4000 mama cows (the main difference being that he'd cut and ship what he thought were the bottom 90% of his bull calves).
 
And did he then turn out the top 10% with his 4000 momma cows -- or did he divide that 4000 head of cows & breed certain sires to certain cows. Line breeding, done with THOUGHT, is a proven TOOL to improve cattle.
 
One thing I see with this, besides the obvious inbreeding and resulting offspring of too closely related animals, is that the heifers will be getting bred younger. Then there are calving issues which will weed out the ones that can't have the calf, through death. But, when you continually do this type of inbreeding, MANY times the later generations get smaller. The smaller heifers that do calve, have smaller calves and that is why they survived the calvings. They get bred younger, the resulting survivors have smaller calves....The genetics get more concentrated and then there are other problems with not only fertility, but deformities.

Yes the bison did it. Rafter S and Jeanne are right. Neither were confined to a specific group or area. They roamed...over thousands of acres. They interacted with other herds of bison. The bulls fought and took over cows from other bulls. Younger bulls stole away with a few cows to form a new herd. Not only did the breeding take out some of the genetic defects, mother nature...NAMELY PREDATORS...took out the weak and genetically lessor animals. Whether it was wolves, cougars, bears or humans, they were still weeded out. The native Americans would try to take down animals near the edges of the herds so that they did not cause full fledged stampedes too. But through the constant moving and grazing, they were continually coming into contact with other herds and the genetics were never stagnant.
Even though there are many herds of feral horses that have certain traits, and genetic markers, the stallions fight and young studs form bands that roam large areas and sooner or later find a herd that the old stud can no longer defend and there is a new injection of vitality. There are a couple of herds that are known to have a disproportionate number of blind horses through a concentration of genetic defects. But again, they still have a large area to roam, and for new animals to infiltrate and add in new genetics.
 
200 yearling bulls in with 4000 cows and 2000 heifers for 60 days (iirc). All opens are culled.

He lets nature decide what wad a good mating and what wasn't.
 
I think it could make for a suited, hardy animal, but it might not equate to profitable... Any vaccination, mineral, or anything else?
 
Weren't buffalo nearly extinct, at one time down to less than a dozen head?
No choice left but to inbreed to bring their population back up.

Decide to search my own question... current buffalo population 500,000
dna testing estimates only 15,000 - 20,000 are pure buffalo and testing has traced them to 12 founding ancestors
with the current balance of 480,000 all containing some domestic cattle dna making them hybrids
Making 29 out of 30 identified as buffalo actually buffalo hybrids
 
Jeanne - Simme Valley":m6emlpbz said:
Nesi - I haven't been on here for a long time, but I picked up that you are doing a line-breeding program. Is that correct?
I'm dabbling in it, yes, but I don't really intend to have a *completely* closed herd, at least not at this point. From what I'm "feeling", bringing in one GOOD bull for every 2 I raise and use would allow me to make progress in the uniformity area while not going overboard on AVK and IBC.. It's just a juggling act with the small herd I have. Initial results from using my own bull are darned good though.
 
Stocker Steve":39g0nvlp said:
Nesikep":39g0nvlp said:
I think it could make for a suited, hardy animal, but it might not equate to profitable...

Scope creep!!! You have made a major increase in the goals.
bet you never thought you'd hear me talk about profitable animals :p
 
Son of Butch":3mz54lhs said:
Making 29 out of 30 identified as buffalo actually buffalo hybrids

There are pure woods bison up in Canada, and plains beefalo in the US.
Nesi could get in on the woods bison x Limi profits. :nod:
 

Latest posts

Top