Hi, I'm new to the board. We have 350 Angus/Gelbvieh cross cattle. We fall calve. We Synch and AI our heifers They've been off MGA and will get lutalyse this Friday, start breeding Sun). We work with the Gelbvieh Assn in testing bulls, (we AI to non proven and to proven) so we get free semen, plus get paid extra for carcass data. We cannot keep the bull calves for bulls, but we keep the heifer calves (best ones) for replacements.
We also have our own home-grown bulls we use for cleanup, they are just as good as most AI bulls. Maybe we'll get into the AI business, I don't know. We've kept some excellent bull calves this fall, we'll see how they grow.
We GnRH our cows, follow with a lutalyse shot and start breeding them Dec 8-12. Using AI we don't need to keep near enough bulls for the cleanup. We also get farther ahead genetically using AI, esp with proven bulls. With ones not proven, why it's like opening a present!
We've been doing this 13 years. We've turned a hodge podge herd with several different brands on them into a great, good mothering, gentle herd. I cannot believe the difference between these cows now and the base herd they came from.
You can use your bulls, that is perfectly fine. We like to AI and have been doing it quite awhile. Everyone is totally entitled to their opinions, just don't get too irate with me because I won't shove AI down your throat 8)
