AI questions?

[ousoonerfan22]

I bought some registered bred angus cows and a couple are decent looking cows that I might have AI'ed after they calve to try for bull calves to raise for bulls for my angus/hereford cross cows.
Would you suggest the sexed semen or just try the regular semen and hope for at least one bull calf?
I've noticed the sexed semen is limited to just a few bulls,have you seen any for objective or mandate?
Anybody used semen from image maker?

 

[ousoonerfan22]

Would you AI a cow that has a 12 milk epd and is a little short? That's why I was looking at image maker with the 37 milk epd and he's supposed to be 59" tall.This cow is short but has what I think is a good looking angus head.

 

[novatech]

he's supposed to be 59" tall.

That would scratch him from my list unless you are trying to produce a bull for terminal progeny.

 

[Lucky_P]

YMMV, but I bred all my virgin Angus heifers and a few mature cows (3/4AN-1/4SM) to Mandate, last year, for this fall's calves; at the time he had one of the highest WW epds in the breed, and we were looking to increase 'pounds across the scale'. With the exception of one heifer calf, all 15-20 or so of them look like crap - steers and heifers alike.
Granted, I expect less performance out of a first-calf heifer's calf, but these things are pretty sorry - even the ones out of mature cows. Short, short-coupled little things with no 'grow'. Unless they make some sort of revolutionary improvement between now and weaning, there won't be any of those genetics staying around, and I'll likely be disappointed with the prices the steers will command.
Calves sired by the cleanup bull are much better.

You're looking to increase milk? Have a look at CC&7; what's he up to now, +53?
But, be aware, MILK is not a maternal trait, it's a performance trait - and comes with a significant energy requirement - his $EN is -$46.

 

[angus9259]

I've liked the image maker calves.

I don't think sexed semen is worth the added expense.

 

[hopalong]

the guns are not that expensive... I have one of each in my box.....but use almost exclusive the 1/2 cc 'o' ring gun as my preference. Very seldom use sexed semen as it is over priced for the overall results, jmho

 

[3waycross]

Would you AI a cow that has a 12 milk epd and is a little short? That's why I was looking at image maker with the 37 milk epd and he's supposed to be 59" tall.This cow is short but has what I think is a good looking angus head.

That kind of "Fire and Ice" mating will very rarely give you a middle ground animal. You will have better success using something more moderate for those traits and sure enuf shorter

 

[cow pollinater]

If you're new to AI then conventional semen is your best bet. Any little holes in your management that are not all that evident now will show up glaringly with sorted semen in the form of open cows. Once you've worked through the bugs for a few years and know how to get them stuck no matter what, then try the sorted stuff and prepare to start learning what you thought you already knew. :lol:

 

[cow pollinater]

Would you AI a cow that has a 12 milk epd and is a little short? That's why I was looking at image maker with the 37 milk epd and he's supposed to be 59" tall.This cow is short but has what I think is a good looking angus head.

That kind of "Fire and Ice" mating will very rarely give you a middle ground animal. You will have better success using something more moderate for those traits and sure enuf shorter

:nod: Good advice... I'll add to it. The heritability of height is somewhere around 40%(which is actually quite high as compared to alot of other traits) so there's a good chance of you getting another shorty which when bred back to a tall bull to correct the problem will give you an NBA star which you'll correct by breeding to a shorty again even though she has the genetics of both and breeding to one or the other will surely bring that trait out in extremes...
At forty percent heritability, you can have a pretty even herd in two generations of breeding to bulls that you consider to be of IDEAL height versus corrective mating which could bounce you back and forth at random for generations to come.

 

[3waycross]

YEP :tiphat: Well put!

 

[ousoonerfan22]

Thanks for all the replies!
So I should pass on ai'ing the short cow?
Here's the registered number 15799677 on the best cow that I would like to AI and raise a bull calf out of.What would be a good growth rate bull to use on her?Notice she has a 20 milk rate but a 4.1 bw epd.
I have a 2.5 year old bull with my cows now that looks like a purebred polled hereford but he's out of a registered black angus cow and a registered hereford bull.He's wide in the butt and muscular and passes that onto his calves plus they're born at a decent size and grow out well.Only thing some of my crossbred black and black baldie cows throw some red baldie calves out of him but he's throwing some very nice black baldie calves out of my other cows.That's why I bought the registered angus cows I was wanting purebred angus so hopefully I'll end up with more black baldies and less red baldies.As you can tell black baldies are my favorites.
I also have a yearling black baldie bull that's a half brother to the red bull above but he's out of a big brangus cow.He's a good looking bull without the brangus ear but does have some sheath.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

he's supposed to be 59" tall.

That would scratch him from my list unless you are trying to produce a bull for terminal progeny.

:? I've been looking up terminal progeny and trying to find out what that is? :?

 

[gizmom]

Would you AI a cow that has a 12 milk epd and is a little short? That's why I was looking at image maker with the 37 milk epd and he's supposed to be 59" tall.This cow is short but has what I think is a good looking angus head.

That kind of "Fire and Ice" mating will very rarely give you a middle ground animal. You will have better success using something more moderate for those traits and sure enuf shorter

:nod: Good advice... I'll add to it. The heritability of height is somewhere around 40%(which is actually quite high as compared to alot of other traits) so there's a good chance of you getting another shorty which when bred back to a tall bull to correct the problem will give you an NBA star which you'll correct by breeding to a shorty again even though she has the genetics of both and breeding to one or the other will surely bring that trait out in extremes...
At forty percent heritability, you can have a pretty even herd in two generations of breeding to bulls that you consider to be of IDEAL height versus corrective mating which could bounce you back and forth at random for generations to come.

Very good advice cow pollinater well said.

Gizmom

 

[3waycross]

he's supposed to be 59" tall.

That would scratch him from my list unless you are trying to produce a bull for terminal progeny.

:? I've been looking up terminal progeny and trying to find out what that is? :?

anything you know you ain't gonna keep goin in!

 

[Katpau]

Here's the registered number 15799677 on the best cow that I would like to AI and raise a bull calf out of.What would be a good growth rate bull to use on her?Notice she has a 20 milk rate but a 4.1 bw epd.

This cow, 15799677, is a possible carrier of a genetic defect known as Arthrogryposis Multiplex (AM). I would have her tested before keeping any of her offspring as breeding stock. If she should carry the gene for AM and is bred to another carrier you can have dead deformed calves, and or abortions with affected calves. This is not something you want in your herd.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

I'm wondering if the local vet can do this test?

 

[3waycross]

I'm wondering if the local vet can do this test?

Contact the Angus Assn. They will tell you what they require

 

[ousoonerfan22]

Sent an email asking what to do.
Do you know if this test will be expensive?
If it was your cow would you forget about ai'ing her?

I was hoping to raise a good bull instead of paying $2000 to $3000 for one,sounds like I better start saving my money.

 

[bse]

All you need to do is pull some hair out of the tail cotact Pfizer they will send you the strips to put the hair on and send to them for the test i think the cost is about $30. As far as the cow goes epd wise I think she has some room for improvement(epds dont always tell the story)so theres tons of bulls out there you can use depending on whats most important to you.

 

[3waycross]

Sent an email asking what to do.
Do you know if this test will be expensive?
If it was your cow would you forget about ai'ing her?

I was hoping to raise a good bull instead of paying $2000 to $3000 for one,sounds like I better start saving my money.

You should be thrilled to find a good bull for that money rather than having ONE cow to TRY to raise a bull out of. What will you do if she throws a heifer for the next 3 years?

BTW by the time you get a bull raised to where he will breed for you you will have close to that in him and there is no guarantee that you will like him!