Another good post

[Texan]

I'm sure not the only judge of what makes a good post, but every once in a while I see one that is buried in a thread that I think has some really good advice and warrants more discussion. That's the case with this one from the "Old Bulls" thread:

Mosho,unless you are a pure bred breeder and have high dollar bulls,it makes little sense to keep them longer than it takes to breed your cows,I know there are folks that run bulls with their cattle year round,they also calve year round,its hard to add value to your calf crop when they are not uniform,besides workin your tail off.
I will winter a bull if I Have plenty of home grown feed on hand and I like the bull,but not often.
I buy bulls from a repuatable breeder,get my cows bred in 90 day period,then take the bulls to sale,the price you recieve,subtracted from the price you paid,roughly equals the cost of breeding your cows.
Depending on weather,I like to early wean my calves and background them on home grown feed,till they are 7 or 8 weight,just makes it all come together much easier when you are banding tagging pouring etc. a uniform calf crop.You just got to find a way that works best for you,the one I described does for me,I know there are alot of fine cattle men that run bulls year round,buy the best bull they can afford & leave him on the cows till he gets old,like you said,many factors determine how long to keep bulls,decideing how "you" want to manage "your" herd is the first step ;-) ..................good luck

I'll have to admit that on first glance, the idea of buying good bulls every year and then taking a loss on them after only one breeding makes me cringe. But after further thought, I'm not so sure that I couldn't make it work for me the way HAY MAKER makes it work for him. If you had the right arrangement with your bull suppliers for good prices, knowing that you would be a customer every year, and if you developed a reputation with bull buyers that like a more mature bull at a discount, I can see where it might work.

I don't breed year around, but the older I get, the less I like putting up with the noisy, hole-digging, fence-wrecking, bellering, sob's while they're on welfare eight or nine months out of the year. As soon as I can put a dollar figure on how badly I despise that, I might give HAY MAKER's method a shot.

And this part is the best advice of all. Not just about bulls, but everything related to the cattle business. Unfortunately, it's something that many (most?) of us often overlook when giving advice:

You just got to find a way that works best for you,the one I described does for me.....deciding how "you" want to manage "your" herd is the first step ;-)

Sometimes it's hard for many of us to accept the fact that our way of doing things is not the only way. Often times, it's not even the best way. HAY MAKER is right---

"You just got to find a way that works best for you....."

 

[backhoeboogie]

That last part really makes great sense.

 

[MikeC]

Lot's of ranchers buy yearling bulls, use them for a season and sell them as long yearlings or 2-year olds.

I bet if a lot more commercial cattleman sat down and did the ciphering on it, they would be doing it too!

Yep it was a good post.

 

[warpaint]

The bulls that work for you may not work for someone else. It depends on the climate, your herd, and his size. Great Post.

 

[Susie David]

I'm not a big fan of AI (bad luck settling in the past) but this year we AI'd the girls and so fat it looks like all settled. Since we only breed a handfull of cows and I have the time to spend watching for cycle, it worked for us. If all goes well and the pencil on paper part works out we'll save a few hundred $$ on bull maintenance alone....should work for me.
Like the fact that the Herfs are bred to a herf bull, the angus to angus and the Lims to a Lim bull...next year will be different.
Should work according to our operating plan.
Just my two bits worth....DMc

 

[endebt]

Texan is right and so is Haymaker. I sell bulls every 6 months. They are a year old and ganturied(sp). I have about 6 or 7 cattlemen that buy young bulls at a year old and use them for 1 or 2 breeding and sell them. Some of them will buy 2 or 3 bulls and i cut the price as much as i can. They get to see the sire(if pasture bred )or the epds on the AI sires. seems to work for them and me. I have one breder that wants only the bulls that i use on my herd for clean up. Hope that helps. Good Luck.