Best hereford AI sire with retention in mind?

[midtncattle]

I find the Hereford breed interesting and am wondering what some of you Hereford guys think the best AI sire is for retaining heifers? I have contemplated AI'ing some of my gerts to the better Hereford sires.

 

[SPH]

I always recommend MSU TCF Revolution 4R. We have a few daughters out of him and everyone I talk to that uses him loves the daughters they have out of him as well. He adds a lot of length and depth of rib to his calves I think and his daughters milk well. Seems like a lot of people are using CRR About Time 743 lately too. I can't find it at the moment but there should be a list of Hereford sires by number of registrations which is always a good guide of which bulls people are using. AHA does have a 2013 AI catalog that a lot of the popular bulls in the breed are listed: http://www.hereford.org/static/salesCat ... 013_LR.pdf

 

[KNERSIE]

UPS Domino 3027

 

[Warrior2154]

Agree with both. Revolution and Domino are really good sires. And very proven sires so you know what you are going to get.

 

[midtncattle]

Where does 8050u and 256m fit in the conversation?

 

[Prairiegrass]

KNERSIE

I asked an ABS district rep which hereford bull he sold threw the best udders, feet and legs for keeping replacement heifers and the answer I got was Thor. Since of the ABS bulls you chose 3027, what do you like phenotypically about 3027 females you don't see in Thor females or did you feel they were structually the same but liked 3027's EPDs better? Thanks.

 

[cow pollinater]

I saw some domino 3027 black baldies a few days ago that I did the sales and installation on four years ago and he helped those black cows a whole bunch. :nod: And they were pretty good cows to begin with.

 

[alexfarms]

UPS Domino 3027

Are you seeing a lot of 3027 calves over in South Africa?

 

[Alan]

I couldn't agree more with Kernsie, 3027, I have been really impressed with his calves that I have gotten. I also like the Rib Eye calves, in my area they are very easy fleshing and easy keepers as are the m326 calves. I have my first Harland calf on the the ground this year, only a couple of months old and while he looks okay at this point we'll see. Revolution I have a couple of calves, but the jury is still out, although I have more of his semen and will take note. I also have the first 242 bull calf this year, so far not impressed.


Very important note on my words, the bull is only half of the calf, so don't judge completely by the cows bred to the bull. But I like 3027, Rib Eye, M326 .... Maybe Harland, he's out of a first time heifer, a M326 granduaghter.

Hope it helps and dosen't muddy the waters.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Agree with both. Revolution and Domino are really good sires. And very proven sires so you know what you are going to get.

My Revolution calves have all been bulls so no retention yet.

How does Victor 719T replacements compare to these two?

 

[CMAHerefords]

my vote would be redeem.

Good growth. maternal and easy feeding.

 

[alexfarms]

I find the Hereford breed interesting and am wondering what some of you Hereford guys think the best AI sire is for retaining heifers? I have contemplated AI'ing some of my gerts to the better Hereford sires.

I would talk to the AI stud reps, ie: Select Sires, ABSglobal, Genex, etc. For a few reasons, they provide the best quality semen you will by, they do a lot of testing on the bulls they market, they get volume feedback from customers on the semen they sell and they should have a good handle on which bulls may work better in your area. The bull studs have good lineups of Hereford bulls from a variety of bloodlines.

 

[Alan]

I find the Hereford breed interesting and am wondering what some of you Hereford guys think the best AI sire is for retaining heifers? I have contemplated AI'ing some of my gerts to the better Hereford sires.

I would talk to the AI stud reps, ie: Select Sires, ABSglobal, Genex, etc. For a few reasons, they provide the best quality semen you will by, they do a lot of testing on the bulls they market, they get volume feedback from customers on the semen they sell and they should have a good handle on which bulls may work better in your area. The bull studs have good lineups of Hereford bulls from a variety of bloodlines.

For the most part these AI stud reps have good bulls, much better than one can find via shopping for a bull, AI is the way to go. But, which bulls are the reps going to push and sell you as to why they have the best bulls out there. You need to do your homework and get the best bull for your needs, but then it's still a bit of a crap shoot. In my herd the M326 bred animals do very well, 242 not so much so far. I believe my enviorment has most of the factor in it. Thoses animal do well here maybe not so much in Florida .... Maybe they do well in Florida, I'm just saying the breeder needs to do their homework and hope it works.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I have a 3027 bull that I don't have any calves out of yet, but the guy I bought him from had a lot of heifers out of 3027 there that I saw, and most every one of them had a perfect udder and was just about as nice of heifers as you could find, that's kinda what sold me on this 3027 son.

 

[midtncattle]

Thanks for input. I would like to hear from anyone that has retained 8050u heifers

 

[Herefords.US]

Thanks for input. I would like to hear from anyone that has retained 8050u heifers

If you're wanting to know about 8050U's daughters, I'd suggest that you contact Jack Holden. It looks like Jack had only 4 8050U daughters calve in 2012, but they averaged very well in his herd. He's probably had several more calve in 2013 and he can tell you more about him as a "female sire" now. The 8050U sons that I saw at Hoffman's were sure thick rascals - especially for Line 1s.

But I'll also put my vote in for 3027 as one of the best proven AI sires of females.

George

 

[WichitaLineMan]

Here are some Revolution sired heifers. Just guessing but that looks like a Star Lake brand on the momma in the background.

http://www.cattlerange.com/307C215-201/307C215-201.html

 

[WichitaLineMan]

Personally, I'm hoping this fella sires some pretty good females.

So far his daughters are ratioing 105%, so off to a good start........

 

[SPH]

Here are some Revolution sired heifers. Just guessing but that looks like a Star Lake brand on the momma in the background.

http://www.cattlerange.com/307C215-201/307C215-201.html

This is our 2012 Revolution heifer, picture taken in late May: http://i1366.photobucket.com/albums/r767/travman999/IMG_1365_zps6b5639ce.jpg As you can see, she fits the same kind of build as the heifers in that link above, long and deep. We think she will make a fine cow. We have 2 other Revolution heifers in this year's calf crop that fit the same build as her so excited to see how they grow out once we get them weaned and on feed. Lot of Hereford breeders I talk to say they hate to sell their Revolution females because they have turned into great cows.

Revolution's dam is probably one of the top females in the Hereford breed. This is how you want your momma cows to look! http://www.msupurebred.com/images/donors/54N.jpg

On a side note, it was sad to see Michigan State disperse that herd last fall. They produced some great Hereford cattle over the years. Seems like a lot of the well-known/long time names in the Hereford breed have dispersed with MSU, Star Lake, Schu-Lar, Felton, Huth, etc. I know a few of those probably still have some cows around still but for the most part dispersed the majority of their herds an operations in dispersal sales in the past decade. Always sad to see when top programs in a breed call it quits.

 

[KNERSIE]

If Revolution's dam was that great looking why the need to photoshop her photo?