Brangus bull

[ATJ]

This is a young bull we have kept from last year. What are your thoughts on him?

He is Australian Brangus, probably about 50% Brahman content. His sire is a registered Brangus bull and he is out of a younger cow that would be one of our better females. In the first photo he is nearly 5 months old and still on his mother. The other two pictures are after he was weaned, he would be about 8.5 months. He can be a bit hard to get a decent photo of, as he's very friendly and more interested in coming over for a scratch than standing still.

 

[Brute 23]

Pretty thick

 

[ATJ]

His sire and dam:

 

[wbvs58]

Certainly a lot of muscle there in him and his sire and dam. What are your plans for him?

Ken

 

[FungusProudKY31]

I am not trying to be critical but I do not care for the sheath position on the bull or the sire and I see in several pictures of the young bull that he is a "dangler". I do not want that in a bull. Bonsma related to that as a non-desirable trait.

 

[ATJ]

Certainly a lot of muscle there in him and his sire and dam. What are your plans for him?

Ken

Thanks, I do like his muscling and thickness. We're not entirely sure what the plan for him is at this point. We were probably thinking of selling him as a herd bull, but have also considered keeping him in our own herd. He might get registered at some point along the way. I really like the way his sire has performed and produced for us, especially during the recent drought.

 

[ATJ]

I am not trying to be critical but I do not care for the sheath position on the bull or the sire and I see in several pictures of the young bull that he is a "dangler". I do not want that in a bull. Bonsma related to that as a non-desirable trait.

Thanks for the input. We run our herd on quite rough terrain, so try to be avoid poor sheath design, but are more focused on having bulls that can handle our climate. We've never had any trouble with his sire, or any of our bulls actually, damaging themselves. I agree the young bull could have better attachment and a more ideal angle, but I'm not sure it's going to be a problem.

Do you have any information about Bonsma? I have heard a bit about him, but would be interested in reading what you are referring to in this case.

What breed do you have? I think there is a lot of variation in opinions on this topic between breeds. For example I would expect Angus and Brahman breeders to disagree on what is an acceptable sheath design.

 

[wbvs58]

Thanks for the input. We run our herd on quite rough terrain, so try to be avoid poor sheath design, but are more focused on having bulls that can handle our climate. We've never had any trouble with his sire, or any of our bulls actually, damaging themselves. I agree the young bull could have better attachment and a more ideal angle, but I'm not sure it's going to be a problem.

Do you have any information about Bonsma? I have heard a bit about him, but would be interested in reading what you are referring to in this case.

What breed do you have? I think there is a lot of variation in opinions on this topic between breeds. For example I would expect Angus and Brahman breeders to disagree on what is an acceptable sheath design.

I would not like his sheath on one of my Angus bulls but you said he was 50% Brahmin, I think that comes with the territory and his sire seems to have dealt with it well. Be interested to know how he fares. Certainly worth commenting on.

Ken

 

[FungusProudKY31]

Thanks for the input. We run our herd on quite rough terrain, so try to be avoid poor sheath design, but are more focused on having bulls that can handle our climate. We've never had any trouble with his sire, or any of our bulls actually, damaging themselves. I agree the young bull could have better attachment and a more ideal angle, but I'm not sure it's going to be a problem.

Do you have any information about Bonsma? I have heard a bit about him, but would be interested in reading what you are referring to in this case.

What breed do you have? I think there is a lot of variation in opinions on this topic between breeds. For example I would expect Angus and Brahman breeders to disagree on what is an acceptable sheath design.

Bonsma books and writings are expensive if you can find them. Interlibrary loan is a good way to read his stuff. If someone tries to make a cookie cutter version of Bonsma they generally miss 99% of his understanding. But the main human propagators of learned Bonsma wisdom are interested in you financing them. I try to read and reread and feel stupid in the light of what he learned and knew. I know that Brahman breed(s) will affect the sheath situation. But a dangler is a dangler in any breed. "Beware of the Dangler" will never be the title of a top ten hit. We have run a number of crosses a good many decades ago but are all registered Angus now.