Breeding a crossbred bull question?
- Thread starter AKE
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Muddy
Well-known member
You'll be fine, some people on here are not fan of longhorns or crossbred bulls or even Charolais bulls. Some people do fine with cheap alternative way by keeping bull calves as a herd bull.AKE":3pkz9aj9 said:
WalnutCrest
Well-known member
Some people have some nice stock that's not registered. If it's from a herd that's been closed for a few years and the cows are consistent and are sired by their own home raised bulls, you've got a good shot at having consistent calves. IMO.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Blue ribbon winner a bad cow hurts a bad bull is a disaster.Muddy":2yaicytk said:
That's the best way I have heard on here to get bottom dollar through the barn.
farmerjan
Well-known member
How many cows are you breeding? I realize that bulls aren't cheap, we have 7-10 at any one time to take care of cows out on the different leased places we have. Therefore at an average of 3500 per bull; which you can find good genetics here for that, especially if you can buy a yearling and keep him for a little while and not use him too heavy the first season; then you are looking at a cost of $125.00 per calf for a 30 cow herd. We have seen bulls bring 5-10,000 and have one that cost over 5,000 right now, but we saw his heifer calves and liked them and so was willing to go that price. Use him at least 2 years, any heifers you keep you will not want to run with the older cows so a separate bull for them. By the second year of just the 30 cows now you are talking $65. per calf. You can barely take the time to AI cows for less than that if you figure semen, catching them, watching heats etc. So the idea is how many cows are you spreading out the cost over. We buy all registered bulls, and have a registered "percentage" bull that I am not thrilled with but bought him on looks and "his paper" records. No more percentage/crossbred bulls for us. If you keep the bull for 4 or 5 years then the cost per calf is small. We have kept good producing bulls for more than 5 years if they stay fertile, and are easy breeders, and the calves sell well.
When we were starting out we couldn't buy very good bulls, and gradually worked our way up to better bulls. We have kept a couple of nice bulls out of our best producing cows, and some have worked and some haven't. How about checking with a neighbor or someone at the local cattle assoc to see if they are going to "trade in" their bull for a new/younger one due to keeping alot of heifers. Cull bull prices here are in the $1.00 range so an experienced bull that someone can no longer use due to genetics, may be a less expensive way to go. You can pay more than slaughter price and still not spend as much as some at a reg sale. We also lease out a couple of bulls to farmers who only have 15-30 cows. Are there any lease bulls available? You would only have to keep and feed him for a few months. I would be a little cautious about keeping a bull that had longhorn in it, especially if the commercial cattle you have could have something in their background other than what you see. A recessive horn gene might not show up if you continue to breed purebred with a polled breed, but if a recessive horn gene matches up with another recessive horn gene, you could get several with horns....ouch.
When we were starting out we couldn't buy very good bulls, and gradually worked our way up to better bulls. We have kept a couple of nice bulls out of our best producing cows, and some have worked and some haven't. How about checking with a neighbor or someone at the local cattle assoc to see if they are going to "trade in" their bull for a new/younger one due to keeping alot of heifers. Cull bull prices here are in the $1.00 range so an experienced bull that someone can no longer use due to genetics, may be a less expensive way to go. You can pay more than slaughter price and still not spend as much as some at a reg sale. We also lease out a couple of bulls to farmers who only have 15-30 cows. Are there any lease bulls available? You would only have to keep and feed him for a few months. I would be a little cautious about keeping a bull that had longhorn in it, especially if the commercial cattle you have could have something in their background other than what you see. A recessive horn gene might not show up if you continue to breed purebred with a polled breed, but if a recessive horn gene matches up with another recessive horn gene, you could get several with horns....ouch.
Son of Butch
Well-known member
That is the most practical advice on here. Satisfaction being the key word.Lazy M":1qsfmdnp said:
If your herd genetic average is in the top 1/3 of its breed, you have to use a top 1/3 bull just to maintain status quo.
If your herd averages 65th percentile and you are satisfied then the importance of the herd sire decreases significantly.
It is easier to find a sire to maintain or improve genetics in a below average herd than in an above average herd.
Big Cheese
Well-known member
I think you will be fine using this bull and you will still get good calves out of him. We have had a home grown bull that we used for a year and a half and he produced really good calves but he was only on 4 cows. He got us back where we wanted to be and then when we got back in the 20-25 cow range we got a full blood bull. Use him and if you don't like him get something different.
WalnutCrest
Well-known member
Big Cheese":o3uyy82t said:
God bless America.
