british white x hereford for a herd sire.

[georgiabob]

He is salebarn material period.
He is a good crossbred salebarn calf.
You have no idea what will come out of him, he's a box of crayons.
I don't understand the infatuation with cull bulls.
A bad cow hurts, a bad bull is a disaster.
With today's margins you won't survive long hauling back forty calves to the sale.

He's not mine. Somebody is trying to sell him to me and i don't see much difference in him and the hereford. I'll never load 40 calves for a salebarn (i hope). Every cow i own is a cross breed except for 2 so i'm always going to have a box of crayons.

 

[KAstocker]

@georgiabob so is the plan to direct market beef for most of your calves?

 

[georgiabob]

@georgiabob so is the plan to direct market beef for most of your calves?

Yes, i'll probably never run more than 20-30 cows. Not trying to get rich just have something to semi-retire to in a couple of years. The next few years i want to build up my brood cows and will cull heavily. Not worried about color as much as feet, bags, temperment and calving ease. Then i can put black bulls over them assuming that's what the market dictates.

 

[Caustic Burno]

He's not mine. Somebody is trying to sell him to me and i don't see much difference in him and the hereford. I'll never load 40 calves for a salebarn (i hope). Every cow i own is a cross breed except for 2 so i'm always going to have a box of crayons.

Every cow I own is an F-1 or 3/8 brimmer.
The consistency comes from the a quality bull .
That's money in your pocket you will never achieve with a cull bull.
This is what a year old bull should look like.

This is the type commercial heifer he will produce .
They will fight over this type bringing premium dollar.
This is about converting grass to cash or raising welfare cattle .

 

[Ky hills]

Whether selecting a bull to purchase or to retain one from within the herd, the goal should be the same. Selecting for a desired type and kind that will fit and benefit your marketing goals. The quality of the bull is a big part of the equation. What is he going to bring to the table in terms of growth, muscling, productive daughters etc., should be a strong consideration. A bull can and should be much more than a cow freshener. We got in a bind a few years ago and needed a bull, found a cheap bull that looked good and thick except I thought he looked kind of toady. He was young and I thought well he might grow out some, but no he stayed a toad. Last night, wife and I were checking cows and we drove by a 1st calf heifer of his that we kept out of one our top end cows. I pointed out to my wife that that heifer was out of her favorite cow. She said "that little ugly thing is?" Then she said "how could a good cow like her have a calf like that". I replied the bull had a lot to do with it. The heifer does have a real good udder and is doing a good job with her calf, but it is out of a bigger framed more muscular bull.

 

[Warren Allison]

Every cow I own is an F-1 or 3/8 brimmer.
The consistency comes from the a quality bull .
That's money in your pocket you will never achieve with a cull bull.
This is what a year old bull should look like.
This is the type commercial heifer he will produce .

@georgiabob What @Caustic Burno said is absolutely true. and in our are , a steer like the heifer pictured below will bring top dollar anywhere in the SE. And a heifer like this will bring top dollar for replacements. You would be money ahead to get some cows like Bruno's... Braford or F1 Brahma x Hereford...and breed them to a polled, homozygous black bull. Down here, we could use Brangus on the these cows, and won't get any dock. Angus or Ultrablack will do just as well, with less ear. Or if you want to keep what black cows you already have, breed them to a reg Braford bull. What black baldy cows you have, breed to a Brangus bull. Unless you want to get into raising registered breeding stock, there is NO commercial cross you could come up with, that would bring more money than one like Bruno pictured below.

View attachment 5156
They will fight over this type bringing premium dollar.
This is about converting grass to cash or raising welfare cattle .

 

[georgiabob]

Whether selecting a bull to purchase or to retain one from within the herd, the goal should be the same. Selecting for a desired type and kind that will fit and benefit your marketing goals. The quality of the bull is a big part of the equation. What is he going to bring to the table in terms of growth, muscling, productive daughters etc., should be a strong consideration. A bull can and should be much more than a cow freshener. We got in a bind a few years ago and needed a bull, found a cheap bull that looked good and thick except I thought he looked kind of toady. He was young and I thought well he might grow out some, but no he stayed a toad. Last night, wife and I were checking cows and we drove by a 1st calf heifer of his that we kept out of one our top end cows. I pointed out to my wife that that heifer was out of her favorite cow. She said "that little ugly thing is?" Then she said "how could a good cow like her have a calf like that". I replied the bull had a lot to do with it. The heifer does have a real good udder and is doing a good job with her calf, but it is out of a bigger framed more muscular bull.

these two are out of the two worst looking cows i own. to be fair the cows weren't handled well before i got them and i was seriously considering culling the mother of that bull calf. he's 3 weeks in that picture and the little heifer is 6 weeks. they're out of that BWF bull i posted a picture of earlier. i bought that hereford when he was young and he definitely hasn't aged the way i hoped he would but he's what i have right now and i've got a buyer for him when i'm done with him in a couple of months. two of the cows he's bred too are going to be sold as bred cows or pairs and one other is on the bubble.

 

[georgiabob]

y'all pick this 3 month old beef master apart.

 

[gcreekrch]

Just some random pics of bulls bought this spring, only a few of the 17 purchased.

 

[georgiabob]

That last

Just some random pics of bulls bought this spring, only a few of the 17 purchased.
View attachment 5211View attachment 5212View attachment 5213View attachment 5214View attachment 5215

I like the last one a lot but we're in two different worlds. If you bought 17 bulls i'm guessing you're running at least 400 head. I doubt i'll ever run more than 30-40. With what calves bring around here spending 8k plus on a bull every couple of years wouldn't pay off. AI may make more sense in the end.

 

[gcreekrch]

That last

I like the last one a lot but we're in two different worlds. If you bought 17 bulls i'm guessing you're running at least 400 head. I doubt i'll ever run more than 30-40. With what calves bring around here spending 8k plus on a bull every couple of years wouldn't pay off. AI may make more sense in the end.

These bulls averaged under 4500. We had bought 13 earlier and thought we were ok for this year but we lost several bulls at semen test. We missed last year as we couldn't get the bulls home to a squeeze from their winter quarters due to road conditions. Regardless how much money you spend or don't spend, an inferior bull will cost you far more than he makes you.

 

[georgiabob]

Your bull looks like a steer. Totally lacking masculinity for his age. Just calling him as I see him in that photo.

seems like he outgrew that awkward phase over the last few months.

 

[MurraysMutts]

They get bigger as they go!

Has he been with your british white mama?

 

[Redgully]

Just read through this thread, seems you may be trying to re invent the wheel and end up pretty much with a speckle park. This is my grassfed only 12month to the day speckle bull.

Is there any chance your hereford has jersey in him as he looks stringy to me. If you keep replacements from him will set your herd back years.

 

[GoWyo]

Other than the size of his nuts he still lacks masculinity.

 

[georgiabob]

Just read through this thread, seems you may be trying to re invent the wheel and end up pretty much with a speckle park. This is my grassfed only 12month to the day speckle bull.

Is there any chance your hereford has jersey in him as he looks stringy to me. If you keep replacements from him will set your herd back years.

Yeah, i'm trying to build some brood cows up and i think my british white has the best udder of any cow i've owned and that bull is the most docile bovine i've ever owned period. I do expect to end up with heifers that probably look like shorthorn crosses.

 

[georgiabob]

Just read through this thread, seems you may be trying to re invent the wheel and end up pretty much with a speckle park. This is my grassfed only 12month to the day speckle bull.

Is there any chance your hereford has jersey in him as he looks stringy to me. If you keep replacements from him will set your herd back years.

He came from a local herd of herefords. I put him in the field when he was 11 months and he bred a heifer that wasn't supposed to be open that day. He's been breeding cows since march. He's probably a bit stunted. I sold him yesterday. I've got a calf due out of him next month. Then another in december out of a cow that is out of synch. Then a some between april and may of next year.

 

[BFE]

Other than the size of his nuts he still lacks masculinity.

He should've lost those long ago.

 

[BFE]

I understand all about using a lower quality bull when you're in a bind, just to get a calf crop on the ground. Let him do his job and move him on, which sounds like what you've done. Take that money and upgrade. You should have time now to find a really good one.

 

[Dave]

No matter what your end market is for your calves, breeding to the best bull you can will make you more money.