Bull Calf

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Jafruech

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Wife was out taking pictures today of some of the calves and sent me this one.

Little over 3 months old (I calve in mid May) calf. His 11 y/o dam is also pictured. No supplementation other than mineral.

Not going to keep him, just curious of others thoughts. I don't normally take pics of them till around 5-6 months, but figured I'd share an earlier one.
 

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nope, a good looking calf with a nice rear quarter
300 wts bring 1.75 lb here in Mn
of course he might look different at 600 lbs
Where are you located?

Thanks.

My experience with my calves each year is they really start looking good about the 5 month mark and start to gain a lot of thickness to them by 6 months. This guy will have considerably more thickness and size to him at 6 months. I'll take more of him at 5-6 months.

I'm in CO
 
I wouldn't have guessed he had Longhorn in him. Still a dandy calf.

Most don't guess that the 50% ANG / 50% LH Dams do either. Using the right bulls on the right LHs and managing breeding groups helps a lot. The calves grow, finish, and grade well with good marbling...and they don't get sick.

Always tell my direct buyers that finish them what they are, and they keep coming back every year for more and pay me well for them. Most of my buyers direct market, so quality has to be there or they would stop coming back. The ones I don't sell direct and sell at the market usually do very well selling them at 7 mo, 45 days weaned.
 
Uh oh, The know-it-alls are about to start calling you a liar! :) Great looking calf. and cow! How many Ang x LH do you have?
Most of my herd are the crosses and the rest are LHs so that I can keep making more of the crosses.

I'm sure someone will come up on the line and tell me what I'm doing wrong, what's wrong with the calf, or why they aren't going to waste their time responding. That's fine. I like to hear all sides.
 
Most of my herd are the crosses and the rest are LHs so that I can keep making more of the crosses.

I'm sure someone will come up on the line and tell me what I'm doing wrong, what's wrong with the calf, or why they aren't going to waste their time responding. That's fine. I like to hear all sides.
Do you use Angus bulls for the crosses, or have you ever tried Brangus or Ultrablack? And do you always use a Hereford bull on the F1s?
 
Do you use Angus bulls for the crosses, or have you ever tried Brangus or Ultrablack? And do you always use a Hereford bull on the F1s
1. Buy some beefier type solid red or solid black LHs from a local rancher that only feeds and grows them on native grass so I know they fit my environment. Proven track record of fertility, longevity, health, etc. Most LH breeders I know locally have more historical data than you can sort through.

2. Run an angus bull similar to Beral of Wye on them. Keep heifers. Strict culling.

3. Run another similar angus bull on the F1s. Keep heifers. Strict culling. Home raise some 75% ang / 25% LH bulls. Strict culling for desired traits. Blood test to make sure they are homo polled.

4. Run F2 Angus/LH X bulls on F-2/3 heifers for first calf.

5. After first calf run a old moderate framed style hereford bull on the F-2/3 cows, keep heifers then start the cycle over.

6. Play around with running a hereford bull on various gens of cows. You'd be surprised how consistent of a calf crop you will produce.

You have to select the right bulls or it will be a train wreck.
 
Do you use Angus bulls for the crosses, or have you ever tried Brangus or Ultrablack? And do you always use a Hereford bull on the F1s?

See my response quoted above from another thread. That's my preferred rotation.

Last year the Angus bull that was supposed to be run on this group failed 2 BSEs (post vesiculitis and he's in my freezer now) before turn out so I had to swap in a hereford bull for this breeding group. Ended up with more reds than would be normal but overall still happy with the result. Will get pics of some of the heifers I'm going to keep when I can take some.

After seeing these I'm probably going to swap around my #4 and 5, which should better maximize heterosis anyway.
 
Nice thick calf no matter what breed but I agree he is not bull quality. At least in this pic, he is too post legged, straight shoulder.

Yeah I agree. There's about 10 of the cows I would keep bulls out of. She's not one of them. it's hard to say without being the one taking the picture. He could have just stood up and been stretching or bad angle or could be all of the above. I'll know more when I go take more pics. Would love your opinion on some of the heifers I plan on retaining
 

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