Commercial Bulls

[Kaden]

What are yall's experiences with raising commercial bulls? Would it be worth it to keep one or two of your best bull calves to raise for bulls? Is there any kind of market for them?

 

[faster horses]

We kept some out of AI'd cows for our own use. Those were registered cows we bought that were not related to our main herd. That worked okay and we sold a few to others. It was never on a big scale. Good luck to you!

 

[Son of Butch]

What are yall's experiences with raising commercial bulls?
Is there any kind of market for them?

Yes, the slaughter market, but that would be your last resort.
Otherwise you will have to drum up or create your own market for them or take them to your local sale barn, pay the added breeding bull commissions and bse fees and take your chances with buyers looking for a good deal on a low end breeding bull, for the price of a good fatted steer.

 

[Ky hills]

I have been using some home raised bulls, both purebred and commercial for several years. If I know the cows based on their history in my herd or if it’s a young cow from one of those good doing older cows, and if the bull the calf is by has worked well then I am honestly just as comfortable using a calf like that as I am a purchased registered one based off of numbers, and someone else’s herd.
While I don’t mind at all to use our own commercial bulls in herd, I don’t think that it would be too economical to raise them on much of a scale specifically to sell as bulls.

 

[alacowman1]

What are yall's experiences with raising commercial bulls? Would it be worth it to keep one or two of your best bull calves to raise for bulls? Is there any kind of market for them?

Im using one now I raised..doing a decent job so far..just not deep enough in with him to know how good..but a heck of a lot better than the last one I raised ..takes a long time to breed the consistency in them ,to put them to use for the outside .. I wouldn't sell one to the public personally ,till I was cruising in high gear....

 

[Dsth]

I have been 100% AI for about 25 years. I have only kept bulls if someone requests one before it hits the ground and they are picked up shortly after weaning. my price is just slightly higher than feeder price since the same buyer has been buying both. I have thought about raising bulls but to me the extra facilities, time and headaches are not worth it as a business.

 

[Aero]

What are yall's experiences with raising commercial bulls? Would it be worth it to keep one or two of your best bull calves to raise for bulls? Is there any kind of market for them?

If you think somebody else's bulls will be better at what you do than the bull you could raise, buy from them. Selling bulls as commercial will not bring much of a premium over the sale barn and will be a lot more effort.

 

[BFE]

I have neighbors who sell most of their bull calves for breeding. They don't charge an excessive amount, have decent stock, and everyone around here right now wants Red Angus, and they were in a few years before the craze hit. I bought one a few years back, had some nice calves with him. It's no more work other than keeping the weaned heifers away from the weaned bulls the way they do it. Getting from $1750 a couple years ago to probably $2000 now is a nice little income boost.

I will quantify this by saying that people around here are small time and wouldn't spend the extra money for a big name registered bull. The neighbors could cut more than they do, but people still take them. More power to them I guess, no one is twisting the buyers' arm.

 

[Stickney94]

I'm going to echo what BFE said above. Save a couple bulls back and try and sell them. You are going to know how much work it will take from raising, developing, and marketing in fairly short order. You catch a breeding season with a lot of bull casualties you may even build yourself a customer base.

I say that mostly because I'm rather amazed at the # of bulls that are selling for >$5,000 at auctions. My home raised AI sired clean up bull has easily a 5K pedigree but far less in actual cost.

 

[littletom]

Kept one this year for a extra. Had a few deals in the past where one came up a dud or lame and i was in a pickle. Hopfully I don't use him but I have lot of bad luck with bulls.

 

[Hoser]

I AI'd a Balancer second calver (pic is her as a heifer) to Lucas Tonic 654S and I think I'm going to keep the bull calf.

 

[TCRanch]

What @BFE said. I've sold commercial bulls to neighbors because they like the registered bulls I buy & my cattle. All they really want is a "black" bull with a good disposition for a reasonable price. I don't band until appx 3 months, and they can pick which bull calf they want, spend time with the sire & dam. Calf will be weaned, fully vaccinated with a magnet and they pick him up when he's almost a yearling. I don't do a BSE or guarantee a thing and I sell him just slightly over market value for steers.

That said, I prefer not to keep a bull calf intact and sell one as a breeder. It's not a huge amount of extra effort but I do have to pull him early to keep him away from the heifers.

 

[Warren Allison]

What are yall's experiences with raising commercial bulls? Would it be worth it to keep one or two of your best bull calves to raise for bulls? Is there any kind of market for them?

Wouldn't do it, no and no.

 

[Allenw]

You would be selling to someone just looking for a cow freshner most likely unless you have a reputation for selling top quality calves then you might do a little better.