I doubt that rabbits had EPDs?? You can use those to improve any shortfalls your cow herd might have without doing a lot of crossbreeding. I hope you can keep them red. My limited experience with Limi cross heifers was very bad. I try not to use "calving ease" and "Limousin" in the same breath. I understood that you AI-ed your heifers, so I was wondering what Limousin bull you used. Thanks...
LOL... no, rabbits do not have EPDs... was using them as an example of what I liked about cross-breeding... throwing a monkey in the wrench, so to speak. When the folks first started with the Limousin, they were very happy with first cross.... but when those daughters were bred, something was amiss big time. They were running a hundred/hundred fifty mama cows by that time. As they got closer to full-blood Limousin, the thing that they had so admired and enjoyed about the Limousin began to re-emerge. Then, they threw in some Gelbvieh and a Simmental (on certain crosses), and decided that was a disaster.... personalities really started to suffer. They have used a Limousin straight for the last fifteen years and have been glad to see the Gelbvieh and Simmintal influence beginning to disappear. Mostly, all that is left of those bulls is the color. Yes, I AI'd my Limousin heifers and used a red Limousin bull from Select Sires/All West breeders. I only have a small herd of three heifers, the two black Limousins had black calves that are starting to turn pretty dusky... the red heifer had a red calf. The darkest red calf on the place came from an older cow from my dad's herd and she is a blond cow, bred to a red bull. The grandfather to the newest calves was a black bull, so that is why I will have to deal with that for awhile. I can't afford to get rid of all the black, yet, but it will disappear in time, I am sure. It must be easier to get rid of the black that it is to get rid of white. Does that help?
