Ethical question about Mr. Hatchet butt

[cypressfarms]

O.k.,

So now I have a Brangus bull that I bought as a yearling, and he's grown everywhere except his butt. The older he gets, the more it looks like I need to get rid of him.

Here's the dilema:

Take to the livestock auction where he'll likely be made into ground meat or sell him as the registered brangus bull that he is? My guess he'll bring from $1000 to $1500 if I sell him to someone for use as a bull. If I bring him to the sale barn, I'll get much less.

Not being the type of person that wants to pass along bad quality, this is weighing on my mind.

 

[Scotty]

The hardest thing I had to do is start getting better and harder on my culling. We talked of what granddad and daddy did and not wanting to pay that much for genetics. In short if he looks like crap now and you have doubts, he will probly continue that way. How you want to sell him I can't help with. If you are trying to build a reputation i would hamburger him. If you have doubts you will want to rid your self of him. Hope this helps. The first ones are the hardest. Some times you have to cut your loses and just go on.


Scotty

 

[Anonymous]

O.k.,

So now I have a Brangus bull that I bought as a yearling, and he's grown everywhere except his butt. The older he gets, the more it looks like I need to get rid of him.

Here's the dilema:

Take to the livestock auction where he'll likely be made into ground meat or sell him as the registered brangus bull that he is? My guess he'll bring from $1000 to $1500 if I sell him to someone for use as a bull. If I bring him to the sale barn, I'll get much less.

Not being the type of person that wants to pass along bad quality, this is weighing on my mind.

You actually have a third choice as well.

Try him on a few cows to see if he produces a quality calf.

I have a bull that is not much to look at but produces great calves. We kept him sort of by accident - nuther story.

Sometimes what you see is not what you get.

Bez'

 

[Campground Cattle]

This is a simple decision to me bad boy is salebarn bound.
Hardest lesson for some to learn is ruthless culling of the herd.

 

[cypressfarms]

Thanks guys for the input.

I had posted on this board (breeds) about "my brangus bull".

Bez, he's already bred 4 of my brangus cows, so I'll see his offspring in Feb-March.

I don't have a problem culling him out. I think Bama said that culling solves 75% of your problems, and I agree with that. I'm just have pains of guilt run through me when I think about selling him as a bull to someone else. I know buyer beware with cattle, but doesn't seem so neighbourly.

 

[Crowderfarms]

Thanks guys for the input.

I had posted on this board (breeds) about "my brangus bull".

Bez, he's already bred 4 of my brangus cows, so I'll see his offspring in Feb-March.

I don't have a problem culling him out. I think Bama said that culling solves 75% of your problems, and I agree with that. I'm just have pains of guilt run through me when I think about selling him as a bull to someone else. I know buyer beware with cattle, but doesn't seem so neighbourly.

It's buyer beware at the sale Barn. If someone buys him for a herd bull, it'll be their stupidity. Pound him out. How much did you give for him as a yearling?If you are ever going to think about retaining any Heifers, then you need to load him up and go.

 

[Caustic Burno']

Cypress why gamble on ole Hatchet ?
Feeding a cull through the winter that maybe can produce something. If I am going to feed it through the winter it dang sure goin be something I see as expanding ROCE thats return on capital employed.
Heck man the way I see if you haul him to the barn and he sells for 750 bucks you are ahead now take that with some cull cows to the barn that you really shouldnt feed through the winter. Now you have enough frog skins to go buy a good bull.

 

[cypressfarms]

Crowder,

I wouldn't keep anything he sired for fear of the no butt syndrome.

Caustic, you really have a point about cutting losses NOW. He's not really gonna cost me anything extra to feed him through the winter (did I just say that?), I already have plenty of hay and I'm in the expansion mode (I don't have half the cattle on my new place that it can hold.) Sound like I'm making excuses for keeping him, huh...

I guess I know the answer

 

[Caustic Burno']

Crowder,

I wouldn't keep anything he sired for fear of the no butt syndrome.

Caustic, you really have a point about cutting losses NOW. He's not really gonna cost me anything extra to feed him through the winter (did I just say that?), I already have plenty of hay and I'm in the expansion mode (I don't have half the cattle on my new place that it can hold.) Sound like I'm making excuses for keeping him, huh...

I guess I know the answer

Cypress get rid of that soft spot now everthing cost!!! He has to eat something might as well be feeding his replacement.
There has been some great discussions on cost on this board, until you realize everthing you do with a ranch has a cost you are going to be in trouble.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Sound like I'm making excuses for keeping him, huh...

I guess I know the answer

Yes on both counts. You even said that you wouldn't keep anything he sired for fear of the "no butt syndrome".
Sometimes we already know the decision, but "need" to be backed up in our thinking, ie "affirmation".
Take him for a ride.

Katherine

 

[Caustic Burno']

Cypress the more I read your post you remind me of a cresent wrench dang fine tool but you really have to watch as it will slip off on you.

 

[cypressfarms]

Caustic,

I'm laughing because you always come up with good one liners, but what do ya mean about slip off???

 

[Caustic Burno']

Caustic,

I'm laughing because you always come up with good one liners, but what do ya mean about slip off???

Sometime I think your head is a little cross threaded or the nut is rounded off. You are really trying and thats good, but this soft spot is going to kill you in this biz.

 

[cypressfarms]

Caustic,

I'm still laughing, because it's true. Not about the cross thread or being rounded off, but the soft spot. My dad has told me for years that I wait too long on decisions that I know I should make (With cattle). He's the one who also told me that the minute that I quit playing with cattle, and started doing it for "real" (He means for a living), then I would change immediately.

I'm now still playing, as he calls it. I'm a manager at a plastics plant, and I "play" with cows on the side. Funny though, I'm known as being a tough manager. Guess that'll transfer to cattle when I retire from the plastic plant.

Good read caustic!!!

 

[whatabull]

O.k.,



Not being the type of person that wants to pass along bad quality, this is weighing on my mind.

Cypress, you made the right choice, in the above statement. Right thing is not always the easy thing. Myself I would not sale something I would not own,"if that makes a lick of sense"

This Critter should be Hamburger not passing on his Hatchbutt. I would Cull him now, dont feed him going into winter.

 

[la4angus]

Take to the livestock auction where he'll likely be made into ground meat or sell him as the registered brangus bull that he is? My guess he'll bring from $1000 to $1500 if I sell him to someone for use as a bull. If I bring him to the sale barn, I'll get much less.

I hope you don't really think that anyone would pay $1000.00 to $1,500 for him to use as a bull. His place is in hamburgers and chilli, not in someone's pasture breeding cows.

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

Well, I guess the thing that I wonder is what made you buy the bull in the first place. Was he a good looking animal when you bought him as a yearling? If he was then your calves off of him should look okay if you are planning to sell them. I never judge a bull by how he looks when he is two. If he was good as a yearling, you probably will have that good looking bull back when he's three. Alot of animals go through kind of an ugly adolescent thing at two years old. JMHO.

 

[Brandonm2]

O.k.,

So now I have a Brangus bull that I bought as a yearling, and he's grown everywhere except his butt. The older he gets, the more it looks like I need to get rid of him.

Here's the dilema:

Take to the livestock auction where he'll likely be made into ground meat or sell him as the registered brangus bull that he is? My guess he'll bring from $1000 to $1500 if I sell him to someone for use as a bull. If I bring him to the sale barn, I'll get much less.

Not being the type of person that wants to pass along bad quality, this is weighing on my mind.

Cypress, if I responded to an ad for a "Reg. Brangus Bull For Sale" and drove 5-200 miles only to be shown the underweight lite muscled bull in your pictures I would be really HOT!! and I certainly would not give you any $1000-1500 and I would dog you to everybody I talked too for the next two years. ANYTIME you invite somebody to your place to buy seedstock you need to put something in front of them that MIGHT make their herd better. Sure you might find somebody stupid who will buy that bull; but they undoubtedly have friends who know more than they do and they are going to dog that bull so even if you did sell the bull and get a fair price you will hurt your rep and probably make an enemy in the process. Every seedstock sale SHOULD be seen as a way to sell many animals over time. Hopefully the guy will come back again and again so you don't want to sell the guy a dud. Now at the stockyard include the Registration papers. In my opinion anybody buying herd bulls at the stockyard DESERVES to get screwed!!!

 

[Australian Cattleman]

Excellent comment. I agree no one should buy a bull out of the stock yard ( we call them saleyards here) We would never buy a bull from the saleyards (unless it was a catalogued bull sale)
Breeders deserve what they get when they buy from that venue. There is always a reason why they are sold that way,end of the draft,poorer quality,temperament etc etc.

Colin

 

[cypressfarms]

Cattle Rock Rancher,

He did look good as a yearling. He was well proportioned, EPD's were good for me, and he was/is calm. Maybe this is a growth spurt, but it's not a pretty one. Wish I had some pictures of when I bought him. He was much different.

Brandon,

Well said. I would be hot too if I drove a long way to look at this bull. If I do sell him, I would definitely tell anyone the reason why I was selling him.

But, looks like ground meat is where he's destined to be. That way he won't cause any bad will either way.