GAR Expectation and other sire ???'s

[farmerD44]

Hey all, i just received the new select sires catalog and have been looking through it here. I have been interested in using Expectation for a couple years now. his #'s look great and appears to be a proven bull. My first question is how is the temperment of his offspring? I have read that animals from his sire have a terrible temperement. My other question is that i have read that his semen is in short supply. Is he now dead or is semen still being produced??? We bred a few of our simmy cross heifers to his son 2x15 last year so we will see how they come out.

Other sires i have questions about are 5050 and Yield Grade. We have purebred calves on the way from both of these this year. Just curious what kind of luck others have had with these 2 sires?

And of course some of u may recall i posted last year about possibly using Gridmaker and am still considering that as well.I am looking to increase frame size and muscle a little.

Any usefull comments are appreciated.

Dan.

 

[Frankie]

I can't help much, but:

We had a Yield Grade bull calf born recently. He was tiny, 68#, but plenty of get up and go. His dam is a first calf heifer, Dateline, and he could almost walk under her. We'll see how he grows.

 

[Aero]

we use Expectation a lot and have had great results. he sired our top bull this year and he is a cant miss for our customers. we are flushing a cow to him in a few weeks. usually the bulls we get out of Expectation are in the 6.25-6.5 frame range.

i dont know of any disposition problems in our crops and the temperament of EXT offspring is pretty subjective; some people say they are just very protective, but not aggressive.

http://5barx.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p ... t=ext#3581

Expectation is dead and we are having a hard time finding any more than 5-10 straws in most places. i imagine we would buy 50 more staws if we could find it.

we have used Yield Grade quite a bit and he always has solid calves. they dont have the flash of some others, but they are always good or better. we havent used 5050 yet (and probably wont) since we have enough 036 already and he isnt very proven yet.

we have been using WAR Alliance 9126 6006 pretty heavy for the last few years and if there is something he is good at, it is adding frame and muscle.

i am currently looking for a good Expectation son, but the only one i found died unexpectedly.

 

[C HOLLAND]

FarmerD, I was trying to get some of expectation's semen from Select Sires a few weeks back and the local rep told me it was all sold out ( He is dead now (Exp not the Rep) ). I just purchased one of his Son's and really like the way he looks, but the real proof is how his calves turn out. I have some of 2X15 and plan to use him on some heifers this spring/summer. :

 

[NCSU Maverick]

We've had six or seven yield grade calves, they came out small, heifers had no problems calving, they are growing fast.

We have one expectation heifer calf, she looks ok so far, hope she turns out good.

We bred some back to yield grade and 2 878. We really liked the 2 878 until his goods jumped to $40 a straw. I'm excited to see how his calves do. Think 5050 might be a possibility for next year.

 

[tuck]

My select sires rep told me that expectation calves sold in missouri for outragous prices, I don't know about the temperment but they do seem to be selling good. I just ordered some grid maker and solution and few straws of Total. I thought about getting some integrity but every sale I have been to is saleing calves out of him, they sale good but when is enough going to be enough. I think this solution bull will be a good one, I hope anyway.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

The current on-going perception and discrimination of N Bar Emulation EXT siring difficult-to-manage progeny probably has some merit - however - if you take into consideration the incredible number of offspring in his 'down-line', I think that it is conceivable that ANY bull with that many individuals to peruse could posses many questionable traits about which a breeder could speculate. It might be advisable to consider his positive characteristics and balance them against his perceived negative reputation.

I would submit that any bull with the thousands and thousands of offspring which EXT has - would have many screwballs, ding bats, crackpots and nut cases of which he would not be proud! Don't be misled! I am not necessarily 'carrying-the-flag' for EXT, but the unfortunate experiences of a few (or many) does not presuppose that EVERY son or daughter of his should be discredited - out-of-hand.

Another thought here regarding 5050 and Yield Grade; comparing the Growth, Maternal and Ultrasound EPD's between the two bulls, one can argue oneself into a corner - 5050 is a little more desirable on most traits than Yield Grade - - except for Scrotal. Yield Grade has the edge in that regard! How important are Scrotal EPD's in your particular program?!

The important factor to consider in this, and ALL OTHER breeding decisions is - the DAM. She and her Genetic and Phenotypic composition is JUST as important in the production of her SINGLE progeny as the bull! Your decisions as a breeder are determined by the specific requirements of your herd and management plans.

It's YOUR decision. Are you "TERMINAL" or "ROTATIONAL"?

DOC HARRIS

 

[Aero]

I think this solution bull will be a good one, I hope anyway.

i think you have a very good point. we should have about 10 calves on the ground by him this fall and we have flushed to him and got 30+ embryos so far.

 

[Aero]

in regards to EXT progeny disposition, as somebody said: if you want a pet in the pasture, bring the dog. as long as you can work the cattle without too much effort, weigh the goods against the bads.

 

[Angus Guy]

We have a 4 yr old Expectation son who has the best temperment of any bull we've owned. By the way great calves.

 

[SEC]

Good post Doc! I think the good of EXT far outweighs the bad, albeit the temperment is a spoke in the wheel, it certainly doesn't mean that all of EXT progeny are snorty.

In fact, it's usually the sons as the daughters are wonderful cows. In my mind I don't think there is a bull in the breed that does a better job in siring, adequate muscle, growth. The daughters are excellent, he'll fix an udder quicker than most bulls with lots of rib cage, and awesome feet.

If I could find a EXT son that would sire enough scrotal I would love to hear about it. Secondly, the semen needs to be exportable.

 

[cfpinz]

I bought a son of Yield Grade this past fall solely for use on heifers. He is not as thick as I like, but he is put together nicely and has a -1.3 BW. We're breeding some heifers to him now so I'm interested in seeing how things turn out this fall.

cfpinz

 

[KMacGinley]

Doc: I would beg to differ, being ground into the mud by an aggressive EXT offspring tends to overshadow any percieved positive in my mind. I have a rather vivid memory of being chased across a pasture in the dark while checking calves one night. There are plenty of other Great bulls without the Proven disposition problems of these cattle to choose from.

 

[Aero]

Doc: I would beg to differ, being ground into the mud by an aggressive EXT offspring tends to overshadow any percieved positive in my mind. I have a rather vivid memory of being chased across a pasture in the dark while checking calves one night. There are plenty of other Great bulls without the Proven disposition problems of these cattle to choose from.

did you ever have that problem when there wasnt a calf on her?

 

[KMacGinley]

I have kids that work with me out there and I can't tolerate that behavior. She was hard to work, yes. As long as you were not doing anything with her, she was fine. She was one of those upheaded alert cows if you know what I mean. We have NO EXT blood on our farm, nor will we ever. Good Dispositions and udders and carcass... 6I6 I love that bull.