GAR Homefree son

[MurraysMutts]

I got new bull today. Haul tomorrow.

Here's a video on his sire. The bull I bought is a.i. sired of coarse. I don't have any info on his dam yet. I went with the intention of buying one of two nice hereford bulls they had but they went beyond what I was willing to pay. Ain't seen a hereford breeding bull bring 3600 here in quite a while. Maybe I'm out of touch.



And a couple quick snaps of him in the pen. Super gentle it seems. That's a big plus for me!
Yearling bull. He's got 11 cows to breed. Should be A-OK

 

[W.B.]

I am not sure what you want us to say. My mom taught me to have manners and to be honest. Yes he is black and yes he appears to be a bull.

 

[Dave]

I would say you are out of touch. Last year I went to Harrell Hereford bull sale. I didn't see anything bring less than $7,000 and the average was in the high $8,000's. Any bull selling in the $3,000's or less is just a bull.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I am not sure what you want us to say. My mom taught me to have manners and to be honest. Yes he is black and yes he appears to be a bull.

That bad huh??
Ya'll won't hurt my feelings. I promise.
To me, he's light in the rear and could definitely be more muscular. He has not been pushed on feed. BUT he seems perfectly sound. Feet look ok. He travels well. Scrotal is pretty impressive really. And he's already passed a BSE.

He's a calving ease bull. We have a couple homeraised heifers we want to breed and have a successful first calving. I also have a couple old cows now that I don't want to lose. (I know, they're pets) and I think an easy birthing bull will allow me to still keep them in production.

Honestly I was expecting some conversation about his sire.

I know this bull is not much to look at right now. And he may not develop into anything any better I don't know!

The hereford bulls sold at 3600. I expected to be able to buy one for less than 3000. Didn't happen and that's ok. The herford bulls were quite a bit more developed. They were just nicer bulls than this bull. Only pic I have of the herefords.

 

[W.B.]

I don't claim to be able to run your operation. Huge differences in geography here on how cattle are managed. Calving ease bulls here go with first calvers only.

I do think you are too focused on purchase price but hey you know what you can afford more than I do. Killer bulls are north of $2/lb.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I would say you are out of touch. Last year I went to Harrell Hereford bull sale. I didn't see anything bring less than $7,000 and the average was in the high $8,000's. Any bull selling in the $3,000's or less is just a bull.

Thanks Dave

I seem to be stuck in the mentality of a trader. I figured this bull to do what I need and I wouldn't get hurt too bad if I decide to re-sell him.

The original plan, like I said was to buy a hereford to keep for several years. When they went over budget I panicked a bit. I need a bull now and this was the last breeding stock sale til fall around here that I could make. I do think he will get the job done that I described in the above post tho.


Everyone feel free to discuss him!! It'll help anyone who reads these things to make better decisions in the future. And I'll try and get a couple better pics today too.
I'd especially like to hear from people who have used Homefree as well. And share their experiences with him.

 

[W.B.]

That bad huh??
Ya'll won't hurt my feelings. I promise.
To me, he's light in the rear and could definitely be more muscular. He has not been pushed on feed. BUT he seems perfectly sound. Feet look ok. He travels well. Scrotal is pretty impressive really. And he's already passed a BSE.

He's a calving ease bull. We have a couple homeraised heifers we want to breed and have a successful first calving. I also have a couple old cows now that I don't want to lose. (I know, they're pets) and I think an easy birthing bull will allow me to still keep them in production.

Honestly I was expecting some conversation about his sire.

I know this bull is not much to look at right now. And he may not develop into anything any better I don't know!

The hereford bulls sold at 3600. I expected to be able to buy one for less than 3000. Didn't happen and that's ok. The herford bulls were quite a bit more developed. They were just nicer bulls than this bull. Only pic I have of the herefords.

View attachment 58271

As far as talking about his sire I don't know much more than his pedigree and his epds. Most commercial cattlemen I talk with hate the really small birth Angus calves even on heifers. His feet epds are not going to help sell semen for his owners. Once again more of the same problems different day.

 

[mwj]

A lot of people want to see them raised without extra feed or in there ''working clothes'', but will pick the fat one every time. Give him a few months and he will look much different. Hard to see genetics that will be expressed in the calf.

 

[MurraysMutts]

A lot of people want to see them raised without extra feed or in there ''working clothes'', but will pick the fat one every time. Give him a few months and he will look much different. Hard to see genetics that will be expressed in the calf.

There was plenty of bulls there that had obviously never missed a meal!

I think High bull was 6200

 

[GoWyo]

I bought a cow bred to GAR Hometown out of a registered herd dispersal sale a few years ago. She had a bull calf and raised him ok. He weaned off well. I developed him as a bull. Weight gain was good, but by the time he was a yearling, his feet were already long toed, he turned out on the fronts, had a bad attitude and was slab sided, so I pounded him out. That was my limited experience with GAR Hometown. His mother calved late the next year and I sent her down the road too. Maybe his dam just wasn't any good. Murray, your bull will get you calves and they will probably do fine as feeders and eventually beef. I wouldn't keep the females - they will make fine beef too.

 

[Ky hills]

I don't know anything about the Home Free bull, but in my opinion (which ain't worth much) if you don't have many cows then this bull should serve the purpose of getting calves on the ground.
I see a lot of bulls of different breeds that look similar.
The calving ease and carcass breeding look gets a lot of criticism, but remains popular.
From what I can tell, your bull has some frame and length.
On a personal note, I wish a couple of our neighbors had bulls like him. That would be a monumental upgrade from what they have.

 

[MurraysMutts]

@GoWyo
@Ky hills

That's all I'm breeding for, is calves to sell. I have absolutely no intention of retaining any females. I suppose I should have stated that as well. His toes are a tad bit long as some have said. Not terrible, but definitely not awesome. I think he may be very young. I'm gonna see if I can get an exact age on him as well as what his dam is.

I got him hauled and put with my cows today. I think he's taking a shine to Dapples already.
Right to work!



Hot on her tail!

 

[Ky hills]

@MurraysMutts looking at the bull with the cow, he definitely has some frame, and looking from behind he's a bit wider than I suspected.
That red cow looks like she's got milk, she should raise a pretty good calf by that bull.

 

[elkwc]

Like I stated in the message to you. I feel he will likely do what you want and work for you. After seeing the pictures he exhibited more thickness than I expected. He shows more frame than many bulls today. Each breeder has different goals and preferences. Cattle are like the old saying One man's trash is another's treasure. There is no one type and size that works best for everyone. I buy cattle that meet my criteria. Will be interested in seeing how his calves do for you.

 

[wbvs58]

I think he will do a good job for you Murray.

Ken

 

[MurraysMutts]

@MurraysMutts looking at the bull with the cow, he definitely has some frame, and looking from behind he's a bit wider than I suspected.
That red cow looks like she's got milk, she should raise a pretty good calf by that bull.

Thats Dapples. She's raising 2. Tho I think she could handle 3

 

[gcreekrch]

He'll make calves Murray but to be truthful, I've made steers out of lots better calves than him.

 

[farmerjan]

He looks better at your place than he did in the sale pen. Yeah, feet are not perfect but he seems to stand square. Has a better, straighter back in your pasture pictures. I think he will do what you need, will put all his "black" into calves so should not be too many surprise colors. I have seen worse bulls. I used worse when getting going, and now have better. But there are so many bulls out there... and right now, if they are decent, get the job done, and you can put some pounds on him and sell down the road, I think you did okay.
I like them better in their working clothes than fat and sassy... He's okay... might get better in time...
Hey, REMEMBER BESSIE's first pictures... you have a knack to bring them around and make them better..... Pregnant and not too big calves when the time comes is a plus right about now.

 

[coachg]

Looks like he needs some love and some groceries; not necessarily in that order.

 

[Warren Allison]

. I think he may be very young. I'm gonna see if I can get an exact age on him as well as what his dam is.

That info is on his papers, isn't it?