If you are raising bulls that mature into herd sires that look like that, what in the world are you doing looking elsewhere for outside genetics? It looks like it's time to be using "home raised" sires and doing some linebreeding!
George
George, I am linebreeding, just not to that bull or any close relatives of his. In my opinion he isn't quite the complete package enough to qualify him as a potential sire to linebreed to.
I used him a bit before selling him, his calves were good, but he sired no pigment at all. I sold quite a few bulls out of him, but only retained 1 heifer for own use. Originally I retained quite a few more, but needed money and the price was right so I sold them as breeders.
The search for "outside genetics" is more a business decision than a breeding decision. My breeding plans for the core of the registered herd is set in stone and they won't be bred to outside genetics, but its still always good to measure your own genetics up to the popular genetics elsewhere.
The bull looks terrific! What a meat wagon---what's his frame? What is typical
birthweights? Yes - get on the linebreeding wagon!
He is about a frame 6, birthweights were very average for my herd, between 34 and 38kg. His calves were born with heavier bone than the average calf in my herd though, can't really say they had heavier bone as they matured?
I think I've made alot of progress since that bull and I am much happier with what I am breeding at the moment than 4 years ago.