Help me pick AI sires

[Anonymous]

You all know I'm new to AI and new to cattle in general. So help me pick AI sires.
2 red angus types, 2 braford types( you've seen the pictures)
1 char and 1 herf x gert. All mature cows with good udder structure. The char could be a heavier milker, the herf x is a heavy milker, the other 4 I don't know about yet.
Goals are terminal crosses with the possibility of holding back the best heifers for breeding.
Markets here prefer the angus sired calves.

If possible I'd like to stick to one line. Calving ease is a requirement, forage based over grain based,
Basically easy keeping that do well without much interference
What would you all suggest?

 

[chippie]

Several questions. Have you decided where you are going to get your semen? Is there a rep in your area or are you going to have to have it shipped?

 

[Anonymous]

Abs rep will be bringing the semen. The first time or 2 he is going to let me have a go at it. I'll set them up on fixed time AI, and he will be there if I can't pass the straw or to help me out.
This allows me to not have to have a tank, and also take the pressure off me

 

[chippie]

Does he require that you buy semen from him?

 

[Anonymous]

Don't really know. Since I don't have a tank, Have only talked with him via phone or email and don't have an established relationship, and the fact he's going to help me with further hands on, I'd like to buy it thru him and abs.

 

[chippie]

That sounds like you are off to a good start.
He should have a catalog of available bulls for you to look through. Call him and see if he can send you one or if it is online. We have bought semen from ABS in the past. However they no longer service our area. They usually have a pretty good line up of bulls.
The catalog will have all of the EPDs and such for each one.

Right now we have been breeding our cows to an Angus bull. We have a mixed lot of cows like you, and the Angus crosses seem to bring the better prices at the sale barn. Personally, I do not like the Angus attitude, but since it is being bred with the goal of leaving, it really doesn't matter.

You can buy semen from a very good bull that will meet your needs at a reasonable cost. I usually pay between $15 to $20 a straw. But I have bought it on sale for $10.

 

[dun]

http://www.absglobal.com/

 

[Anonymous]

I'm looking at the epd's now on the and site.
Special focus, in focus, and trust are sticking out for me.
Comments given my goals?

 

[chippie]

I don't mean to be rude, but have you thought about how much money you want to spend? I was looking at this page:
http://www.absglobal.com/Websites/a...SA/Beef/Sire_Listing/Fall2012AngusSpecial.pdf
and if I understand it correctly, Special Focus is $22 per straw when purchased in volumes of 30 straws and In Focus is $50.

I liked this bull on paper http://abs-bs.absglobal.com/beef/angus.asp?CodTouro=29AN1839

He is a New Release. I don't mean to sound cheap, but sometimes the cost of a newly released bull is less. It is easy to get a lot of money invested before you know it. Sometimes you pay for a "name" and sometimes you can do well without using a big name bull.

 

[Anonymous]

You aren't going to hurt my feelings.
Producer and also Rainmaker p175 are a possibity too. On producer, I wod prefer a little higher calving ease accuracy.
I don t mind spending a but more on the front side for semen if I'm going to get it back on the tail end.

 

[cow pollinater]

You need to keep in mind that you'll be working these on foot. Knowing that, I personally would not sell you special focus or the rainmaker bull. He started out really bad on docility and worked up to a zero. That tells me he got pushed into herds where temprement didn't matter one way or the other so everything got an okay score and it made him more attractive. ;-) You are not set up to handle range cows.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok. Didn't know that.
Focus, producer, trust, or another that hasn't yet been mentioned. Thanks for the input to both of you. Keep it coming.

 

[cow pollinater]

Producer would be out for me... to big.

 

[Anonymous]

Even for teminal calves?

 

[denvermartinfarms]

in focus would be my pick but don't i know to much about the others.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

What about Hoover Dam? A friend went to a sale this past spring and he said their Hoover Dam heifers were the best he had ever seen.
I think Isomade was at this sale and maybe bought a bull there?

Somebody on here liked some calves out of Image Maker.

 

[Anonymous]

I'll them later this evening. Thanks sooner

 

[Anonymous]

Hoover dams $en is very negative. Crazy negative in fact. Same with imagemaker
if I'm reading that value right, -$en means Money spent. +$en means money saved

So, If thats the case im down to in focus or trust.
Any further opinions?

 

[cow pollinater]

Mainline would be a nice fit. New Standard is also good, alittle negative on energy but not bad and great everywhere else.
If you want $EN(which is a maternal trait so not of much imprtance for terminal sire use) we can get extreme but In Focus, Trust, Mainline or New Standard are all really good picks for good steers and daughters you'd like to keep.
The trust daughters can be a little corse.

 

[Anonymous]

Not seeing mainline on the current listing.
When you say trusts daughters are course, in what way?