Hereford breeders...thoughts?

[glfgy74]

Not sure what to do with this guy, keep him and sell him as a 2yo or sell him as a Yearling. Born Sept.20 probably in the 400lb range right now....looks like he'll be a big one. Just dwarfs the other bull calf we have that was born on the 8th of Sept.

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 9=5D5F5A5B

He's the one on the left here...near tailgate.

 

[Aaron]

He would be steer here. My steer calves of that age are around the 450-500 lb range right now - I expect much more of bulls. Unless you start pounding the grain to him, he won't be mature enough at a year to settle much, if anything.

 

[Bez__]

He would be steer here. My steer calves of that age are around the 450-500 lb range right now - I expect much more of bulls. Unless you start pounding the grain to him, he won't be mature enough at a year to settle much, if anything.

Coming 6.5 months?

I am with Aaron.

Way too light to be a contender.

How old are those heifers he is with?

 

[glfgy74]

i could be a little off on the estimate of the weight...I'll be getting him weighed pretty quick. but nonetheless, result may be the same.

Those Mama cows are between 4 and a half and 5 and a half years old.

 

[Alan]

While I'm not in disagreement with Aaron or Bez, he does seem a bit light, it wouldn't hurt to see what he looks like in the fall. Let him grow on your grass and take another look, you can only cut him once, it won't be any tougher to cut him in a few months. But then again I'm a sucker for his sire's lines.

Bottom line is I don't see bull yet.

 

[glfgy74]

I appreciate the feedback. I've been watching the sales, studying the EPD's and even made a visit to a really nice Breeder in Athens, TX. He is playing a different game than I am, so I can't expect to contend with that percentage of breeders....yet. Hopes are to be able to someday.

Pictured above is the "herd" I have. 3 Mamma's AI'd to TH 122 71I Victor 719T for fall calves. The Middle is my 16 month old Bull Calf next to his mamma. "Oaks Cosco 4017"

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 9=5D5D5B5B

also, not sure what to do with him....I've been told his udder traits aren't desirable...

 

[glfgy74]

Some pics of him....couple of months ago.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

He looks totally different in these latest pics. Much thicker.

 

[Alan]

I like the second bull better than your young one. Would love to see a better pic of him, standing close to correct and broadside. He could use just a few pounds, but that will come with summer grass. Beware this site can get brutal sometimes when you post your cattle, other times folks will say what a great bull, cow, calf it is when most thinks it's a POS. but the last bull has some potential if he developes out of his teenage stage.

I would love to see your 719 calves when they hit the ground, I'm a pretty big fan of his but he's not in my tank yet.

 

[glfgy74]

these last couple of Pics are of "OAKS COSCO 4017" he's a 16 month old Bull. the previous pics are of my 7 month old Bull.

I'll try to get some better pics...

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Gotcha. My apologies.

We're primarily Angus or Angus cross but a couple of years ago we added a Hereford bull and 15 cows to the mix. I really enjoy the breed.

 

[glfgy74]

No apologies necessary Tux.

I'll get more pics this weekend....happy to have the comments.

 

[SPH]

Not knowing his actual weight so throwing that out of the equation for now but I do think he has a pretty decent hind quarter to him. He's not posed the greatest in either picture so hard to critique him much more than that but he does has some nice bloodlines in his pedigree. Fall calves are such a hard thing to decide on because for most people at least where we are at they calve in the spring so you'd essentially have to market him as a 1.5 or 2 year old unless someone wants to use him as a yearling for fall calving. Plus what works in Texas might not work in the Midwest and vice versa so I'm keeping my judgment a little reserved for now because we've seen calves either really take off or stall out once they are weaned and that time between weaning and when you need to make decisions on what is a keeper and what needs to be sent to the feedlot sometimes can really surprise you how a calf develops.

 

[glfgy74]

Whats even more surprising is that I didn't put out ANY hay this year. Nor Did I overseed. I got a hard head on what I want sometimes...I wanted first hand knowledge of what does and doesn't work rather than being told. Fed about 8lbs of grain a day on average...it was a good lesson learned, those Mama's really got brought down. I thought the grass i had would provide enough but it didn't!

 

[Caustic Burno]

Not sure what to do with this guy, keep him and sell him as a 2yo or sell him as a Yearling. Born Sept.20 probably in the 400lb range right now....looks like he'll be a big one. Just dwarfs the other bull calf we have that was born on the 8th of Sept.

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 9=5D5F5A5B

He's the one on the left here...near tailgate.

Before I even look the ears say Feltons in the woodpile.
Yep there is after I looked.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I would lean toward feeding him and giving him a chance to grow.

 

[KNERSIE]

The breed don't need anymore bulls with bug eyes, otherwise we'll never lay the stigma to rest. Not every male calf born is a bull in the making.

 

[glfgy74]

Howdy Caustic! hope you are well!!

can you elaborate for this green horned feller?

 

[glfgy74]

i can't disagree with the Bug Eyed deal....but I still fell like a commercial guy who just wants to raise big steers could use the 7 month old if he continues to grow the way he is....

 

[KNERSIE]

i can't disagree with the Bug Eyed deal....but I still fell like a commercial guy who just wants to raise big steers could use the 7 month old if he continues to grow the way he is....

The question is.... do you want to be remembered a few years down the line as someone who sold bug eyed bulls. If you have a name for sleeping late you can get up at 3 every morning the name will stick.

The same applies for herefords and eye problems even though we as a breed has for the most part fixed it, we really don't need to go back and remind everyone of Hereford eye problems again.

Every newcomer makes the same mistakes, including myself, to start selling bulls too early. Get to know the breed, get to know the history of the breed, get to know your cattle and their history first, then you'll have a much better understanding of what to tell prospective buyers about your cattle.