lakading":2tm1pcis said:
Bez, I know what you're sayin and it all makes perfect sense.
I was wondering if there was ONE bull that you would reccomend to someone (wanting to cross their Angus with Hereford) to START with. If not, that's fine too. Maybe "favorite" wasn't the right word to use. ;-)
P.S. - I don't mind your wiseassedness. As you could tell, my reply to you carried a hint of it too. I would expect no less from you. ;-) Keeps it interesting.
Lak
I am just a big, dumb, fat guy with too much grey hair - and it is starting to disappear - :lol: - so I would have to answer you this way.
For me to give you an answer on the best or what I might consider a decent bull to put on your cows - without seeing them - would in my opinion be irresponsible.
You might have the best cows in the world, or the worst - or most likely - like all of us - be situated somewhere in the middle.
When someone tells you how much they like an animal - well, it may have worked for them, or a neighbour. But ... it still might not work for you. In fact it could work real well or it could be a train wreck.
Couple of short stories for you:
1. frenchie told a story once about his neighbour - always had a problem culling his cows. One year frenchie did it for him - using records, past performance and that years calves on the ground. Best thing that neighbour did - let a good cattle guy wander the herd and make some decisions. Apparently the herd is doing better than ever.
Note: The cull was completed with no sentimental thought process - just overall performance.
2. I was almost forced into a complete liquidation. I HAD to sell. So I sold a big bunch. As they went up the ramp I turned some out - just could not let them go. A real good local cattle guy was helping - he stopped me, asked me what I was doing - and he helped me decide which few to hold back based on overall performance. HE finished the sort and loading. First time anyone here has done that. This herd is doing real well - better than ever despite the much smaller size.
Note: The cull was completed with no sentimental thought process - just overall performance.
Performance means more than calves BW and WW.
Moral: If you want to put some performance into your herd and you have the local expertise - then a good bull can be obtained to help with the job - but I stand on my statement - I cannot do it from here. And pics will not provide the info really required to make the decision.
Note: A bull has to be purchased with no sentimental thought process - just performance.
But what in the heck does performance REALLY mean?
Only you can decide that.
In the end, weaning weights and calving weights and milk rates and whatever epd you want to talk about comes down to one thing. Calf on the ground - alive and well.
But in my opinion performance means a whole bunch more.
You may need to consider other aspects as well. Are you a part timer with an off farm job?
Young kids?
Older in age and not so "quick on your feet"?
How often will you be around when the calf hits the ground?
How close is the nearest animal doc?
How often does a family member have to walk the field - attitude counts in a small pasture.
Does your herd need some "slowing down" - ie: new attitude infusion?
Are your calves hard to round up because they are so wild for the first year of their lives?
Folks that own 5 cows in a 3 acre pasture may or may not be able to relate to some of these problems - but you can breed a lot of them out with the right genetics.
Do not often hear them being discussed though.
So you can see it becomes imperative to look at the whole picture. Great epd's are fine - but if I have a world champ bull that I cannot approach unless in an armored vehicle, or I have a couple of cows that I own that might not be able to handle this bull - but I am keeping them anyways - then there are other things to consider.
I am off my stump - I will just follow along. I have a dandy coming 4 year old AI bull that is on his last season here - home raised - with another AI bull coming - almost a year old now - he will get three heifers this year for his learning pleasure.
So count me as one of those who will not likely ever tell you to breed to Breed XXXX reg #66758 or Breed YYYY reg #356729.
Anyone who does .... well, we would not likely agree. Need the whole enchalada before the decision can be made.
Have a good one,
Bez!