Smertus":2qnaujdn said:
Thanks for the input everyone!
Ok... Help me understand this... Still talking about purebred here. You bread your heifers to a low bw bull. I assume you bread you cows to something different.
Now, do you market the calves from the heifers the same as the calves from the cows?
I always breed heifers to a low BW bull. But there are many proven low birthweight Angus bulls that produce calves well above average (for the Angus breed)for weaning and yearling weights.
Example: We first used an Angus bull, B/R New Design 036 as a heifer bull. But the calves were so good that we started using him on mature cows, too. He's proven to be a very dependable calving ease bull with sons that will gain on feed and that ultrasound desirable carcass qualities. And his daughters sell well, too. EXT is another bull that is safe to use on heifers, but can give you good replacement cows and feed efficient sons. If you pay attention, "calving ease" in the Angus breed doesn't mean sorry calves. Low birthweight Angus bulls are always in demand, too. Our ABS rep has been saying that bulls with low birthweight EPDs are getting more in demand as producers start rebuilding their cowherds across the country.
The Angus Assn. recommends using a bull with a BW EPD of less than 3 on first calf heifers. As I said, there are many of those around with good growth and carcass qualities.
Yes, we market our registered Angus heifers the same as our cows. We sell private treaty and have done better than we planned to this year. We also sell in some consignment sales. We belong to several regional Angus groups in OK and Texas and we are eligible to sell in their sales. We generally sell our heifers at sales as bred heifers or with their first calf at side. Some people sell weaned heifers. They get less money, of course, but they have less into them. And some groups may have rules about ages, breeding status, etc. that can be sold in their sales.
You still don't say where you are, but if you'll check with your state Angus Assn, they might be able to put you together with a regional assn in your area that has a sale.