New Brangus Heifer

[Dsteim]

Hey guys I picked a heifer up today and judging off of the preifert panel to measure (I'm using as her holding pen for the next few days), to my best guess she's about 54 inches at the shoulder and probably about 58 inches at the butt, is this abnormally large for a brangus heifer or cow? She looked really big when I picked her up but when I compare her to my other two year olds (she's the same age) she makes them look like dinks. I think she's around 1200 pounds currently.

 

[Rafter S]

I can't see to well on my phone, but she looks good to me.

 

[M5farm]

She looks good to me. I want a few dozen just like her.

 

[Williamsv]

She is a fine looking heifer. I would like to have some like her.

 

[Quickdraw Farm]

She is about as good as they come, IMO. Congratulations!

 

[Dsteim]

Any ideas on a good bull to AI her with, I'd be breeding for size at this point.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I agree. She sure looks like a pretty one!
What are the breeds of your other 2 year olds that you are comparing her to? My Brangus cows always look big standing next to the Angus.

As far as AI sires go if you want moderate size replacements, I have had good results with several that bring frame size down a touch on my big girls. ABS has a few. I really like my Advantage daughter. I used Distinction on some this year.

 

[Bigfoot]

If this is your start in the cattle business, you got a good start.

 

[Dsteim]

My other two year olds are brangus as well but my guess is they all fall in the 5-7 frame score rating and she seems closer to a 9, if I were to AI her while trying to maintain the size in her calves which bulls would you look at it seems like a lot of the bulls listed on bovine elite don't have height listed. This is the first year that I've been running cattle, my first calf dropped at the end of December, I have been planning on selling the bottom end of my herd and to replace it with better quality animals, this is one of hopefully many replacements.

 

[Taurus]

I like her!

 

[BC]

I like this bull - Stonewall of RRR 222 W 6 I saw some nice calves out of him in the Star G Dispersal.
http://www.amscattle.com/bull/stonewall-of-rrr-222w6/

You may want to check out his sire Csonka of Brinks 30R4. Both have depth, spring of rib, thickness through the stifle and breed character which unfortunately many Brangus are getting away from.

 

[branguscowgirl]

If I am understanding correctly, you want increased frame on your Brangus?
I have gotten increased frame from Blackhawk of Brinks. I have a really nice heifer from him right now. Though I do not think he is a LBW bull. I also have gotten some awesome heavy fleshing cows and bulls from Sankeys Revolution. They were huge meat wagons.

 

[branguscowgirl]

May I ask, why are you wanting the height on your replacements?
Just curious because the buyers and judges here are wanting to see a more moderate frame on the Brangus now. (I do realize Brangus buyers in Texas may prefer something different.)

 

[Jessica06]

I like this bull - Stonewall of RRR 222 W 6 I saw some nice calves out of him in the Star G Dispersal.
http://www.amscattle.com/bull/stonewall-of-rrr-222w6/

You may want to check out his sire Csonka of Brinks 30R4. Both have depth, spring of rib, thickness through the stifle and breed character which unfortunately many Brangus are getting away from.

I saw him (Stonewall) in person and personally wouldn't breed anything to him. Piecey, flanky, and had a little attitude. Although I AM a fan of Csonka in general. :2cents:

 

[branguscowgirl]

I like this bull - Stonewall of RRR 222 W 6 I saw some nice calves out of him in the Star G Dispersal.
http://www.amscattle.com/bull/stonewall-of-rrr-222w6/

You may want to check out his sire Csonka of Brinks 30R4. Both have depth, spring of rib, thickness through the stifle and breed character which unfortunately many Brangus are getting away from.

I saw him (Stonewall) in person and personally wouldn't breed anything to him. Piecey, flanky, and had a little attitude. Although I AM a fan of Csonka in general. :2cents:

I don't care for his sheath either, based on his photo.

 

[Dsteim]

I don't necessarily want them bigger then her, I wouldn't mind retaining some of her calves if she throws good quality replacement heifers, I just figured with her size if AI'd her with something with a similar frame score at least i'd be able to get a good size steer out of it.

 

[Jessica06]

What is she bred to right now? Being 2, she should be on the verge of calving. FWIW, she's going to keep growing for about 2 more years, so I would advise against breeding to bulls that add frame!

 

[Dsteim]

She's currently open, the person I bought her from was using her as a recip and the embyro didn't take, oh in that case I guess I should go for something moderately framed, I figured that at about 2 they were done growing taller and they were just fattening out after that. I understand that I'm taking a little bit of a risk on her because she hasn't calfed yet, but I bought her with the intention of doing 2 rounds of AI's and settling her with a clean up bull after that if she's still open after that it would be time for me to mover her on along.

 

[Jessica06]

We've had a lot of success with Coronado. He's improved everything we've bred him to, thus far. He won't add muscle, but he'll moderate frame and improve everything else. I really think you could get show heifers out of him...he makes them pretty darn fancy. As big as your heifer is going to be, I think you could get away with breeding her to something a little higher on BW. Around 0, as opposed to -4 or so like Coronado and North Star. It would be worthwhile to look through the Genetrust and AMS directories, also.

 

[Nesikep]

Bear in mind that since she hasn't been bred yet, her growth has been accelerated... We used to breed at 2 years old and *all* the cows had a bigger mature size.. I've had lots of shorthorn heifers at her age with similar weight and frame.

I'd question why the previous owner didn't just AI her after he found the embryo didn't stick... sounds like a lot of wasted time to me.

She does look nice though