Ryan":tthl3z5k said:
I almost bought the above bull for a customer of mine who was looking for a bull with a lot of horn. But we decided to pass. His back breaks too much and he was too light and small. I hope he does what you want for your program, Bill. Just a word of advice, be sure your cows have a pretty strong topline.
We have several mature cows with good toplines. Also have come breeding age heifers he has been put with (as well as some coming yearlings) with good toplines.
In our breeding program we are careful to extensively research our genetics as well as "actual" conformation. We also are careful to "balance out" one trait with another to correct for any possible defects. Our herd presently has some of the top "famous" genetics in its lineages; and with our 3 herd sires we are able to do some good cross-breeding as well as line-breeding of selected animals.
Yes, we know he is presently on the "small" side and with our higher quality nutrition program should move into a "medium" sized bull (as far as weight goes). Two reasons we got him: 1. Smaller bull for our 1st calf heifers; and 2. Excellent horn potential for his calves here. Our "Jet Black Phantom" (1850#) bull is on our "full-body" program and he has been putting nice bodied calves on the ground for us. "Rumble" will also be bred to some of our larger sized cows that have significant horn.
Thanks to my wife who spends countless hours researching animals, I think we have make very significant progress in our breeding program since we started in 2001. Our breeding stock has come from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Ohio.