Pleasant Surprises using AI Bulls

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jscunn

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Has anyone experienced about pleasant surprises when using AI bulls, I understand no on purchases semen on a bull they think is crap, but sometimes you use a bull for A and he gives you A, B, and C. I will start.

Tehama Tahoe - Used him for hair shed and he did that but the females are really well made and with enough frame (which I was worried about) to make it as replacements here. The Rib shape and muscle were very good on the Tahoes as well, maybe better than I expected them to be. They still have to grow as yearlings and breed up, but they are impressive as weaned calves. I would like to see alittle more frame and grow out of the bull calves at this point however. Getting behind other AI and natural service sires.
 
He looks like a decent bull, but his PAP EPD is no bueno here. I have heard of docility issues on Sitz Resilient, but have used him a fair amount and only one bull that was a little snorty and he got crippled as a yearling and canned. Good PAP, good growth, right mature size, decent carcass traits, probably not an udder improver is only downside.
 
I purchased some AI semen that was advertised on craigslist for $4 a straw. it was local so I bought 20 units to use for cleanup on hard breeders or cows bred on TAI protocols. after the first few calves hit the ground, I was pretty impressed with them. tried to find a registration number or bull name on the straws but just a code number. last year one of his calves was my favorites at sale time. still have some straws left and planning on calling breeder back to see what he has available now (if any). unfortunately I did not keep any heifers from him but would like to if I get any more before semen runs out.
 
Good question -- but I probably have more AI unpleasant surprises than pleasant :-). On a rebreed the AI tech had only a few straws of a handful of bulls and I used a bull named Hoover Hawkeye. That calf is now a 7 year old cow that breeds back, raises a large calf, and is deep, meaty, and sound. Had I known then what I know now -- I'd have used him again the next year.
 
I have used a bit of Sterling Pacific the last couple of years however his milk EBV keeps going south. The two heifers by him I kept last year after the genomic results came in had their milk EBV's going north considerably from the average of the sire and dam, anyhow it will be interesting to see the actual results when they start feeding calves next year.

Ken
 
We have had some positive results and a few disappointments. Brown’s Double Decker and Bloodline were surprises. Stock Fund sired a good set of calves for us. He was a little more proven and what we expected. His first daughters are excellent cows. We had a major disappointment also. So they tend too balance out.
 
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We first used Revolution 4R before he started to become widely used in the Hereford breed. Love the females we had sired by him over the years. The oldest cow in our herd today is sired by him and her daughters have been productive as well.

We believe there is value in genomics so we do DNA testing on all bulls we sell or use and when a genetic defect comes out we will test females that may be possible carriers. There are bulls we have used AI that we've had some good calves out of that years later the bull was found to be a genetic defect carrier. Nothing hits you in the gut more than having to worry that you have cows or bulls that may be carriers too. Fortunately for us a good chunk of the DNA tests we had to do as a result came back free of defect but as a result you now have DNA on file for those animals to be able to know if you need to do any additional tests.

We like to research AI sires and dig through pedigrees to see if there is proven performance history in the animals in their pedigree or if there is reason to pause if you don't see longevity. If you are in the seedstock business you like to see a lot of females with active progeny along with some proven sires. Some of these AI studs like to chase a certain showring type or EPD profile and when you dig through the pedigrees you don't find a lot of longevity.
 
Like previously mentioned, I have had many more disappointments than pleasant surprises with my AI bulls. However, one bull that comes to mind as a pleasant surprise was Connealy Capitalist 028. I purchased semen on the bull, because I really liked the Capitalist sons at the Connealy sale (probably 2014). The daughters out of 028 were big bodied, moderate framed females that stood out from their contemporaries. Instead of buying more of 028, I bought semen on his son LD Capitalist 316. Though the 316 sons were nice and sold well as bulls, I didn't keep any of the 316 daughters, as they lacked power and overall performance. I occasionally wonder if I should go back and use 028 again, but have noticed that Select Sires does not even sell semen on the bull any longer.
 
I know most of y'all are all about Black Angus. But, if you like a different flavor...
Some years back, we decided to infuse some Shorthorn into our herd. I'm aware of the 'two worlds' of Shorthorns... the 'showring' stuff and the commercially-oriented stuff. Had seen all the horror stories about big birthweights, etc., so we started out with a couple of high calving ease sires, in mature cows. Waukaru Goldmine 2109 will work any decently-grown heifer of any breed. His calves come slender and easy - and grow! The Goldmine daughters were great! Used several other SH sires, but the Goldmine daughters were better than most all the others, and the steers were not 'throw-aways'.
There are some really performance-driven Shorthorn breeders out there... but you have to search to find them. We were VERY happy with our Shorthorn-sired females, and the SH-sired steers were as good or better than anything we ever got from an Angus or Simmental AI sire.

Had bred some really nice young cows, sired by the great old fullblood Braunvieh sire, Silverwood Dragon 4Y, out of 3/4AN-1/4SM cows, just before we liquidated. Many came out brindle or wild-color patterns - which are fine, in my book, for a cow, but the brindle/wild-color steers were unfairly docked at sale - guarantee you they outperformed, in the feedlot & on the rail, any black calf going through the barn that day.
 

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