KMacGinley":25tvp2sf said:400 lbs. at 4 months is a weight per day of age of 3.33 lbs., I would hardly call that mediocre, he must come from a milker and have some growth potential to use that milk.
Actually, IF we assume an 80 lb birth wt...
400-80=320/(4x30) = a real wt. per day of age at weaning of 2.67 which I admit is very good; but he has done absolutely dreadful from that monent on. His WDA at one year was 2.25 lbs and if he passes that on to his calves the feedlot is going to be underwhelmed. TR in his first post did say that he is only now growing like TR had hoped.
KMacGinley":25tvp2sf said:What happened to him after weaning is more due to management than genetics, since growth rate is less than 40% heritable.
I agree that growth rate is "ONLY" 40% genetics; but are we expected to take it on FAITH that THIS bull's problems are not genetic??? The EPDs predict that he is going to be one of the poorest growing bulls in the entire Hereford breed. He is comfortably in the bottom 1% of the entire Hereford breed for weaning AND yearling wt AND scrotal circumference EPDs and and thus far he has lived down to those low expectations. He does not LOOK like an 18 month old bull to me. IF you told me he was 14 months old I would have said nice looking young bull; but TR says he is 18 months old. I feel a little better about him after seeing that he does have a decent brother out there working; but I am still not overwhelmed. Bez is right. This probably IS a trouble free bull who will sire easy keeping daughters who will milk (without being too extreme) though I would worry a little about their fertility. Like a lot of bulls, his calves will not be BAAAD; I just don't think they will be AS good as other bulls you could use. I think there are AT LEAST a dozen Hereford breeders in Texas that can sell TR a Hereford bull who will be just as problem free who SHOULD sire thicker calves that on average weigh 15 lbs or more at weaning.