shorthorn calving ease

[KMacGinley]

Is Moody Blues a good choice to use on a heifer, or should I stay with The Bookie???
Thank you!!!!

 

[Bez!]

Is Moody Blues a good choice to use on a heifer, or should I stay with The Bookie???
Thank you!!!!

I am going to get blasted for this.

Who the hello are those animals and what are their epd's and why are you asking?

Better - but the heifer on a Longhorn and allow the animal to have an easy calf.

You would not believe what the cross will do.

I have done this in the past with great success.

And no, I do not raise LH - just have had good experiences with them.

Go ahead folks - tell me I am full of it.

Bez!

 

[jaydill]

Is Moody Blues a good choice to use on a heifer, or should I stay with The Bookie???
Thank you!!!!

I am going to get blasted for this.

Who the hello are those animals and what are their epd's and why are you asking?

Better - but the heifer on a Longhorn and allow the animal to have an easy calf.

You would not believe what the cross will do.

I have done this in the past with great success.

And no, I do not raise LH - just have had good experiences with them.

Go ahead folks - tell me I am full of it.

Bez!

You're not full of it and I don't doubt it would work...only problem is this guy's talkin about a club and a shorthorn bull so I'm thinking he wants show stock? I don't have the epds on Moody since he's a club and I haven't been able to find the ced on Bookie but his bw is 0.5.

 

[Bez!]

Is Moody Blues a good choice to use on a heifer, or should I stay with The Bookie???
Thank you!!!!

I am going to get blasted for this.

Who the hello are those animals and what are their epd's and why are you asking?

Better - but the heifer on a Longhorn and allow the animal to have an easy calf.

You would not believe what the cross will do.

I have done this in the past with great success.

And no, I do not raise LH - just have had good experiences with them.

Go ahead folks - tell me I am full of it.

Bez!

You're not full of it and I don't doubt it would work...only problem is this guy's talkin about a club and a shorthorn bull so I'm thinking he wants show stock? I don't have the epds on Moody since he's a club and I haven't been able to find the ced on Bookie but his bw is 0.5.

You know something - I suspected as much and was trying to be polite. After all almost no one in the U.S. uses SH anymore.

Be that as it may there was nothing to state that - and being a dumb, fat, grey haired cattle gut - I simply played along as to how to breed a heifer, get a light birthweight and end up with something that eats very well. That was the request by the author as I read it.

Those darned club animals have absolutely caused the ruination of a wonderful breed of cattle in your country. Fortunately there are still a pile of good SH "can work in the field" animals in my country.

Ever notice how often SH is bad mouthed by the commercial guys in the U.S. of A.?

Bez!

 

[jaydill]

Is Moody Blues a good choice to use on a heifer, or should I stay with The Bookie???
Thank you!!!!

I am going to get blasted for this.

Who the hello are those animals and what are their epd's and why are you asking?

Better - but the heifer on a Longhorn and allow the animal to have an easy calf.

You would not believe what the cross will do.

I have done this in the past with great success.

And no, I do not raise LH - just have had good experiences with them.

Go ahead folks - tell me I am full of it.

Bez!

You're not full of it and I don't doubt it would work...only problem is this guy's talkin about a club and a shorthorn bull so I'm thinking he wants show stock? I don't have the epds on Moody since he's a club and I haven't been able to find the ced on Bookie but his bw is 0.5.

You know something - I suspected as much and was trying to be polite.

Be that as it may there was nothing to state that - and being a dumb, fat, grey haired cattle gut - I simply played along as to how to breed a heifer, get a light birthweight and end up with something that eats very well.

Those darned club animals have absolutely caused the ruination of a wonderful breed of cattle in your country. Fortunately there are still a pile of good SH "can work in the field" animals in my country.

Ever notice how often SH is bad mouthed by the commercial guys in the U.S. of A.?

Bez!

I think they've become a beautiful breed that's hidden their loss of actual substance with extreme hair growth. They make nice crosses with show cattle because they give them the hair growth that us showers desire, but come those slick-sheared majors, they're just not all they're cracked up to be. Many shorthorn bulls I look at nowadays have beautiful fronts but lack flank and rear/butt. While Shorthorn remains one of my favorite breeds cause of their ease on the eye, I've gotta agree with your point on this one, Bez!. I'm not surprised commercial guys would bad mouth it...were I a commercial guy, I wouldn't have em out in my pasture. ..That is unless of course, they look like that big red one somebody posted on here a couple weeks ago.

 

[Bez!]

I posted this a while back.

There was a show in Stirling Ontario - back in the early 70's if I remember correctly.

I was a lot younger in those days and my girlfriend placed very well with her Herf.

Judge got so ticked at folks doing things with hair - he hosed every one of them down before he would pass his final judgement.

Turned a lot of heads that day.

The most expensive fitter did not win!

Bez!

 

[jaydill]

Yes, you did. :lol: Honestly, I think slick shearing is more fair. Which is why I think at all major shows, market steers should be clipped. I think a certain hair length should be more strongly enfored on breeding classes... JMHO though. What I do like about having the hair on steers is that typically you get juniors showing them. Because the steer has got hair on it, you've got to commit to getting out and washing, blow drying, combing, and brushing that hair everyday. It teaches a degree of responsibility that I'm glad I've had the chance to learn before I went on to college. The thing about many clubs is that while yes, they've got more than enough hair, many of those calves still carry a good amount of quality meat on them, and still do well slick sheared. As is evident in that judge's experiment, though, a good fitter can make a heck of a lot of difference in placings.

 

[KMacGinley]

I know a girl that has a shorthorn heifer to be bred, she is in 4H, SHE would like to breed her heifer to a calving ease shorthorn, SHE found some pictures of shorthorn bulls, that she likes the looks of. We are checking to make sure that they are not th carriers and that they are easy calving. She wants a live calf and a live heifer, so if any of you "experts" know the answer to her question or can be helpful in anyway we would be glad of your advice. She doesn't want to breed to a Murray Grey or a longhorn, She Wants to breed to a shorthorn. I know, I tried to get her to breed to one of our angus bulls.

 

[la4angus]

Those darned club animals have absolutely caused the ruination of a wonderful breed of cattle in your country. Fortunately there are still a pile of good SH "can work in the field" animals in my country.

Ever notice how often SH is bad mouthed by the commercial guys in the U.S. of A.?

Bez!

Most commercial guys and purebred breeders act like they don't know there are real top quality Shorthorns in Canada. it's time for the Canadians to wake up and do some promotion here in the US of A.

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Most commercial guys and purebred breeders act like they don't know there are real top quality Shorthorns in Canada. it's time for the Canadians to wake up and do some promotion here in the US of A.

Unfortunately, we can't do a whole bunch down in the US right now because of OTM bans. We could ship semen, and probably should be, but one of the problems facing the Canadian Shorthorn Association right now is that many of the truly excellent breeders (but not all) are stuck in the dark ages, vis-a-vis promotion and EPDs.

While I don't tend to hold much stock in EPDs, I recognize that the industry as a whole has adopted them, and as such, we must too. This is probably one of the first steps we need to take: accurate, timely recording of information. The CSA wants these numbers and we have to give 'em up.

As far as promotion goes, once again, some of the truly excellent breeders are still stuck in the dark ages. A couple breeders who I feel breed top notch animals don't even have email addresses, much less web sites. It wouldn't take much to re-awaken commercial interest, as there are real smokin good Shorthorn bulls out there.

KMacGinley, I'm unfamiliar with the bulls you mentioned, however since its a 4H animal, I'm assuming they still teach the fundamentals of _real_ beef animal husbandry in your neck of the woods, versus show animal structure. If thats the case, and she wants an easy calving, beef Shorthorn, I'd recommend she contact one of these guys about semen:

SaskValley Stock Farm - http://www.saskvalleyshorthorns.com/herd.html

Bell M Farms - Richard Moellenbeck - I won't post a phone number in the open, but if you're interested PM me. Richard is a NICE family guy who would be very happy to talk 4H calves with just about anyone.

Muridale Shorthorns - I won't post a phone number in the open, but if you're interested PM me.

Alta Cedar Shorthorns - http://www.altacedarshorthorns.com

And there are more that I know I've missed. Bez, perhaps you have a few favored breeders that you may want to toss up?

Edit: After I posted this, I talked to Saskvalley and they don't have anything that qualifies for export. I'll leave the link up there though for anyone who wants to have a peek at the folks I feel are the best Shorthorn breeders in Canada.

Rod

 

[KMacGinley]

Thanks for the tips, on who to contact.