Little Joe
Well-known member
I can actually get him a little cheaper than the beefmasters.If he cost the same as the others he is worth more than that as a slaughter bull.
I can actually get him a little cheaper than the beefmasters.If he cost the same as the others he is worth more than that as a slaughter bull.
Get him and if nothing else haul him to the stockyard. If he is as heavy as I think he would have brought $1500+ here yesterdayI can actually get him a little cheaper than the beefmasters.
I'd really rather AI but I figure it will cost me $100/head with semen and everything and they might not stick, still might go that route though and burger anything that won't stick.With no consistency in your cows, and beefmaster being one of the least consistently "typy" beef breeds, you may be getting a hodgepodge of different looking calves.
But otherwise, as mentioned by others, the red one has a lot of sheath. The brockle faced one looks more masculine and meaty in the front and the red looks more meaty in the rear... but it's hard to really tell from the pics which is the better bull. It may be the way the red one is standing that makes it's rear look better.
The Hereford bull does look short. It also makes him look long, which is good. If he's seven and serviced cows for five years without injury he might be the best choice.
Personally I wouldn't buy a bull to service five cows. Synchronize them and breed all of them at the same time and done. This way you get to choose a specific bull to complement the individual cow, but you can breed them all within a specific breed for more consistency. Sell anything that didn't breed or call the AI tech back to do it again. If one doesn't breed by then, sale barn her.
AI is always an option, but for me I've seen too many fails to put anymore effort into it.I'd really rather AI but I figure it will cost me $100/head with semen and everything and they might not stick, still might go that route though and burger anything that won't stick.
That's what worries me about AI, too many variables, if a bull is good and the cow don't breed they need to go but I'd hate to butcher a cow because she didn't take AI no fault of her own.AI is always an option, but for me I've seen too many fails to put anymore effort into it.
If you can do it yourself or have a tech that is willing to make multiple trips and breed them after observed heats I've found that works much better. Like if you see them in standing heat of s morning breed them that evening, or evening breed the next morning.
To me doing the timed AI and breeding them all at one time is a waste of time and money and just puts otherwise good cows farther out on calving if they aren't in the right stage of heat no fault of their own.
That's kinda what I was thinking, at that price and age unless something happened to him no way I would lose money. He's gonna get bigger and next fall people will be looking for bulls to breed their fall calving herds so might could sell him for more and start over with another young virgin bull at a similar price and do it again.The red white one is the better bull. He'd be 22 mos old when yo used him. Breed the 5 cows til August and sell him. He'd be 2 yr old and will have grown a lot by then, and you can sell him and get your money back, or close to it, maybe even make a profit. No way would I want to keep a bull year round for 5 cows, especially if there are other cows within smell or sound of your place.
That's exactly what I would do!!!That's kinda what I was thinking, at that price and age unless something happened to him no way I would lose money. He's gonna get bigger and next fall people will be looking for bulls to breed their fall calving herds so might could sell him for more and start over with another young virgin bull at a similar price and do it again.
I've been out of the game for a while so maybe costs have risen... but $100 a cow bred to exceptional bulls is still a lot less than $1100 for a bull to breed six cows and taking a bigger chance on whatever you get.I'd really rather AI but I figure it will cost me $100/head with semen and everything and they might not stick, still might go that route though and burger anything that won't stick.
I agree here, to me, the first one looks too much like a nice looking Heifer. If choosing between the two, I would go with the second. We run a brangus herd and sell beef. Regarding the tenderness issues mentioned above. We tend to hang on to heifers in the herd that have a little more angus in them, and our bulls lean a little more on the brahman side. We end up with a very good mix and very occasionally have a leaner steer show up, but for the most part our beef would grade as prime. We have few calving issues and our calves fatten up easy, even in rough conditions.I like Beefmasters, and pretty much any mainstream Brahman crosses.
I would be concerned about the first solid red one. I bought a Beefmaster bull a few years ago that had a sheath like that, and he got injured apparently on his first try, and had to sell him for half what I paid for him.
The second brockle face bull looks good to me.
I've always heard people say Brahman and Brahman cross beef was not good quality, but they were all Angus breeders so they may be just parroting some line.
We processed a Hereford sired steer from a Hereford x Beefmaster, ( very little Brahman influence). It turned out great, kind of contradicted those that I'd heard say no percentage of Brahman would ever marble.
You meant you run an Angus X Brahma herd? Brangus is a breed developed from Angus x Brahma..5/8ths Angus and 3/8ths Brahma. The books have been closed for decades, and Angus or Brahma cattle can not be bred to a Brangus and the offspring be registered. Brangus cows and bulls do not "lean more toward" one breed or the other. They have the same amount of Angus and Brahma blood..5/8ths and 3/8ths.I agree here, to me, the first one looks too much like a nice looking Heifer. If choosing between the two, I would go with the second. We run a brangus herd and sell beef. Regarding the tenderness issues mentioned above. We tend to hang on to heifers in the herd that have a little more angus in them, and our bulls lean a little more on the brahman side. We end up with a very good mix and very occasionally have a leaner steer show up, but for the most part our beef would grade as prime. We have few calving issues and our calves fatten up easy, even in rough conditions.
That gives you your money back on the bull. What about lost revenue you could have gotten with progeny from a better bull you could use longer?My thoughts were with buying at this price I could always sell the bull after I breed mine and come out on the deal. And if I can't sell him I can burger him out and get my money back.
But should he check him for an underbite?I see someone noted the malformed sheath, but no one said a thing about the extremely short scrotum on the bull on the left. That bull should go in the frying pan, and not ever be used as a breeding bull. Epigenetic birth defects can be passed on and usually are.
Less now, with the rains.Why not just buy cows already bred to good bulls. There must be a lot of people selling out.
I bought cows that are already bred and the others I buy will be too but I have to have something to breed them back to in June.Why not just buy cows already bred to good bulls. There must be a lot of people selling out.
Actually that is an excellent suggestion, if he was actually considering buying that bull. All birth defects caused by epigenetic changes can be passed on to several more generations without those animals again being exposed to what caused the first generation to have the birth defect, so you do not want to have a bull with birth defects breeding your cows.But should he check him for an underbite?