Dogs and Cows said:
You don't happen to have a good photo of your Mashona bull you could share do you? How are your thoughts on him and your program?
Thanks,
Tim
Great questions --
Today, the only fullblood bull we have is but a pup (he's about 15-16 months old). We've been primarily an AI only shop (at least as it regards our Mashona bull power). He's for sale; FCFS ... but if he's still here a few months from now, I may let him have a go with some Aubrac heifers.
We're enjoying our F1 crosses between Aubrac and Mashona. Very nice animals. We had our first 75 Aubrac / 25 Mashona half (a heifer) recently. My daughter had started calling her Fritter...
As it regards our Mashona, the cattle are wonderful. I'm hopeful to make embryos this year. I really like them. They do AWESOME in the heat (even the black hided ones has zero problem). I will say some fullblood Mashona really don't like bitter cold and wet. No cattle like that weather, but they haven't done very well here when it persists (i.e., 1" of rain at 35 degrees, then below 20 degrees for 48hrs ... then ... back to the mid 30s for another 1" of rain ... then back below freezing for three or four days (with overnight lows at / below 0 F ... then back into the 30's for more rain ... then ... back below freezing ... etc ...). We lost a good 15/16ths bred Mashona heifer (3rd trimester) in weather like that about a week ago. As a result, I would recommend to people north of me, keep the blood at 50% or less and you should be fine; our F1s (Aubrac x. Mashona) have had ZERO problems in the cold; south of me, 25% or higher would be just fine for heat adaptability, tick / parasite resistance, etc.
As to pictures, I've been struggling to post photos here for some time. If I can figure that out, the earliest it'd be is tonight.
Any other specific questions?