Nesikep
Well-known member
Well, I was looking through one of my old Simm bull catalogs and found some numbers like these
BW = 105
205 = 970
1 year = 1600 lb
I mean OK, it's a Simmental, known for good milk and gain.. but when the numbers work out to over 4 lb a day gain over the course of a year, I really start to question how hard that bull was fed to achieve those numbers, as well as if he was given steroid implants, grain, etc etc
if the buyer told you it was fed "A bit" of grain and no steroids, would you believe it? would you buy that bull? *cough*
in my experience, if I have a calf at 750 at weaning time I'm a smiling man... looking at some of my measurements, etc, I can say my BEST steers gain 3 lb a day over the course of a year, the best heifers maybe a 1/4 lb less.
I'd say maybe you'd want this bull if you were going to (read "willing") to feed his offspring that way to get that kind of gain, but I think if I saw a bull for sale that grew 3 lb a day for a year (and similar in build, structure, etc), and I knew it was on grass/hay alone, I would feel more confident.
Thoughts?
BW = 105
205 = 970
1 year = 1600 lb
I mean OK, it's a Simmental, known for good milk and gain.. but when the numbers work out to over 4 lb a day gain over the course of a year, I really start to question how hard that bull was fed to achieve those numbers, as well as if he was given steroid implants, grain, etc etc
if the buyer told you it was fed "A bit" of grain and no steroids, would you believe it? would you buy that bull? *cough*
in my experience, if I have a calf at 750 at weaning time I'm a smiling man... looking at some of my measurements, etc, I can say my BEST steers gain 3 lb a day over the course of a year, the best heifers maybe a 1/4 lb less.
I'd say maybe you'd want this bull if you were going to (read "willing") to feed his offspring that way to get that kind of gain, but I think if I saw a bull for sale that grew 3 lb a day for a year (and similar in build, structure, etc), and I knew it was on grass/hay alone, I would feel more confident.
Thoughts?