I have this bull, that was born on our farm, He is out of a Reg. Balck Angus, cow and bull. He has alot of his fathers characteristics that we like however his mother is just an average cow. This bull is only 7 months old. It is hard at this point to see what kind of bull he will be. I was wondering if we should speculate on this bull or consider buying another. We have a very small commercial operation ( about 30 head) and can not afford a $4,000 bull. Any sugggestions? Thanks
Young Bull
- Thread starter cowrus
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
jt
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2004
- Messages
- 1,278
- Reaction score
- 0
i couldnt afford to speculate on a $4000 weaned bull... and there is not enough info given as to why you like him for someone to really advise you much...
you can pick up some older bulls for that money...
but that is just my opinion
jt
you can pick up some older bulls for that money...
but that is just my opinion
jt
We have a smaller herd like that and we don't keep any of our own bull calves. They all become steers and are finished out. This young bull will be breeding his mother and sisters if kept. We don't allow any inbreeding.
thank's for all the responses. I will post a picture if I can figure out how. The bull calf is out of a our current bull that I bought half a share in, he is 8 years old and we got him he was 5. This bull is by far the best bull I've used. He was bought locally from one of the best producers of reg. angus in our area. The farm is know for bulls that are bred for gentleness and are good for commercial producers. He throws very good calves that average 640 at weaning without creeping and is very gentle along with his calves. My biggest question is how much of a gamble is it to keep him by his cartertics and that of his parents. I do not keep any heifers for replacements so inbreeding will not be a issue but with his mother. I stumbled on to my current bull that at sale time was way out of my price range and I would like to keep his genes around.
Cost wise it is very hard to justify a 3 or 4 thousand dollar bull with 30 cows. One response was to sell 2 of my cows for the money. In my opinon that would not be a sound business descion because I don"t see a purchased bull making up the difference in pounds of sold product that the 2 cows would produce . Thanks everyone for your input.
Cost wise it is very hard to justify a 3 or 4 thousand dollar bull with 30 cows. One response was to sell 2 of my cows for the money. In my opinon that would not be a sound business descion because I don"t see a purchased bull making up the difference in pounds of sold product that the 2 cows would produce . Thanks everyone for your input.
Thirty head?
Sync them and AI the group.
Throw your bull or a "rental" in to cover the few that miss. It will not really hurt him to have a go at 7 - 10 cows. Even at his age he can breed if he can reach. Mind you his age probably means he is pretty samell - therefore a "rental" might be the answer. Or re- AI those that do not take first time around and THEN let him have a go at even smaller numbers.
Pull mom out of the group unless you are willing to try a line breeding if she does not take on AI.
Expands your genetics. Cost is less. Have another year to evaluate your bull calf. More time to find what you can afford.
If you are lucky and get one or two calves out of your young fellow as a cover - then you will see what he can do.
Bez
Sync them and AI the group.
Throw your bull or a "rental" in to cover the few that miss. It will not really hurt him to have a go at 7 - 10 cows. Even at his age he can breed if he can reach. Mind you his age probably means he is pretty samell - therefore a "rental" might be the answer. Or re- AI those that do not take first time around and THEN let him have a go at even smaller numbers.
Pull mom out of the group unless you are willing to try a line breeding if she does not take on AI.
Expands your genetics. Cost is less. Have another year to evaluate your bull calf. More time to find what you can afford.
If you are lucky and get one or two calves out of your young fellow as a cover - then you will see what he can do.
Bez
by all means, give your homegrown bull a try. Don't worry about him breeding his mother, it's not that big of a deal.
4000 is too much for a commercial man to spend on a bull. I can't really think of any good reason to do that.
mtnman
4000 is too much for a commercial man to spend on a bull. I can't really think of any good reason to do that.
mtnman
cowrus":2yiwuk7d said:
What will it cost you to keep the bull and develop him to the point that you know he'll produce the kind of calves that his sire produced? What can you get for him today?
I know the price of Angus bulls is high, but I can't imagine that you can't find a good one for considerably less than $4000. If I'm wrong, I may consider shipping some bulls to your part of the country to sell ;-)
Many good commercial ranchers will spend $4,000.00 for their bulls. They are expecting to improve the weaning and yrlg wts if they retain ownership, have more productive and better quality hfrs to put back into the cowherd. They are expecting to improve the quality and cutability of their cattle on feed.mtnman":26gyur4x said:
$4000.00 is cheap enough to pay for the right bull for a good commercial cowherd.
Oldtimer
Well-known member
Frankie":3oxbcnzt said:
I agree with Frankie-- Anyway around here-- You can buy a lot of good Angus bulls for under $2000 that will have the genetics and ability to work on a commercial herd-- wouldn't work for you, but many times when buying groups of bulls for commercial herds you can get them even cheaper --$1200-1500.... Remember that bull, might go out and only get one or two cows bred before he breaks his tool or goes lame... Is that worth $4000-- better have some breeding guarantees from a reputable breeder and insurance......
lucky us
Active member
I can't see paying $4000.00 for a bull no matter what breed it is. But I would not keep that young bull for breeding that small of a herd. I think it would be to hard to keep it away from his mother and sisters. But that's just my opinion.
Daybreak
Well-known member
Howdy,
So, you say the bull you have 1/2 interest in is a good bull? yes, was the dam of the bull calf good? Has she been a good producer over the years you have had her? Does her offspring look good? bulls and heifers?
I would suggest you sell your interest in the bull, sell the dam, raise that bull calf as your next herd sire. Maybe go the a sale and get yourself a replacement for the dam sold.
Talk to a neighbor to see about bloodlines.. swap say 2 commercial heifers for 2 commercial heifers? always an option.
So, you say the bull you have 1/2 interest in is a good bull? yes, was the dam of the bull calf good? Has she been a good producer over the years you have had her? Does her offspring look good? bulls and heifers?
I would suggest you sell your interest in the bull, sell the dam, raise that bull calf as your next herd sire. Maybe go the a sale and get yourself a replacement for the dam sold.
Talk to a neighbor to see about bloodlines.. swap say 2 commercial heifers for 2 commercial heifers? always an option.
Turkey Run
Active member
Muratic":m3wjeyp0 said:Well here is the young bull that cowsrus is refering to.
[/img]
![I'd%20sell%20him,decent%20calf%20but%20just%20dosen't%20catch%20my%20eye%20for%20a%20replacement%20but%20i'%20no%20expert%20JMOimg]](https://imagearchive.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2F%5Bimg%5Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv336%2FdiamondDherefords%2Fyoungbull.jpg%5B%2FI%27d%2520sell%2520him%2Cdecent%2520calf%2520but%2520just%2520dosen%27t%2520catch%2520my%2520eye%2520for%2520a%2520replacement%2520but%2520i%27%2520no%2520expert%2520JMOimg%5D&hash=538bdf05acb2e3747c23370fb3393d0a)
Turkey Run
Active member
WOOPS!
R ^ 5
Well-known member
Well IMO this calf will make a pretty decent steer from the two pictures i'm looking at,and i realize pictures can be decieveing.No way should he be considered as a bull prospect.When you condider that the Bull is half of your herd the last thing you should do is sacrifice quality for price.
Keep the reply's coming, and thank's for the input from everyone. The calf was born in middle of aug. and is still on mom. So far I'm leaning to sell on monday. I was going to keep him for next year's breeding. The thing that cought my eye about him was his gain compaired to the other calves born in that group. I bought 3 reg angus cows for the kids for 4-h and thought that maybe I could keep a bull or two for selling. I have the epd on his mother and sire but they are greek to me, I'm still learning.
Thanks everyone Darin
Thanks everyone Darin
