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Big Muddy rancher

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Is anybody still using Longhorn bulls on their Heifers?


I have in the past used LH and I had a real good Watusi that did a great job and put out better more saleable calves then the LH.
For a while Longhorn calves sold pretty good but the buyers sure discount them now.
 
yep, there are several around here that do it, myself included. i use black 1/2 angus 1/2 LH that sires pretty darn nice calves. his calves gerenerally will wiegh around 70 pounds and they seem to land on their feet. come weaning time, a person would have a tough time picking them out of the herd if you didn't know whcih ones they were.

i know a few on here are going to completly disagree with me, but i think its a good and safe way to breed heifers. i don't use the bull on all the hfrs, but don't have a problem using him when i need to.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
Is anybody still using Longhorn bulls on their Heifers?


I have in the past used LH and I had a real good Watusi that did a great job and put out better more saleable calves then the LH.
For a while Longhorn calves sold pretty good but the buyers sure discount them now.
Click to expand...

A neighbor used some Longhorn bulls many years ago. He wasn't too impressed, and he was heard to say, "I'd about as soon have a good big dead calf." :wink: :)
 
Soapweed said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
Is anybody still using Longhorn bulls on their Heifers?


I have in the past used LH and I had a real good Watusi that did a great job and put out better more saleable calves then the LH.
For a while Longhorn calves sold pretty good but the buyers sure discount them now.
Click to expand...

A neighbor used some Longhorn bulls many years ago. He wasn't too impressed, and he was heard to say, "I'd about as soon have a good big dead calf." :wink: :)
Click to expand...

That's humorous,but Im bettin he really would rather have the lanky calf,lots of folks around here that are spread out use longhorn bulls on first calf heifers.
And one ole Lady that had longhorns for novelty,now uses good bulls on her longhorn cows,be surprised how good some of the calves look,probably dont finish worth a damn.
good luck
 
Soapweed said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
Is anybody still using Longhorn bulls on their Heifers?


I have in the past used LH and I had a real good Watusi that did a great job and put out better more saleable calves then the LH.
For a while Longhorn calves sold pretty good but the buyers sure discount them now.
Click to expand...

A neighbor used some Longhorn bulls many years ago. He wasn't too impressed, and he was heard to say, "I'd about as soon have a good big dead calf." :wink: :)
Click to expand...

well that may be a strech :? :wink:
 
I got a three year old 1/4 brahma bull we used on heifers-he volounteered himself if you know what I mean-his calves sold in the presort right up with the rest-leaves black brockleface calves. I kept about a dozen heifers from him. He's for sale.More longhornm cows run up here than bulls anymore-we havre some neighbors have a couple hundred that they breed angus-get along ok.
 
I just think that if you do a little looking- you can find "sleep all night" calving ease angus bulls that do as good...
I know last year one fella bought several Prime Time D806 sons at the Sinclair sale just for that reason- breeding heifers...
Or there is a fella down here raising Lowlines...

I just turned out the heifers of mine that haven't calved- because I'm pretty sure they are now bred by my cleanup bulls and not AIed- and I really don't worry about my bulls at all....Even with cows with big BW's they have thrown moderate calves (80-85lbs) and an easy calving build...

But nothing is absolute...I was looking thru Chalky Buttes catalog at the heifers they have for sale- and they have an In Focus (BW EPD -1.3) daughter 16480631- that I was shocked to see had a 98 lb BW and a +5.1 BW EPD.....
Must have taken after momma who is a +6.8 BW EPD and a -9 CED... :shock:
 
A rodeo outfit across the river has some of those "volunteer" bulls come across the river and create some work for themselves. The few LH calves over the years started out pretty small and made me mad but they grassed out fine and finished with the rest. I'm with Katrina, find a bull of your breed that is proven and use it. Of course sometimes proving that bull can be an experience in itself. :shock:
 
there is a lady down by powder river that raises commercial black/longhorn bulls and sells out every year for use on heifers.

the big commercial hereford outfit down the river from here used to use all longhorn bulls on their heifers - but they calve out 300 heifers/year on probably a ten thousand acres pasture. now i have seen some brown swiss bulls out with their heifers - never seen those calves yet i guess but one of the guys says they calve real easy.

i calve my purebred heifers out on grass with the cows but i check them a few times a day and rarely have trouble... usually only if something isn't coming right. i think if i had 300 to calve every spring on a huge chunk of ground i would probably be thinking about something like that too.
 
Grassfarmer said:
I'm thinking if a person can't find bulls to use on heifers with a level of confidence within the breed/s they currently run maybe it's time to change breeds?
Click to expand...

i knew a some would disagree, that there's nothing wrong with that. but you were my first pick GF. :lol: :lol:
 
Justin said:
Grassfarmer said:
I'm thinking if a person can't find bulls to use on heifers with a level of confidence within the breed/s they currently run maybe it's time to change breeds?
Click to expand...

i knew a some would disagree, that there's nothing wrong with that. but you were my first pick GF. :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

Here is an example of a very successful calving program we had for heifers 20 years ago. Galloway heifers bred Charolais. We did it for about 5 years and only lost 1 calf. :wink:
charcalves.jpg
 
Justin said:
yep, there are several around here that do it, myself included. i use black 1/2 angus 1/2 LH that sires pretty darn nice calves. his calves gerenerally will wiegh around 70 pounds and they seem to land on their feet. come weaning time, a person would have a tough time picking them out of the herd if you didn't know whcih ones they were.

i know a few on here are going to completly disagree with me, but i think its a good and safe way to breed heifers. i don't use the bull on all the hfrs, but don't have a problem using him when i need to.
Click to expand...

But Justin, what about the fellow who unknowingly buys them with the assumption that they are just "regular" cattle?

I've always had a little bit of a problem with this theory for that reason. I'm not trying to aggravate you, I just don't want to do that to the next guy down the ownership line.
 
movin' on said:
Justin said:
yep, there are several around here that do it, myself included. i use black 1/2 angus 1/2 LH that sires pretty darn nice calves. his calves gerenerally will wiegh around 70 pounds and they seem to land on their feet. come weaning time, a person would have a tough time picking them out of the herd if you didn't know whcih ones they were.

i know a few on here are going to completly disagree with me, but i think its a good and safe way to breed heifers. i don't use the bull on all the hfrs, but don't have a problem using him when i need to.
Click to expand...

But Justin, what about the fellow who unknowingly buys them with the assumption that they are just "regular" cattle?

I've always had a little bit of a problem with this theory for that reason. I'm not trying to aggravate you, I just don't want to do that to the next guy down the ownership line.
Click to expand...

i never said i sold them that way.
 
I got scolded perty bad on this board for usin angus bulls on scrub(cracker cattle). There first cusins to long horns. My bulls are about 1200 lbs and are real beefy. And sure do there job all year long. Calfs of them and cracker cattle weight around 40 to 55 lbs. I have a solid red bull and a red eared white bull. Horns are not to big to go threw a squese shute. The angus calfs out of scrub cattle will be about 75 percent black and polled. I use to dehorn when we cut them and the colored calfs brought about 20 cent less than there half brothers and sisters. This is done a lot down here because we have a lot of woods pasture that a angus or char would starve in. There about a month behind a comercial cows calf but sell well at the market. I don't feal like I'm cheetin nobody as I sell the colored cattle right with the angus lookin ones. Sometime if there a lot of black on one they sell just as good. If it was all that bad to the buyer, I'm sure there would be some hell raisin about it but nothin or little is ever said. As I get my cattle bred like I won't them, I'll replace my older cattle with there calfs but I won't sell them old gals they will get a black bull again and live on a pasture I can lease next to nothin. I'll post a pic of my bull but I feal my pic poster is gettin took advantage of. I'm goin to let him rest.
 
Here you go Big Muddy- heres your heifer bull...Sinclairs sale is on Superior tommorrow:

Lot 42 | 9P2 1/8/2009 Sire:N Bar Prime Time D806 Dam:MGS: N Bar Emulation Ext A1747 BW:-3.7 WW:33 YW:69 MILK:14 MARB:0.55 REA:-0.1 C EZ:15
Comments:ABW: 56, AWW: 587, AYW: 1094
Click to expand...

They've even got some of those foreign "pure" bulls...

LOT: 120
CATTLE
735E
DOB: 4/12/2007
Sire:Evesund of Dupplin
Dam:MGS: Bernardo of Classlochie
BW:-1.6
WW:12
YW:10
MILK:3
MARB:0.08
REA:-0.15
C EZ:2

Comments:ABW: 77, AWW: 479, AYW: 845

http://www.superiorlivestock.com/videocatalog/lotlist.sla?cid=455&view=120&sName=Sinclair
Click to expand...
 

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