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There goes the Ranch

H

Heel Fly

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
179
Location
Eastern MT
Well I did it I put our brand on an Angus Bull. We've been Hereford for 79 yrs and I broke it. I just couldn't handle watching our poor little heifers try to have those huge claves. I got three heifer bulls. I could literally feel my grandfather spinning in the ground. My father has no idea ......YET. I'm happy you need to know when things aren't working and be willing to change.
 
We are an angus outfit, and this year we bought 3 hereford bulls. My step-grandfather is probably smiling in his grave. :D He loved the old "mellow yellow" type of hereford bull, and probably had at least a 350 pound weaning weight back then. :lol: The reason we bought the bulls this year, is that we are going to calve a herd a little later than the rest, keep no replacements from that herd, and we wanted a little hybred vigor. I posted the pictures of the bulls before you joined us here, and they are some impressive animals. I am impressed with where the herford breeders have taken the breed.

I am your neighbor in far NW SD.
 
Boy, you're treading on dangerous territory, Heel Fly. :wink: :-) From my point of view you did the right thing.

Back in the homestead days (1880's), down in the Sandhills an early settler brought Angus cattle into solid Hereford country. He was over the hill from the buildings in a hay meadow with a team and mower, and was later found murdered on the spot. Evidence showed that it was probably someone he knew, as he always whittled as he visited. There were shavings there, indicating that he had talked for awhile before being shot. This man's descendants kept ranching and raising Angus cattle, and were very successful cattle producers.

Hopefully, the ranching industry is more open-minded now. Seriously, the hybrid vigor you will get plus smaller birthweights should be positive steps in your program.
 
I love my herfies......... But I know of hereford breeders who are buying red angus bulls to run on their hereford heifiers.......HELLOOOOOOOO!!!
I've been trying to find a good hiefier hereford bull to run after I AI...... I gave up!!!!!!
 
Heel Fly said:
Well I did it I put our brand on an Angus Bull. We've been Hereford for 79 yrs and I broke it. I just couldn't handle watching our poor little heifers try to have those huge claves. I got three heifer bulls. I could literally feel my grandfather spinning in the ground. My father has no idea ......YET. I'm happy you need to know when things aren't working and be willing to change.
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You done good,been running some black cattle many years,and their aint nothing better than a good angus bull :wink: ................good luck
 
Heelfly and Katrina have I got a bull for you lol. My weedy little black heifers are spitting out those baldie calves off that new bull. An Angus bull on those Hereford cows won't be all bad-check your Pm's heel fly.
 
We run Red Angus with our Herfs,nothing nicer then they're calving ease,my only problam is this bull sure throws the Angus colour,red little babies all over,I like the herf look.greg wants to breed these red hiefers to shorthorn bull...he likes the colour they throw.
 
We have two red angus cows and they are nice...It's just hard for me to understand why people are selling hereford bulls and hiefiers and then say they use red angus on their hiefiers.......I guess differant strokes for differant folks. :D
 
Katrina: If you are in need of a Hereford heifer bull please pm me as my brother sells some bulls and has bred for calving ease. My dad used two of them on his heifers last year and I get to do his claving to and they calved real easy.

This year I will be breeding all of my heifers that are 3/4 Angus or more to a bull I bought from him last year. He calves easy and I am going to use him on my virgin heifers. I realize that not many Hereford breeders are breeding enough calving ease to use on heifers but if you ask the right people they are available.

In the not too distant future I will post a picture of the above mentioned bull as he is impressive to look at if you want an easy fleshing , bull with some meat on him. I would say he would frame about 5 and 3/4 to 6.

The hybred vigor will probably add just a bit of birthweight to the calf so one does have to be careful.
 
Heel Fly, don't feel bad about starting to go black cross. I have two pens of all blacks , two pens of char xs and one pen of mixed fats almost ready for slaughter. The buyers stop and look at the blacks but drive right by th e others so guess what will be coming in for replacements. And as long as I'm giving free advise to you or anyone else take your wild cows and send them to a rodeo. There are easily 20,000 cattle fed within 20 miles of me and nobody I know has any time for wild cattle most of all the fat cattle buyers. Seems they don't like cattle that pile up and break their legs or the ribs of the yardmen, plus a tame steer that watches things go by will gain 1/2 pound more per day than one who piles up in the corner everytime a sparrow flies through the yard
 
Heel Fly,

Whereabouts are you located in SE MT?

There are some nice Red Angus in your part of the world.

You could go for the Red Baldies, instead of the black.

Badlands
 
Katrina: If you want to AI I used an older proven bull last year that you can take a look at: http://www.wnhbulls.com/WNH_ESY1.HTM


I only paid $10/ straw for him.
 
We're south of Glendive.
You know I'm very proud of our little Hereford herd. They are nice frame 4ish cattle that flesh up great and the calves literally jump up after they are born.
They are so gentle most are pets and even the bulls act civil. Further more they put 5 of us kids thru college and we've never owed a dime at the end of the year. Yeah I love them. I'll post some pics when I have time to sit down and figure it out.
We finished calving today what a sigh of relief. I am happy to have that over. We had 14 C sec. on backwards calves the avg. # was 95. That's why I went black. But my old rancher dad is stubborn it wasn't his idea!!!!!!!
 
Northern Rancher said:
Fourteen Zippers-holy crap!!!!! How many thousand cows are you guys running down there.
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NR That should have been Holy Crap Batman :!:

I think I have had 2 or 3 C sec's in 16 years now running close to 400 cows. I did see a piece of tanned hide one time that had about 5 incision scars on it.
 
I would think something needs changed. My vet doesn't do many more than that.
I'm totally unaware of this particular ranches; ability, genetics, environement (sp?), management.
I'm sure not tryin' to pick on anyone, but the facts do tend to tell a story.
 

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