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yearling or two year old bull

Shortgrass said:
I like two's from a source that does not sell yearlings, thus avoiding the leftover deal. Long yearlings are my next choice.

:agree:

From my experience, two's will breed and settle whatever you throw at them. Yearlings, in our past, will have an 80% breeding success covering 25 cows in 160 acres, which is not good enough. This is running over some rough ground, not smooth rolling pastures. Plus, there is usually a lot of care that has to be taken with yearlings after the breeding season to make sure they continue growing and don't lose ground.
 
I haven't bought many bulls - prefer to breed our own but it all comes down to how they have been raised. I'd prefer a yearling over a two year old that weighed 2000lb+ and I'd prefer a two year old over a yearling weighing over 1400lb. Feeding grain and hot rations to bulls does them no good - it only shortens their lives, grows their feet and burns out their livers. We sell mainly rising 2 year olds - non-grain fed.
I'm fascinated with the comments about shipping bulls at 4 or 5 and "before their temperments get too bad" Must be a genetic problem in some breeds. I've had the occasional bull over the years that was a constant fighter but I've never been in the position of all my bulls being like that. We find our Luing bulls very rarely fight, they quickly sort out their pecking order and get on with life.
 
Grassfarmer said:
I'm fascinated with the comments about shipping bulls at 4 or 5 and "before their temperments get too bad" Must be a genetic problem in some breeds.

FWIW, when I used to run bulls in the open, and with my cows only, the attitude problem didn't seem to be as big of an issue, and they'd last a lot longer. Now I run with another herd part of the summer, and in topography that they can totally take advantage of. Once they learn how to cheat you, you're in for a challenge. The bulls that stay home are fine to handle, but the forest boys can be a challenge. I wonder if it's the combination of having to run with new bulls and if they get discouraged, they mentally go south, and learn to hide out :D .
 
Faster horses said:
For any of you that want or need a 2-year old bull, Larry Leonhardt
Shoshone Angus) at Cowley, Wyoming keeps ALL his bulls over and
sells them as 2 year olds. He doesn't sell yearling bulls. Doesn't feed his
yearling bulls up as he says their frame can't take it. We were there
in February and the bulls are in good shape but not overly fat.
You can have your pick out of 200 bulls for $1800.

I noticed in Cole Creek Angus catalog Greg Golden lists Shearbrook Shoshone 116N as a Herd Builder; along with Juanada 7 of PJM; Basin
Jumbo 1755, PJM Montana Power, Cole Creek Q Bar; Cole Creek Gold Bar 97V (a son of Basin Q Bar, AAR Windy Ridge, Cole Creek Full Rut and ZRP Intesififier
0021. So at least 3 of these bulls are Stevenson-Basin bulls. Intensifier is a doulbe bred 054. I really like 054 and have long thought this bull was interesting.

The catalog is worth getting just to read Gregs comments in the front.
Hilarous!!!

Faster Horses-I was just going thru Cole Creeks catalog last night--I have never met Greg Golden- but definitely will have to at some time...My son has- and since we've bought some of his heifers - I've began to appreciate his cattle more than even what I heard about them before...

But, like you said, the thing that I most enjoy are his views in the catalog- on cattle- and the Big Numbers breeders- and raising cattle that will work on the range conditions.. I always await the arrival of his catalog so I can read what he has to say- as he kind of takes up where Mike Keeney and Larry Leonhardt leave off :wink:

Well this year he comments about his hard decision to match all the bigger, better, faster sales promises, guarantees, and gimmicks...So after long contemplation over a hot whiskey- he decided to give anyone that buys a $100,000 or over priced bull or heifer from their sale this year a 2009 Dodge 3/4 Ton Quad Cab Pickup--and in the true sense of the better bells and whistles philosphy -he'll let you pick the color :wink: .....

An opportunity for all .....
 
For you angus folks that aren't the chaser of numbers- and the bigger, better, faster, trend of the last years- heres a couple sites you may enjoy browsing thru or reading.
Keeney is kind of a protege of Larry Leonhardts- just as outspoken and opiniated- and was also part owner on the good old Shoshone Encore 6310 bull that plays an influence in a lot of Cole Creek cattle. I enjoy reading his comments on range functional cattle too...

http://www.keeneyangus.net/home.html

This other site is SD producers that have a sale coming up- that are also producing cattle on what they can/will do and not on the biggest numbers they can breed...In looking thru the catalog they have a bull named Moosedrool....Gotta be a keeper with a name like that :wink:

http://www.hylandangus.com/
 
I am not going out on a limb on promoting or faluting someones cattle.
However I truely feel the days of the bull of the month club are fading fast. For so many years registered breeders got pushed into the new bull of the year bloodline etc. Everyone just had to have the new one to lets call keep up with the times to show you are progressive...
Today people fed up with those old purebred sales tatics to get people to buy for high prices something they thought they were suppose to have.
To many ranchers had their own real good herd sires that actually did a better job than the new bull. It takes so long to prove a bull I think people get tried of waiting.
I really do not know of a bull (non club calf) that is being promoted as the bull of the month. We found couple af AI bulls that are real good with proofs that were born in 2004 that I may use..Right now just way to many people have been burt on the bull of the month club.
This past fall a neighbor got burnt real bad and it was moslty his own mistake...Someone he trusted sold him some semen from Precision 1680 for $300 per unit so he bought all he could, somehow this gentlemen was told it was really worth $1000 per unit so he kept buying. Now its bacially worthless.
 
I thought this was an interesting explanation of someones description of his type of a cow...Stolen from Mike Keeney's no bull sales pitch...

She doesn`t play anywhere in the purebred world; but she works most anywhere in the commercial world...
541a-1.jpg

Just as the Wall Street money gurus have little respect for the everyday, hard-working American; the playboys and money-changers of the registered Angus world have little use for our preferred kind of Angus cow. Our Model A cows are like the average American farmer; they go to work everyday in blue collar fashion producing a tangible product while living frugally; needing nothing more than to be left alone to fend for themselves. But when the latest cattle breeding fads hit the fan; she's the basic cow that everyone comes running back to for a bailout; a re-establishment of basic economic and reproductive function…before beginning a new game in a different direction.
We're as tired of watching registered cattle games and promotions as we are of bailing out Wall Street. After 47 years of registered cattle breeding, our only interest is improving the profitability of commercial cattlemen. Only when our genetics improve the profitability of commercial herds do we deserve anything above commercial market price. The model A cow is not extreme in type or performance; yet she is all she can be, and still be functional and adaptable to varying environments. She is raised in a low cost fashion; and she and the bulls that make her are sold the same way. And even yet, she is but the first piece of the whole puzzle of producing more from less; complimentary to the production of our B and C models as well as terminal mating for the production of improved feedlot and carcass cattle.
Our next sale is April 4, 2009, featuring 30 yearling Angus bulls. We'll offer approximately 30 head of open and bred heifers; a few will be very close to calving. We invite you to call and better yet; pay us a visit anytime. While these are trying times economically in the cattle business; we have a guarded optimism that these difficulties will be the impetus for new thought and a new system of production based on fundamental genetic truths
 

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