Bull Talk

Since i love to discuss bulls and look at bulls i was hoping to get some opinions on what to breed my 2nd calvers to. They are plainer made kind of slab sided structurally correct commercial Shorthorn X. At 24 months they are 6 frame. My goals would be county fair steers or i would be fine with a nice heifer since i'm still building my herd.
Their udders aren't great so something maternal is ok. i prefer defect free for now and these cows throw big calves (i found out the hard way), so no cow killers.
I was thinking No Worries or since Simmental's seem to be all rage right now maybe Grizzly? I don't own a tank and i only place one semen order a year so it has to be available though a major distributor. No PB Maine because i have a registered Jose son  at home. Black still seems to win at county fairs so that's why i haven't been looking at Shorthorns. Throw out all your suggestions, i am open to advice from steer raising to herd building.

Ok so you want to 1. downsize. 2. fix the udders. 3. still be THF/PHAF. 4. pretty them up.  5. Smaller birth weights. 6. Be black hided 7. be good enough to make steers or heifers on 2nd calvers. 8 No PB Maines.? That narrows it down and someone like me would have to think about that.

1:ALM Excel 80-Half i-80 which can easily breed with your bull 1/4 Shorthorn (SinCity relative CE) 1/4 Angus -VERY GOOD NORTHERN IMPROVEMENT DAUGTER HIS full sister was grand champ maintainer bred and owned hiefer at the JR Nationals.- 2: NO WORRIES-very sucessfull 1st calving season stour as hell he like Excel 80 is basically a hiefer bull- i-80x ALM CHILLER (proven CE MANY yearsx great WHO MADE WHO cow. 3: Problem Solved: all three parents grandparents CE-very stout only relation is great grandfather who was ALI-All three are black-extremely stout and calving ease and you dont have to worry about your bull as far as breeding What Shorthorn breeding or other side do the big calves come from? O0

Why not Moto Moto?

Why not Moto Moto?- I don't know where to get it.

Thank you Mark, I like the looks of those bulls. The Shorthorn sire's name was Coppertone, I don't know if he was registered. He looked nice on pasture, Their dams were F1-Shorthorn/Maine and Shorthorn/Angus. I just new i wanted some Shorthorns and that's what i found.

BroncoFan said:

Ok so you want to 1. downsize. 2. fix the udders. 3. still be THF/PHAF. 4. pretty them up.  5. Smaller birth weights. 6. Be black hided 7. be good enough to make steers or heifers on 2nd calvers. 8 No PB Maines.? That narrows it down and someone like me would have to think about that.- I know right? You have to start somewhere. /quote]

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Moto Moto semen is available directly through Blegen Galloways.  Semen was collected and is stored at Hawkeye Breeders in Iowa.  Call or text me directly at 701-212-0112 to order.

I like the no worries calves I have seen, as far as simmy's GCC Whizard, Combustible, A Step Up, all would be good choices. The Whizard bull seems to shorten up their front ends a little but the calves I have seen are really consistent and came right around 80 lbs. I think his steers could be marketable and I wouldn't hesitate in keeping a female out of him. I also had a really nice Megatron calf last year. He was really thick. I will use him again. They may come a little bigger than the Whizard calves mine was 86lbs. I would also keep females out of him, combustible, and a step up all are plenty maternal. Out of all of them the A Step Ups come really small, and grow. I would use him on heifers any day along with uno mas.

I'm just thinking it might take more than a generation. Maybe not but I'd say choose the qualities that are more important. If you want them solid black on Shorthorn cows either the bull has to be homozygous black or it would take more than a generation to get that result consistently. Some bulls like Whizard makes better heifers than steers IMO. Just my 02.

You are right BroncoFan No worries is the only true steer maker in my recommendations. The rest are more female makers. I do think that Whizard and Megatron would put some steers on the ground that might be competative at some county fairs. I also agree that it might take more than one generation to reach the desired outcome. My suggestions are more female based.

KAXX said:

You are right BroncoFan No worries is the only true steer maker in my recommendations. The rest are more female makers. I do think that Whizard and Megatron would put some steers on the ground that might be competative at some county fairs. I also agree that it might take more than one generation to reach the desired outcome. My suggestions are more female based.

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Yup you're right A lot of cowmen would also agree that building your maternal genetics is more important than bulls the cows are bred to make the steers.

Thank You! i appreciate the input, this the conversation i was hoping to start. I realize i cant get it done in one generation. i am also starting to realize i wont get it done by buying commercial heifers from guys that don't have the same goals i do. Would you keep a NO Worries heifer? My Jose bulls dam is full sib to I80.

I would definitely keep No Worries daughters generally speaking.

Isn't No Worries a blaze face bull.  I'd still think you'd get color on shorties.

This is just my opinion but I think that you are missing some good possible choices by excluding MA bulls. I think that if you were to look at Set Me Free, Frisky Whiskey, Comfort Zone, or Middle Man you could make some great females for being able to pop a steer down the road. I think all of these bulls are double clean except Frisky Whisky and he is THF & PHAC. The MA x SH has worked very well over time IMO. Go take a look at these bulls.

Lewis_Family_Cattle said:

Isn't No Worries a blaze face bull.  I'd still think you'd get color on shorties.

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I figured i would have a chance of some color with NoWorries on Shorty's. I actually like color. i through out the statement about black seems to still win at county fairs to see if i would get any feedback, i think a higher percentage of winners are black because there is a higher percentage of black steers being shown.

Thank you for the suggestions CAB, a Set Me Free steer is actually winning everything in Michigan this year. The only one of those bulls that says anything about calving ease is Comfort Zone, would you try the others on 2nd calvers? I am a big fan of the MA X Shorthorn, hence the MA bull and Shorthorn cows.

  I wouldn't be afraid to use any of the bulls that I mentioned on second calvers but I personally would not use any of them myself on first calf heifers, but that's just my personal opinion.

Try our full Sib to MAB.....MANKIND ET!! @Rimpelshowcattle

I forgot one UNO MAS, low birth weight, grow, and will fix udders. Not a steer maker but would put some fabulous females on the ground for you.

KAXX said:

I forgot one UNO MAS, low birth weight, grow, and will fix udders. Not a steer maker but would put some fabulous females on the ground for you.

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As I read down through all of the suggestions all I could think of was Uno Mas. So I have to agree with KAXX here. If you are just starting out and are building a foundation you don't want to make decisions now that will give you a train wreck later down the road. Uno Mas is an excellent choice for making attractive cattle that come easy, will make good cows, and should make competitive steers in a lot of places in Michigan. I also know of another bull that would be even better but I won't self promote on this post.

We have had great luck on 2nd calvers with Afterhours (Irish Whiskey x Dr Who/Imprint) THF and PHAF.  Will fix udder quality every time, calves are moderate at birth and they have look.  Available thru Cattle Visions