Input on bull selection *Updated with Photos of Smokin' Joe Calf*

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SheilAnneDavis

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Hello, I have been a long time reader of this forum and frequent it quite often. I've reached the point where our semen tank is nearly empty so I am looking to restock. I sold most of my herd when I left for college, but I do have one cow I kept back along with her heifer from this year. I'm looking for opinions from those who more in tune with the bulls available.

The cow is a Feb 2006 Model. She is by Moody Blues out of a 3/4 Maine cow (Cigar X Draft Pick bred.) If you are interested, here is a link to her pedigree. http://www.maine-anjou.org/pagedisplay.php?id=263068

I started her fall calving, the switched to spring, So because of that she just weaned her 3rd calf. (My fault, not hers!) Her dam was very framey, and hard to put weight on, but while she's a good sized cow, she is easy keeping, we kept her on the shortest field this last year to keep her from getting to heavy. Her biggest weakness by far is her shoulder, she doesn't carry her width through her shoulder and just doesn't go together as well as I would like her too. She could also use more depth of body, but I'd like to think she's a fairly decent cow that can benefit from the right bull.

Her first 3 calves have been sired by our Angus bulls. The first one was very plain made, looked a lot like her granddam and just unimpressive. The last two have been very impressive. They bull is from Rock'n D Ranch in Junction City, Oregon and is a Midland grandson.  The 2010 steer was the 4-H Champion Market Steer for my Cousin at our county fair, and stood 3rd overall in a show of 80-90 steers. His weakness was his shoulder, that she passed along to him. Her 2011 heifer is likely going to stay around, I don't have a great photo of her that I can find, but she's got some good thickness and is very eye catching.  The cow's been bred to the Angus bulls mostly because of an inexperienced AI Tech (ie, my mom, who took the course 10 years ago, and only tries a couple cows each year) This year though, we got her to stick and she's bred to the Ali Son, Smokin' Joe.

Below are some pictures of her. The first three are of her. The first on is as a bred 2 year old about a month before having her first calf. The second is with the 2010 steer calf, the 3rd is of her right before my cousin took her to fair in 2010, she had the 5 mo old steer on her side then.  The 4th picture is the 2010 steer after winning the 4-H show. You can see he liked to stretch and sloped into his shoulder. He wasn't worked with enough and could have been shown better but it is what it is, not the best photo of him. The last photo is the 2011 heifer calf, please excuse the poor photo from a foggy morning with my cell phone.

If you have any opinions on who might help correct some of her flaws and be a good match for her I would appreciate the input. We are going to be sending off the test for PHA/TH later this month, so right now I don't know her status on either. Clean options are probably best, but if there is a surefire fit, please let me know regardless.
 

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dimebag

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I think the way you have her currently bred might be a good match . If she comes back clean , maybe try Heatseeker .
 

LLBUX

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She definitely has a shoulder issue and plenty of frame.    Believe in me or Eye Candy should downsize and add thickness and bone.

She is a real pretty shade of blue!

Good luck to you-
 

kfacres

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She could use some depth added to her, but quite honestly, she's most likely the best MB offspring I've ever seen. 

It's awefully hard to fill a semen tank, for just one or two cows.. I mean by buying much more than 2 straws- it's going to take forever to use it... and most likely by the time it gets used up... it'll be outdated. 
 

SheilAnneDavis

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Idaho
I hate clubby bulls and most people- HW is fake & overrated said:
She could use some depth added to her, but quite honestly, she's most likely the best MB offspring I've ever seen. 

It's awefully hard to fill a semen tank, for just one or two cows.. I mean by buying much more than 2 straws- it's going to take forever to use it... and most likely by the time it gets used up... it'll be outdated. 

I actually had someone local here also tell me they thought she was the best MB they had seen. She's certainly an eye catcher in the field full of Black Angus.

It is hard to shop around for semen to use on just one or two cows. Our genex rep had Smokin' Joe on hand a couple of years ago and I was able to get 2 straws without paying to have it shipped. Before that the last semen I got was in 2006, Moody Blues and Ali. I would have never even used MB if I realized he was a PHA and TH carrier, but I guess it got overlooked when I was deciding on bulls. She's done well with the Angus bull we are running now, but I am anxious to play around with her and want to start rebuilding now that I'm done with school. I guess her heifer that is in that bottom photo is looking very good, I'm supposed to be getting some new photos of her this evening. My 6th grade cousin has dibs on her for the year, so at least she'll be halter broke for me!!
 

SheilAnneDavis

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Here is a photo of her heifer calf that we just weaned. May 31, 2011 calf, 590 lbs today. Momma has done a good job on nothing put pasture, be interesting to see what she does when she learns what grain is and my little cousin starts to work with her.

 

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OH Breeder

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What is the heifer calf out of. You need a bull that is gonna pull some of that roundness she displays. She has adequate muscle and looks like she adds plenty of depth you just need to square her up. Ali if you have in your tank might do that. Definitely have her TH and PH tested once you know that there are a few more choices of clubbier styled bulls that could work on her.
 

SheilAnneDavis

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OH Breeder said:
What is the heifer calf out of. You need a bull that is gonna pull some of that roundness she displays. She has adequate muscle and looks like she adds plenty of depth you just need to square her up. Ali if you have in your tank might do that. Definitely have her TH and PH tested once you know that there are a few more choices of clubbier styled bulls that could work on her.

The heifer is out of the Blue Roan cow pictured above (Moody Blues) by a purebred Angus bull.
 

kfacres

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SheilAnneDavis said:
OH Breeder said:
What is the heifer calf out of. You need a bull that is gonna pull some of that roundness she displays. She has adequate muscle and looks like she adds plenty of depth you just need to square her up. Ali if you have in your tank might do that. Definitely have her TH and PH tested once you know that there are a few more choices of clubbier styled bulls that could work on her.

The heifer is out of the Blue Roan cow pictured above (Moody Blues) by a purebred Angus bull.
ya obviously... that's been stated before.... any desire to shard more specifics regarding pedigree on that purebred angus bull?
 

CAB

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I like the idea of a MA bull or a % MA bull like Patton or Dubais, a GVC bull. Need a moderate framed, deep ribbed, softer looking bull that has great structure IMO.
 

SheilAnneDavis

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I hate clubby bulls and most people- HW is fake & overrated said:
SheilAnneDavis said:
OH Breeder said:
What is the heifer calf out of. You need a bull that is gonna pull some of that roundness she displays. She has adequate muscle and looks like she adds plenty of depth you just need to square her up. Ali if you have in your tank might do that. Definitely have her TH and PH tested once you know that there are a few more choices of clubbier styled bulls that could work on her.

The heifer is out of the Blue Roan cow pictured above (Moody Blues) by a purebred Angus bull.
ya obviously... that's been stated before.... any desire to shard more specifics regarding pedigree on that purebred angus bull?

Ah, okay. Yea, I can share more on the Angus bull.  He is sired by Rock'n D Midland 2602, who is a BR Midland son out of a Bon View New Design 1407 daughter. His dam is a B A R Ext Traveler 205 out of a Bando 155 granddaughter. If you want to look him up on the Angus Association website. Rock'n D Midland 2861Reg: AAA 16100498

Here is a photo of him running with the cow this summer.
 

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OH Breeder

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SheilAnneDavis said:
I hate clubby bulls and most people- HW is fake & overrated said:
SheilAnneDavis said:
OH Breeder said:
What is the heifer calf out of. You need a bull that is gonna pull some of that roundness she displays. She has adequate muscle and looks like she adds plenty of depth you just need to square her up. Ali if you have in your tank might do that. Definitely have her TH and PH tested once you know that there are a few more choices of clubbier styled bulls that could work on her.

The heifer is out of the Blue Roan cow pictured above (Moody Blues) by a purebred Angus bull.
ya obviously... that's been stated before.... any desire to shard more specifics regarding pedigree on that purebred angus bull?

Ah, okay. Yea, I can share more on the Angus bull.  He is sired by Rock'n D Midland 2602, who is a BR Midland son out of a Bon View New Design 1407 daughter. His dam is a B A R Ext Traveler 205 out of a Bando 155 granddaughter. If you want to look him up on the Angus Association website. Rock'n D Midland 2861Reg: AAA 16100498

Here is a photo of him running with the cow this summer.


NICE! Really nice bull. This is what I was shooting for bloodlines. It looks like to me your female seems to click with Angus. I think your heifer is pretty good and looks better than the steer above. Northern Improvement is one Angus bull that is on the clubby side that throws more hair and angularity. I wouldn't be afraid as I said before to use Ali. But I really like your Angus bull.
 

simmyman67

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Maybe try a clubby looking angus bull who has some squareness and is a real tank.
 

SheilAnneDavis

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Hey again everyone. I finally got some photos of the Smokin' Joe calf the Moody cow had this year. He got off to a bit of a slow start, he was over 100 pounds and a bit dumb. With a little convincing he decided staying attached to the udder was a good thing and now he's growing well. Unlike some of the cows calves in the past he just isn't quite as cocky and photogenic, so it's been hard to get good looking photos. He's way more laid back in how he presents himself.

Edit- Also, we were able to snag Eye Candy semen about a week before the price went up so the Moody Blues cow will be AIed to him here in the next month or so. Our semen rep was able to get it without having to pay for shipping, so it worked out to be good timing.
 

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mark tenenbaum

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Is she TH Negative?  Eye Candy is pos. hes good-but youd be wise not to breed th to th.I would say Gucci,Predator,or maybe even Young Money (clean blue roan Eye Candy son) or maybe Incredible Hulk-I like the newer smoother made Maines on 1 like her O0
 

SheilAnneDavis

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Yes, she is tested TH negative, but PHA positive. I would never breed positive to positive, and wouldn't have even bought the semen if she was positive for TH.

I agree there are a lot of other bulls I like, especially the Maines to produce replacement heifers, but we are in Oregon so there isn't too many options for semen without high shipping costs. I got lucky with my timing of the Eye Candy semen, I ordered, paid for it and before out genex rep even got it down to us and in our tank the price had shot up.

I try to keep an eye on the added attractions bulls Genex carries, but we don't AI a lot so hard to justify accumulating too much inventory. Once I get my cattle moved from Oregon up to Idaho where I am and start rebuilding my #'s I'll be able to do a lot more with AI when I'm doing the management.
 

StagecoachCattle

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AgVandal89 said:
Here is a photo of her heifer calf that we just weaned. May 31, 2011 calf, 590 lbs today. Momma has done a good job on nothing put pasture, be interesting to see what she does when she learns what grain is and my little cousin starts to work with her.

Hey all, I thought it might be neat to update this thread! Here is a picture of this heifer all grown up.

1st Pic is her yesterday, rolling fat despite nursing a March heifer.
2nd Pic- Her and her March heifer by Daddy's Money, the photo is a few weeks old
3rd Pic- Last summer with a Renegade Blues heifer
4th Pic- Her 2015 No Suprise steer
5th Pic- Her 2014 Ali bull

She's served me well so far. Always breeds right back, obviously an easy keeper. I would love to have a whole pasture full of cows just like her. I still have her mother as well, I'll post some photos of her recent calves as well.

We are planning on keeping her Daddy's Money heifer this year. Getting ready to breed her back to either No Suprise or Eye Candy.



 

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StagecoachCattle

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CAB said:
I like the idea of a MA bull or a % MA bull like Patton or Dubais, a GVC bull. Need a moderate framed, deep ribbed, softer looking bull that has great structure IMO.


CAB-- I very much liked your suggestion a few years ago and followed through on them. I preferred Patton, however, only bought 2 straws at $50 a few years ago, wish I had bought more as it's shot up to $100 this year.  I also bought some Dubai as well. Here are the results.

1st Pic- 2016 Patton Calf last fall
2nd Pic- 2016 Patton Calf last weekend, his final show isn't until September
3rd Pic- The old blue cow at 11 with her 2017 Dubai Calf
4th Pic- Dubai calf at 3 mo
5th Pic- Dubai calf at 3 mo


We are planning to breed her back to Dubai this year.
 

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