RyanChandler
Well-known member
JTM said:
You mean you didn't pay them enough to be chosen.
JSF Gauge
- Thread starter CAB
- Start date
Help Support Steer Planet:
You mean you didn't pay them enough to be chosen.
kfacres
Well-known member
-XBAR- said:
I can't figure out why Select Sires didn't pick a decent bull to add to the lineup. For being missing for 30 years-- they're sure going to shoot themselves in the foot over these two with real world cattle people...
Don't get me wrong- I liked how Capiche looked in Denver-- but I don't see the logistics in promoting a couple of 5 framers to people who raise and profit from 7 frames...
J
JTM
Guest
I'll just keep tryin to cook with crisco and see if I can get something going... <cowboy>trevorgreycattleco said:
Duncraggan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2012
- Messages
- 821
I used him as a yearling on 15 cows and heifers in spring, only one was not in calf and she has already done handstands at the abattoir! He is my autumn bull as well this year and will then be the lead bull at sale time. Considering keeping a semen interest as he seems to be promising!garybob said:
The cactus is prickly pear (Opuntia), a weed introduced from South America I believe. Lays large areas to waste by forming a thick, impenetrable bush where nothing grows. Difficult to eradicate but we spray it with MSMA which is government subsidised. Labour intensive as it never dies out completely at the first application and you battle to wet it all when it is in large clumps as you need to wet it from all sides to kill it!
The grass being grazed is a Cynodon species like Bermuda but this is the indigenous Couch grass which seeds itself and is more drought tolerant than Coastcross/K11 which I have on flatter/wetter areas.
I have attached two pictures of my heifers due to calve in August to the "GaryBob Type" bull!
Attachments
Duncraggan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2012
- Messages
- 821
outspoken said:
kfacres
Well-known member
Duncraggan said:
thunderdownunder
Well-known member
Duncraggan said:
Duncraggan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2012
- Messages
- 821
outspoken said:
kfacres
Well-known member
Duncraggan said:
Duncraggan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2012
- Messages
- 821
outspoken said:
mark tenenbaum
Well-known member
Duncraggan said:
garybob
Well-known member
That's an awfull good bunch of heifers.
Do you guys ever use that cactus as feed, during drought years? It has a lot of TDN, and you can burn the stickers off of it, and cattle will literally fight and head-butt each other trying to get to it. Southern Texas and Arizona and New Mexico cattlemen ( as well as our neighbors to or south) do this very thing.
GB
Do you guys ever use that cactus as feed, during drought years? It has a lot of TDN, and you can burn the stickers off of it, and cattle will literally fight and head-butt each other trying to get to it. Southern Texas and Arizona and New Mexico cattlemen ( as well as our neighbors to or south) do this very thing.
GB
Duncraggan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2012
- Messages
- 821
As farming would have it, we have two varieties in South Africa.
The first is the 'good' variety, the "Spineless Prickley Pear" which has good feeding value and produces a large edible fruit which is grown as a 'drought protection' with advantages(fruit)! It is grown commercially in some parts of the country.
The variety you see in my pictures is the 'common' variety which is a weed and only produces cladodes with looooong thorns and small fruit! By the time you have harvested the suitable cladodes, used a gas blowtorch to remove the spines, chopped it, dried it and added molasses to make it palatable, you might as well have trucked in commercial feed!
Two 'bugs' were brought in to try and eradicate it. Cochineal is a very slow acting 'fungus' type white growth which eventually stunts the plant, I don't ever see it killing it! The Cactoblastis worm is a striped worm which goes into the cladodes and eats it from the inside resulting in the plant collapsing!
Both of these 'bugs' seem to affect the 'good' variety more than the 'common' variety!
The first is the 'good' variety, the "Spineless Prickley Pear" which has good feeding value and produces a large edible fruit which is grown as a 'drought protection' with advantages(fruit)! It is grown commercially in some parts of the country.
The variety you see in my pictures is the 'common' variety which is a weed and only produces cladodes with looooong thorns and small fruit! By the time you have harvested the suitable cladodes, used a gas blowtorch to remove the spines, chopped it, dried it and added molasses to make it palatable, you might as well have trucked in commercial feed!
Two 'bugs' were brought in to try and eradicate it. Cochineal is a very slow acting 'fungus' type white growth which eventually stunts the plant, I don't ever see it killing it! The Cactoblastis worm is a striped worm which goes into the cladodes and eats it from the inside resulting in the plant collapsing!
Both of these 'bugs' seem to affect the 'good' variety more than the 'common' variety!
Duncraggan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2012
- Messages
- 821
cattlefarmer said:
I am kicking myself in the pants that I did not use Gauge on heifers in my last mating season. I took too much influence on what I read here on SP! Have you seen what his figures did until Spring 2013!
Fortunately I have six doses left for Autumn/May 2013.
Does anyone have a laymans definition of what a negative MCE means? Am I wrong in my definition that his heifer calves will be prone to calving difficulty? What is the accuracy of this information, or is it a thumbsuck?
J
JTM
Guest
I think you are right about the MCE. I don't know how much weight I would put on that epd though. Don't think there have been many daughters calved yet. This year maybe?
Cabanha Santa Isabel - BR
Well-known member
Very good discussion. On last two years Select Sires offer Capiche semen here in Brazil. Not many people bought it.
Duncraggan very good pics. Liked of your heifers, special look on the red white belly one. My heifer type, maybe not exact genetics that I would like use.
Regarding your Ai bull bunch, suppose that as in Brazil, you in South Africa use what was available on that time. Here, also, by many years only Enticer, Winchester and a couple bull more were available. Not exactly what we would like to choose and use.
Regards.
Duncraggan very good pics. Liked of your heifers, special look on the red white belly one. My heifer type, maybe not exact genetics that I would like use.
Regarding your Ai bull bunch, suppose that as in Brazil, you in South Africa use what was available on that time. Here, also, by many years only Enticer, Winchester and a couple bull more were available. Not exactly what we would like to choose and use.
Regards.
RyanChandler
Well-known member
Gauge is light years better than Capiche. No comparison whatsoever. I used a bull bred almost identical to Gauge this past year on my heifers -Tsunami x KL. Only assisted one calf and biggest bw was 84lbs.
Duncraggan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2012
- Messages
- 821
Five live calves on the ground after a CIDR/TAI programme, unfortunately only one heifer.Duncraggan said:
