Kingfield Abricot X Purebred Shorthorn

Many Simmental breeders across North America will recognize Abricot as one of the most influential sires ever imported. He arrived in Canada back in 1971 if I am correct.
We decided to do a little experimenting and mated a very good 3 year old polled Purebred Shorthorn (red neck roan in colour) to Abricot and this is the result. 100 lb heifer calf born on August 10th.

Kingfield Abricot 
Fullblood horned Simmental Sire

What a pretty baby.

Please post her again in a few months.

thanks!  Yes, she is super eye appealing and very correct.
There were many old domestically produced fullblood Simmental sires along with various original import sires that didn't make a real contribution. Some were known for awful calving issues or structural faults.  But, there were some special ones that certainly did contribute and it doesn't seem like a bad idea to reach back and utilize those well proven genetics now and then.

Do you have any more of this semen?

I don't personally own more but if you are located in the USA I'm sure you can find some. Abricot was one of the most heavily used Simmental sires throughout the 70's especially.

I have attached a picture of a full French horned fullblood Abricot 3 year old female we owned back in the mid 80's. She isn't in her best condition in this pic but at maturity she weighed a ton easily and was one of the most productive cows we ever owned. Gentle as a kitten to handle too.

Looks like sek still has him

http://sekgenetics.mybigcommerce.com/abricot/

I remember Abricot when he was in stud at Western Breeders in Balzac.  A very tall and rangy bull he could have been  mistaken for an Ayrshire.  He put out big tall females with plenty of milk and sons with lots of frame-popular at the time.  The thing that I remember most is that bull was next to Renz the meanest Simmental bull in the stud.  Nothing in my mind would let me turn my back on him.

Mark.....yes, I have heard the same thing. He was a total nightmare to manage and handle. Interestingly though, his progeny were well known for docility. I have often wondered if the terrible disposition that some A.I. bulls demonstrate is a genetic or, an environmental thing??
And Abricot did indeed add frame and overall size however, our experience in using him was that his daughters were exceptionally productive. Not unlike most fullblood Simmental sires of the day, he didn't generate very many good sons. A highly maternal sire.
If I am correct, the research confirms that Abricot is found in more ASA and CSA Simmental pedigrees than any other individual. A testament as to how much he was used back in the day.

At 7 days of age. Will be interesting to watch how she develops.

little easier see.
Nice heifer.

I've been told more than once,the best cross is simmy x shorthorn.

Looks like they have 3 lead ropes attached to his nose ring. Is he the bull that killed a guy at stud?

I know for a fact he was very difficult to handle but as for the murderer label, I spoke to the original importer and owner and he tells me not true.

Abricot was very hard to handle in the stud, that is true, but he was not the only bull that was in this category. There were several bulls of a few breeds that had to be watched very closely. I cannot remember which bulls kills stud workers but I do remember that ABS had a stud near Calgary back in the 70s and two workers there were killed by bulls. I can't remember what bulls were responsible.
I remember watching Abricot being collected at Alta one time. They had a small JD tractor with a cab, that they backed up to the door of his pen. Abricot had two rings in his nose and they hooked a good sized logging chain into the nose rings and attached the chain to the back of the tractor. They then opened his gate and everyone left the building. The guy on the tractor led him to the collection site and they collected the semen and led him back to his pen. It was quite an ordeal to watch.
I used Abricot a lot back in that day, when we had our Simmental herd. I never had any issues with his progeny and I liked them. He was a bigger framed Simmental bull but he did have some body to him as well. He was not built like a dairy bull.
I bet your heifer develops into an outstanding female!  In regards to the Simmental X Shorthorn cross, I worked at Bar 5 Simmental at Douglas, MB for several weeks prior to their March sales for about 8 years and I remember them telling me that their best cow families, outside their full blood cows, all were developed from using Simmental bulls on Shorthorn cows.

JT....you were there in person to witness some of the most interesting history in North American beef production. It must have been fascinating!
I do recall visiting the Balzac AB collection unit many years ago with Gerry Kaumeyer or Quentin Stevick and Jimmy Hayes.....back in the late 80's if I recall correctly....Western Breeders??....anyway, they gave us the tour and I do recall they mentioned a murder or two.
I also distinctly recall them telling us that any employee who enters a pen without authorization or supervision is automatically dismissed without exception.
They also had quite the electric fence system; some really serious voltage.

Day 12