RyanChandler
Well-known member
sue said:
You did mention him, but yes your right, I am planning on turning a bull out second week in December as some of my heifers are coming 2s. While I know what I want in a bull, there aren't exactly a lot of shorthorn herds here in Texas to be able to go see what the market offers and what I can access. I have restlessly looked at nearly every shorthorn breeders website in North America searching for my ideal. I have come across many bulls I like but with generally only 1 representative photo to analyze, I doubt I will go the AI route until I have seen the bull in person.
Out of the 24 heifers I have, 8 go back to RB eagle 148th via their sire, jsf/rb proud Jake 49u or on the bottom side through Golden Chain or Rb Ruby cows. Also, my favorite heifer (*x4176778), who is due Oct 1 to a Dover son, is out of a Jsf Director T4 bull whose paternal grandsire is RB eagle 255. 5 heifers are sired by Lucas captain Jo 9 *x4151899, 3 by a Houston son- Stout Counter Point, and 4 by HVR Castlerock 708 ET whose mother is Green Ridge DP Mary 9434.
With the exception of 2 of the Stout bred heifers, I doubt any of them will be over 1300lbs mature. The Jpj influence on the jsf/rb heifers I think really moderated their size.
My goal is to produce quality, practical, sound cattle that don't require supplements in the grass growing seasons. I have always had to hay and feed cubes in the winter as my pastures are mostly Bermuda and its stockpiled value in the winter is nil. Not having to supplement your cattle in the winter, IMO, is a testiment to the quality of your pastures and the ground and not necessarily the easy doingness of your cattle. If I could have all heifer calves next fall, that would be my ideal. I don't need to make money of my cows. What I need is the deafening silence in my head when Im in the pasture with my cows. Again, my goal is to produce my brand of cattle that excel for me and enable me to grow my herd with the type of cattle I like. By applying the appropriate selection protocol, one based on functional beef cattle characteristics, I feel I can accomplish my goals and develop the herd i want. I have no desire to breed for shows or to use a certain blood line to assist in marketing my cattle. I have no interest in that. Its all about me and my cows and the personal satisfaction I get knowing these are the fruits of my labor. Although the occasional stopping by of a grey beard to compliment my cows sure is nice, its not what I do it for.
With all this being said, I'm still searching for a bull that I can use to further establish my base. I am not the type that mates cows to certain bulls to try to compensate for this flaw or that. I am looking for the ideal beef animal that will be the foundation. While beef confirmation is my goal, I will not overlook any structural defects in my attempt to get there. Structural correctness is number 1 and from there I will work. Once I find this bull I plan to use him and his offspring for years to come. A Jim Lents' philosophy if you will.
Being that I haven't had the luxury to travel the shorthorn herds out there, I am looking for opinions from those that have that might be able to assist me or point me in the right direction to a bull/breeder that meets my selection criteria. Thank you all for any advice that might come my way.
Ryan
