Shorthorn Plus Fall 08 Bull Calf...

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TJ

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These pics aren't the best, he's in his working clothes (no clippers or grooming) & he's on a high roughage diet, but does this young, extremely low birth weight Shorthorn Plus bull have any potential?  He's a fall 08 with a 54 lb. birth weight (My memory is obviously not as crisp as it once was... I misspoke & I apologize... I just looked it up... not that 2 lbs. is going to change opinions, but it is 54, not 52).
   

 

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TJ

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mark tenenbaum said:
need to see him from behind-he has an older cafs head on that body-suggesting a very small frame-like his front and depth-wut is he? O0

He's a fall 08, so you are right about him being an older calf.  Early yearling is probably a better word than calf, actually.  He is smaller framed.    

He's a Sonny grandson... 1/2 Shorthorn out of a BWF dam.      

54 lb. birth weight.  

He's thick, in fact that is the first thing a recent visitor commented about.  However, since the majority of the other younger Shorthorn bulls are typically dolled up, I'd rather doll him up too before taking a butt shot.  I'm happy with his thickness, I just want to know what everybody thinks about the rest of him.  I'm trying to decide what my level of involvement may or may not be.      
 

TJ

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FutureBreeder2013 said:
Does he have any lowline in him?

That is a pretty astute observation, especially with me posting the pic.  ;)    3/8

Below is a pic of his neck when he was younger...
 

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TJ

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OH Breeder said:

BWF = Black White Face

1/2 sister out of the same BWF dam, but sired by a Lowline bull...  
 

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Reinken Cattle Co.

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clip him up and get some better pictures TJ and it may be easier to decide, as of right now, im not a big fan of him, it may just be the photos..
 

TJ

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Reinken Cattle Co. said:
clip him up and get some better pictures TJ and it may be easier to decide, as of right now, im not a big fan of him, it may just be the photos..

Thanks for the input!  Is there anything in particular that you don't like?  

I may take a couple more pics sometime, but I'd rather not post any dolled up show pics, unless or until I decide to help promote him.  Not to mention that I'd rather not take the time to clip him unless I want to promote him.   ;)   I already am very confident that he'll look a ton better clipped, I have absolutely little to no doubt about that, but I want feedback about his "unclipped looks".  I'm the type that if a bull doesn't impress, as is, I'd rather go a different route.  Almost any 1/2 way decent bull can be made to look pretty good with a feed bucket & good clip/fit job, but not too many can impress, as is.  If this one isn't an "as is" bull, then I don't want to waste my time... too many other Shorty Pluses look good all dolled up.   Several who have seen him in person, really like him & maybe I'd been better off posting a video, rather than a couple of pics that I didn't spend much effort in taking.  With that said, I've got my own opinion about him, and Steer Planet isn't going to be the ultimate final deciding factor either way, but I'm always anxious to hear what others have to say, because there is a lot of good cattle knowledge on this board.  Thanks again!   (thumbsup)  
         

 

               
 

Reinken Cattle Co.

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Tj the first picture to me looks like he turns out ALOT then it kinda makes him look bowlegged so thats kind of why I requested other photos.  He does look like he has a lot of thickness thow!
 

TJ

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Reinken Cattle Co. said:
Tj the first picture to me looks like he turns out ALOT then it kinda makes him look bowlegged so thats kind of why I requested other photos.  He does look like he has a lot of thickness thow!

Thanks for the reply!  I see exactly what you are talking about, but his legs are not a concern in real life.  I think that it's a combo of the mud, wild hair sticking out, & the camera angle creating an illusion (he's standing twisted too & I'm sure that doesn't help).  Not sure how quickly, but I'll get some pics that show off his front legs better... may even clip him 1st. 

Somebody else is pretty interested in him, which is why I need to hurry up & decide how much involvement I want to have, if any.  I probably already know what I am going to do, I am just trying to look at all the positives & all the negatives.  I do think that he has a bunch of positives & although I know that he's not perfect... what bull is?  If he was 1/2 Lowline instead of 3/8, it would be better for Lowline marketing, but I kinda like the fact that his dam is a BWF because he has potential to sire lots of chrome.  And he's red & he is an outcross to all the red Lowlines... Bluey, Awesome Red, Tara, Big Red, etc, etc, etc...  But, he's 1/2 Shorthorn, which opens up other possibilities & he might be able to sire club calves out of the right females,although red steers aren't exactly in high demand, so he'd need to be used on homo black females.  Anyway, if not him, I need to find a really good percentage Lowline bull.                     

 

Reinken Cattle Co.

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Didnt you have pics on here when he was younger or would I have seen them some where else?! (lowline related) from show results?! Because I thought he looked great then, the pictures must just be misleading me. Are you guys gonna make it to denver tj?!
 

TJ

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Reinken Cattle Co. said:
Didnt you have pics on here when he was younger or would I have seen them some where else?! (lowline related) from show results?! Because I thought he looked great then, the pictures must just be misleading me. Are you guys gonna make it to denver tj?!

Yes, I put a younger pic on here somewhere.  It was a pic that they used to promote a county 4H & FFA club calf prospect sale.  He was pretty green & freshly weaned, but he was clipped & cleaned up in that pic.         

RE Denver... I might be... IDK yet.  Decent possibility.  You going?                           

 

justintime

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I agree TJ, you shouldn't have to do a show clip on this guy to figure out if he is any good or not.  It is becoming an almost lost art, that is, being able to look at cattle in their natural state and be able to appreciate them.

The only thing I find that can be very deceiving in photos is an animals overall size. Seeing he has some Lowline and Sonny in his make- up I am "assuming his frame is very moderate. The pictures show a calf that has some masculinity, some natural thickness and natural capacity and a bull that is structurally sound. His legs appear to be situated under him, on his corners where they are supposed to be, and he has some width through his chest floor. These are all traits any animal needs to be a low maintenance animal. He has a good hair coat. His quarter is carried down very deep and I am thinking if he was fitted ( ie: fat) he would have a much more prominent rear quarter. For an animal in good everyday working condition, I think this guy has a good quarter. Some may say he needs to cleaned up in his front end some, however, I would say it is very hard to have bull that shows masculinity at this age and have him also very clean through his front.... and it should only be excessive waste in the front end that concerns us. Having some brisket and some depth through the neck, only indicates that the animal has some do-ability ( another of the goofy show ring characteristics that needs to be looked at again. Again, don't jump on me yet, as I said " some" not " a lot" of front.

This is an interesting calf. I think he could do a lot of people a lot of good. Keep us posted with how he develops.
 

Reinken Cattle Co.

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There is % lowline classes and I think he would fit in well there, But like TJ said I do agree being 3/8 people would much rather play the halfblood game with percentage. Im not sure where you are going with this bull TJ but I feel if you wanted to push him as a lowline you could. He would bring something a little different and attract a few that normally would shy away from the lowlines.
 

dori36

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Reinken Cattle Co. said:
There is % lowline classes and I think he would fit in well there, But like TJ said I do agree being 3/8 people would much rather play the halfblood game with percentage. Im not sure where you are going with this bull TJ but I feel if you wanted to push him as a lowline you could. He would bring something a little different and attract a few that normally would shy away from the lowlines.

And, at 3/8 he isn't eligible to show in the percentage Lowline classes.  I think they have to be at last 50% to show but can be registered with 25% or more.  Don't ask what I think of that goofy newer rule!  TJ, with just what the pictures say to me, I'd agree that he's plenty thick but a bit small framed to appeal to commercial operators and not sure he really has a market in the Lowline world.  Just on his value and his own merits, I'd like to see a little more extension up front ...short of being freaky fronted.  Can't really tell about his carry-down in the round but I'd guess it's pretty good as well as being pretty thick topped.  Not trying to be unnecessarily negative, but if someone's interested, I'm not sure I'd keep a piece of him. 
 

DLD

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Guess I see him alot like JIT does, real solid and complete.  I see some marketing possibilities for lower percentage Lowlines as calving ease bulls (that's assuming he does have a fairly low bw?), and I think he looks like he'd still transmit some meat and volume.  Of course in that situation, though I don't think the red color would kill him, throwing lots of chrome won't help.
 
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