Calving Difficulties

[FarmerWanna-Be]

So for the last 2 year we have bred cows to a 70% angus bull that has a very moderate frame size but have had to pull at least half of the calves sired by him. The cows dont get grain while they are pregnant and I cant figure out why there calves are consistently coming so big out of a bull that is suppose to be calving ease. Any ideas.

 

[Simmgal]

We had the same problem. We eventually found out that if the bull had a big head or big shoulders, then the calves would come harder..even if he was calving ease. As the cows got older, we saw less and less of the problem.

 

[Freddy]

Your breeder of the bull must of not been very reputable or you bought in a sale barn .....

 

[JWW]

what is your mineral program ??



JWW

 

[CAB]

Curious as to what the remaining 30% is?

 

[husker1]

It seems that the bull always gets the blame!  I do the same thing, too.

However, I'm sure that in the majority of scenarios, more blame should be placed on the cow and the environment.

Now, I'm sure that there are some cow-killer bulls out there, but the ladies control a big part of this deal!

 

[aandtcattle]

It seems that the bull always gets the blame!  I do the same thing, too.

However, I'm sure that in the majority of scenarios, more blame should be placed on the cow and the environment.

Now, I'm sure that there are some cow-killer bulls out there, but the ladies control a big part of this deal!

I totally agree with husker1.  Also, why is it that some people think that moderate framed, angus or angus composite bulls are automatically calving ease?  What was the birthweight of the bull?  Maybe more importantly, what was the birthweights on your cows??

 

[Okotoks]

So the calves are 35% Angus assuming the cows are of another breed. What is the other 30% in the bull's pedigree. I think that this can be a danger in using composites,not getting consistency!

 

[twistedhshowstock]

If the bull is only 70% angus then you really cant have very accurate EPDs in my opinion...and regardless of his BW and frame size doesnt mean he is calving ease...there are a lot of purebred angus bulls out there, that were born tiny, and are small framed that are not calving ease at all.  True the cows add to it, but in the case of it happening to 70% of your calf crop, depending on the size of your herd, then I would bet the bull is having something to do with it.
If I were you and you have high BW cattle and continuously have this issue, then I would go look for a registered bull, with more consistant EPDs that is sure fire calving ease.  Better yet, go buy a bull with calves on the ground that is proven calving ease.

 

[FarmerWanna-Be]

Thanks for the input. The other 30% is chi and maine. The bull is an ARD Ridge Tonka X Kadabra cow. The cows he was bred to are medium to big framed Maine-Chi cows that have an average bw of pry around 80. I cant remember the exact name of the mineral we give them but it is an all around mix with selenium. They also are given free range on a mineral block.