Calving ease Red Angus

[LazyGLowlines]

if you can think outside the box then you may want to consider using this bull.  A couple SP guys saw him in Denver this year and were impressed.  He could be set up better in the front...

 

[Show Heifer]

He looks pretty good.. why would you have to "think outside the box" to use him?  Is he one of those darn lowlines?? 

 

[LazyGLowlines]

'cause too many people think of lowlines as being 'mini's...and this bull is anything but that! 

 

[Show Heifer]

Stats? Bloodlines?  Owner?
You know me... always thinking "outside the box"!!!

 

[LazyGLowlines]

22 months old and 1100 lbs at time of pic, 60 lb b/w (ET calf).  Sired by Bluey out of Goan Black Opal, owned by Lazy G Lowlines.  Currently being collected at Frontier Genetics in Oregon. 

 

[CAB]

  What about all of the Beckton Julian sired bulls available? ABS has a pile of them offerred.

 

[DL]

Julian is one of the best maternal bulls in the breed

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Julian is one of the best maternal bulls in the breed

If you can live with the structure problems. 22D will bring milk into the Heat Wave bloodlines. RW

 

[DL]

Julian is one of the best maternal bulls in the breed

If you can live with the structure problems. 22D will bring milk into the Heat Wave bloodlines. RW

His stayability would suggest that any structure problems he has would be primarily cosmetic

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

DL - I guess you can consider feet and leg structure as cosmetic. Interpretation of the stayability EPD - Nonsalabilty  RW

 

[TJ]

22 months old and 1100 lbs at time of pic, 60 lb b/w (ET calf).  Sired by Bluey out of Goan Black Opal, owned by Lazy G Lowlines.  Currently being collected at Frontier Genetics in Oregon. 

R U going to sex any of his semen? 

 

[CAB]

  LazyG I think that the thing that I wonder about is that if I use a Lowline bull or for that matter a pure calving ease bull, are the females retained from those matings going to be able to have a large,( clubbie bred ) bull calf? Will there be enough growth in these calves? I'm not bashing the Lowlines or any of your bulls, just asking from the elephant in the rooms point of view.

 

[LazyGLowlines]

  LazyG I think that the thing that I wonder about is that if I use a Lowline bull or for that matter a pure calving ease bull, are the females retained from those matings going to be able to have a large,( clubbie bred ) bull calf? Will there be enough growth in these calves? I'm not bashing the Lowlines or any of your bulls, just asking from the elephant in the rooms point of view.

CAB - I suspect you haven't seen any fullblood lowline cattle.  We have many cows here that weigh between 1100 & 1300 lbs.  If they were taller they would be considered small to moderate framed females. Lowline cattle are angus, pure and simple.  So breeding a lowline bull is like using a small angus bull. 

The research done by the Australian government in the 70's selected the lowline group  (between lowlines, smallest & highlines, tallest) because they had a rapid growth rate for the first 200 days, medium growth rate the next 200 days plus they could stock more animals per acre, meaning more meat per acre.  Rapid growth is not an issue, especially when hybrid vigor kicks in.

We're already seeing breeders using Dr Who on fullblood lowline females, and from what I've been told they've had no calving problems. 

 

[LazyGLowlines]

[R U going to sex any of his semen? 

We may sex Bluey semen this year and see how it goes. We're so far away from anyplace that can do it, and we only collect Bluey at home. We've had a few inquiries....just tough to get 'er done.

 

[CAB]

 I have not seen PB Lowline cattle. I do like the looks of your bull and your Bluey bull. I think that most of the commercial sector is scared to try them though B/C of the fact that we are all worried about what size of calf that they will be able to have the next generation. Have you measured the pelvis areas of very many F-1 cattle? How would they compare to the traditional commercial herds? Both female & males. Brent

 

[LazyGLowlines]

 I have not seen PB Lowline cattle. I do like the looks of your bull and your Bluey bull. I think that most of the commercial sector is scared to try them though B/C of the fact that we are all worried about what size of calf that they will be able to have the next generation. Have you measured the pelvis areas of very many F-1 cattle? How would they compare to the traditional commercial herds? Both female & males. Brent

You'd be surprised at the number of commercial cattlemen that are not afraid to use fullblood lowline bulls!  Alot of the commercial cows are too big and lowline bulls bring that cow size down to a more moderate frame, plus makes the resulting calves much more efficient than their mamas. A guy in our area breeds some of his 1/2 blood lowlines to his angus bull and has no problems. We're seeing alot of people using 1/2 bloods for the grass-finished market, so they're breeding 1/2 to 1/2 to maintain the size. That's the commercial side, anyway. 

We've got friends who take their 1/2 blood calves to the sale barn and they sell just as well if not better than the commercial calves.

 

[TJ]

Backing up what Lazy G posted...

I've only sold 1 halfblood Lowline steer at a sale barn, but anytime you gross almost $750 on a calf that only ate soy hulls for 45-60 days (the only other feed was pasture, hay, mineral, salt, & milk), was under a year of age, was born unassisted out of a 1st calf heifer who moved up over a month when calving the next year, I think that your doing OK. 

IMHO, I've done a HORRIBLE job marketing during the last 8-9 months, mostly due to being extremely busy with other things.  I only have 2 bulls left for sale, two of my best 3/4 bloods.  Everything else is sold & all were either sold sight unseen or the buyers drove here to see them.  All of the buyers were commercial guys who already had established cattle herds.  1 has 300 head in southern IL.  I turned away a buyer from southeastern IN who recently went to Nebraska & bought 50 + percentage Lowline females, 1 fullblood cow & some bulls.  2 customers of mine, live in the same county & that helped encouraged him to dive in head first.  I've got a commercial guy in Texas who previously bought a bull from a customer of mine, who is looking for percentage Lowline females.  I've lost sales to several other commercial people, because I didn't get pics taken, etc.  Anyway, there are a whole lot more percentage Lowline cattle running around than there used to be & the interest is not slowing down at all.  In fact, it may be increasing.  Why?  Because people are finding out from friends, neighbors, acquaintances, etc. that percentage Lowline cattle will work in a commercial setting.  I think that many would be shocked to learn just how many commercial breeders are now using Lowline bulls on their heifers. 

With that said, if I was a commercial breeder, I'd probably want to produce no higher than a 1/2 blood Lowline.  1/4 - 1/2 is probabaly the optimal level.  If you are breeding to potential "occasional cow killers", I'd probably want 1/4 blood mature cows.  JMHO. 

 

[TJ]

[R U going to sex any of his semen?  

We may sex Bluey semen this year and see how it goes. We're so far away from anyplace that can do it, and we only collect Bluey at home. We've had a few inquiries....just tough to get 'er done.

If U get some let me know.  I am looking for some sexed semen & I'd really rather not use something with an EZ prefix in it's 3 generation pedigree, which eliminates Lexus.  I talked somebody else into sexing their bull, but his semen was just barely not quite good enough to sex.  I also wanted to get the Zeffirelli son that Cindy & I co-owned sexed, but she didn't want to do it, & now she has bought out my 1/2 interest (pending me receiving some regular straws on the bull when he gets collected this spring).  As you know, not a lot of sexed Lowline semen. Anyway, if you get some sexed semen on any of your bulls, let me know, please.   If you don't get any sexed, I will understand.  Thanks.