getting my herd started

[TYD]

me my wife and my son finally got our barn built and some fence up on our small 35 acre farm.we started our herd with one high quality simangus heifer that we had purchased from a well known breeder she has since calved and gave us a heifer calf last year.the direction we are taking our hobby right now is very mixed.the goal for the farm is to instill work ethic into our son when he gets older something we feel is lacking in alot of youth today aslo to breed for high quality animals so when and if my son decides to show he can work with a project he had a hand in breeding and raising(he is only four right now).we would like to keep our herd at roughly 8 to 10 cows(i know some of the bigger breeders on here are laughing)and i would like to keep the herd with a simangus base with some maine mixed in i would like to keep and show the heifers we  get right now, sell the sellable steers and keep the rest for freezer beef so i would like to breed for something clean that actually grows so now that everyone knows what direction i am heading what are your oponions and suggestions and if you had to pick a bull that you feel could do all this which would it be and why i would love to hear from everyone thanks in advance i know this is asking alot from one bull

 

[lfarms]

good

 

[vet tech]

Great idea! Doesn't matter the number in the herd, just that your willing to have one and work. I think going with "3C macho" or "duff new look" would be nice for females, maybe the new bull "Long Time Coming". I really like the looks of him.

 

[TYD]

thats good to know because our cow is a new look on a meyer 734

 

[Dyer Show cattle]

Right now if your building the herd I would stick with only maternal bulls. Also If you want to stay sim/angus my recommendation would be about any meyer 734 sons. Cows are great mothers, milk great and will work with about any clubby bull further down the road. In my case I started out with 6 simangus bred heifers and then 5 open Meyer 734 grand daughters and I have kept every heifer they have ever had. Have some out of angus bulls and now some out of clubby bulls. Right now I have 35 cows and 9 heifers and all of them are home raised. Now that I have my herd size about where I want it I breed about half to maternal bulls and the other I breed for clubby calves. So far my favorite calves I have had have been Sunseeker and My Turns. They make great show calves and if they dont make the cut they make great feeders. They move good and have frame size. I have kept a couple sunseeker heifers and they are great cows. Right now I have some open My turns I am keeping back and breeding this spring and they look more maternal than the sunseekers. The one difference between the sunseekers and my turns I have had are the temperments. The sunseekers have spoiled me over the years because every one of them have been big puppy dogs usually break to lead in only a few days. The my turns I have had do not have a terrible temperment but just more stubborn and high headed. I would say they are prob just average temperment just the sunseekers are so tame they make the my turns seem like wild cattle.

 

[vet tech]

That's about the perfect female to start with then lol. I love new looks and meyers. Your good to go then. If you want some maine then look at irish whiskey (pha carrier) or "Fortune and Glory"

 

[SEA]

I believe staying with the Simm/Angus cows for your base up until you get to your 8-10 head herd goal is the route to go.

That being said...you can go two ways, linebreed or outcross.  Below are some of my favorites...

1.  Linebreed...John Christenson says that some of his best cattle are Meyer 734 daughters or grandaughters bred back to Meyer 734 sons.  DO NOT BREED BACK TO MEYER 734 HIMSELF!  There are many Meyer 734 sons available that will work fine.  Last summer I linebred some Meyer 734 daughters and grandaughters back to, Maximus, Backlash, Conclusion 437, Theobald 969, & 3C Macho (but I bred him to straight bred Angus cows).  Time will tell.  I start calving in about a week.

2.  Outcross...use some other PB or halfblood Simm bull.  I do like and just flushed a cow to the half blood Simm: Trendsetter, or you could use OCC Jetfleck, Sandeen's SOS.  PB Simm: SNF/NJC Built Right N48, LBS The Foreman 702T, NLC Upgrade or FB Cut Above (aka Fat Butt).

Hope this helps!!

 

[TYD]

before posting this was my short list chillfactor,backlash,for her she is due to special delivery mid march and grandmaster for her northern improvement heifer from last year

 

[JWW]

ABS's angus bull Magnitude -- never had a heifer out of him i didn't like.. we breed him to simmis and get just flat out awsome halfbloods


JWW

 

[Ohio1]

Very nice and 8-10 is a great number. I would say the duff bulls and the Maine is a good idea

 

[shortdawg]

Basic Instinct or Northern Improvement

 

[HF CHARS]

I would say Upgrade.  Have seen some great ones out of him, and the semen is Affordable now.!!

 

[TYD]

Thank you guys for the words of encouragement

 

[TYD]

ttt

 

[ruhtram]

One thing I wish my family would of done was go out and purchase some nicer females in the BEGINNING. If you breed them to some semi-clubby bulls then you will get some real nice calves of your OWN that you don't have to go out and buy. You could get some real good calves that would pay off those sometimes expensive cows your bought in the beginning.