Simmental heifer breeding suggestions

[bthibodeau]

GLS Integrate heifer calf born October of 2015. Looks fairly good for her mother being a grade Simangus. Weighs 1000lbs. Just curious if anyone has any suggestions as to what she should be bred to. Im looking to clean up her front end some. What do people think of her and what does she need? Have considered Lock Down and Uno Mas so far.

 

[vc]

I would breed her calving ease Angus this year, then look for a Sim next year.
I bred my heifer to Primo this year but she is a 2 year old.
Live calf the first year, is always my goal.

 

[cowman 52]

We used a %  bull the graduate on heifers , red black and cross bred.  Have not had a problem one, calves shaped right, small enough, and have some life in them but not stupid.  Oldest is 60 days old will do for anybody.

 

[jd720]

We used CCR Santa Fe on an I-80 heifer The calf was 10 days early but a very spunky little heifer that's growing well.

 

[WinterSpringsFarm]

No Remorse and KLS Halfblood are my 2 go to bulls for heifers. Good CE and they make em pretty nice.

 

[b_kackley]

I usually go with angus on a first calf heifer. The Answer worked really well for me. If you want to use simmental UNO Mas would be a really good bet. Sexed semen if you can get it.

 

[drapp]

I think you should consider slider on your heifer.  I truely think he will do what you are looking for. He is proven calving ease at +18 ced. Many of the best breeders have used him and are very happy with the quality of the offspring. He may be the longest fronted angus bull to come along in quite some time and he passes that trait on. Calves have great structure and a beautiful profile. Check out CEG blog for pictures of slider offspring or pm me and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Semen available from all major distributors.

 

[Steve123]

W/C BF Innocent Man- great for heifers.  Calves are small at birth and vigorous. Many high sellers and winners this year.

 

[BroncoFan]

I think you should consider slider on your heifer.  I truely think he will do what you are looking for. He is proven calving ease at +18 ced. Many of the best breeders have used him and are very happy with the quality of the offspring. He may be the longest fronted angus bull to come along in quite some time and he passes that trait on. Calves have great structure and a beautiful profile. Check out CEG blog for pictures of slider offspring or pm me and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Semen available from all major distributors.

What kind of frame score does he have?

 

[drapp]

I cannot say that the bull has ever been fra me scored.  He is not huge and he is also not a pud. He is right at average on mature size. I have pasture pictures and video of him if you might be interested. You can pm me and I would be happy to send them to you. He is just very sound and complete, ultra long fronted and has been stamping that quality into his offspring. There are some very good calves out there from slider.

 

[firesweepranch]

Gosh, it bothers me when people say to use an angus bull on simmental heifers "to guarantee a small first calf".
I have NEVER bought nor used a straw of Angus semen on my Simmi heifers, PERIOD! And I do not assist my heifers (we AI everything, no bull use here).
There are so many nice simmi heifer safe bulls out there, there is NO reason to use Angus unless you want a half blood.
Uno Mas, In Dew Time, Nightride, Yellowstone, Dream On, Goldmine, ...I could go on and on. My point is, there is no need to use Angus on a Simmental heifer UNLESS you want a half blood.

Off my soap box now...

BTW, we have been having great luck with Hooks Broadway on heifers (he is not proven yet, accuracies are low, but no problems here), and W/C Lockdown. We have had a few larger ones from One Eyed Jack (again, we did not touch her, but she was in the low 80's for birthweight, which is high on first calf heifers).We also used ACW Iron Hide on cows, and they have been coming small (most mid to low 70's, on cows!).
I like your heifer. We have one Integrate heifer, a May born calf. She was small, and grew slow, but is coming on now. I am starting to like her! She is out of a Club King x Ebony's Joy 5102R cow.

 

[hntwhitetail]

What about heads up 20x?

 

[Franke]

I agree with firesweep that you don't have to use an angus bull. Shear Force is a sure fire heifer safe bull or you could use any number of his sons or grandsons. This year we used WS High Stakes, Hooks Broadway, and W/C Lock Down. Plenty of options out there for you.

 

[Simmgal]

I also agree! The worst bull for heifer calving ease that we ever used was an Angus who was supposed to be "guaranteed calving ease". We have been running Simmental bulls for years on our commercial herd (including heifers) and I have been AI breeding my purebred Simmental herd to PB Simmental sires for years. The stereotype of Simmental bulls throwing large calves may still be around but it is false.

These are the calving ease sires that I have used over the years and highly recommend:

Westfall Voyager
W/C Lock Down
Grandmaster
Shear Force
Goldmine
Dream On and Sons-
Built Right
In Dew Time
Pays To Dream
Uno Mas

The list goes on and on! Good luck with you heifer!

 

[CAB]

  Could someone post a quick link to the Graduate bull please? Thank you.