Star Power - Not for Heifers?

[farmboy]

that one i was talking about had a 115 pounder

 

[Show Steaks]

if memory serves me correct wasnt he promoted as calving ease?? ( i could be wrong,its happened before)


I will say the owners did an excellent publicity and advertising job..Nobody can deny that bulll got hot last year before his first calf crop.... many ppl used this bull and it seems liek quite a few were dissapointed in either quality or birth weight.

 

[GLZ]

if memory serves me correct wasnt he promoted as calving ease?? ( i could be wrong,its happened before)

Back when he had the 12 as a CE number, and was touted as having a 55 pound birth weight.  He was touted as a great heifer bull.  Since then the CE number dropped to a .7, and the rumor of him being a twin (which led to the low BW) has never fully gone away.  (Even though I don't think it is true)

 

[Hofstatter Farms]

if memory serves me correct wasnt he promoted as calving ease?? ( i could be wrong,its happened before)

Back when he had the 12 as a CE number, and was touted as having a 55 pound birth weight.  He was touted as a great heifer bull.  Since then the CE number dropped to a .7, and the rumor of him being a twin (which led to the low BW) has never fully gone away.  (Even though I don't think it is true)

sounds like the scale needs to be reset. i know of more than one person that their scale reads -### before the calf is set on it.

 

[DavidSinclair]

He's on my short list for breeding a couple heifers - but talked to a buddy today reporting that several Star Power calves locally have come big, and been squeaky tight pulls (out of heifers).

Anybody had a similar experience?

We do not recommend SP for use on heifers

This was my post to a similar thread last June:

Star Power’s was not a twin – his actual BW was 56# and his adj BW is 70# (he was early) He was also an ET calf.

Despite what you might read on the internet Star Power does not calve like Full Throttle – However I would NOT recommend his use on heifers. We had 6 heifers bred to him – 2 unassisted – 2 easy pulls – 1 hard pull – 1 hard pull that killed the calf. I have had reports of him being used on groups of 10+ purebred Angus heifers without a single calf being assisted. You should not expect any problems with mature cows unless they have some huge BW’s in their pedigree.

I have a few pictures of SP calves posted on our website: http://sinclaircattleco.com/StarPower.htm
Please keep in mind that these calves would have been from his first calf crop and there wasn’t that much semen available.
I had some more pics that didn’t make the ad but I can’t find them after my HD crashed. If I can locate them I’ll post them.

It has been my experience that about 90% of what you read on these forums is either self promotion or jealous/derogatory comments. It does appear that Steer Planet is easily the best of breed not only in the quality and functionality of the site but also in terms of the quality and usefulness of the posts/users. With that said I would never make any breeding decisions (positive or negative) based on the comments / opinions of an unnamed source. Your best bet would be to look at calves in the pasture or at shows and talking to people that you know have bred several cows to any given bull followed by contacting the breeder/ owner for info. Two important things that we must not forget: A lie told enough becomes truth and it is human nature to believe something negative before anything positive.

DS

 

[bart22]

I used him on ten Sim/Angus heifers last calved last fall and had no problems. All of our calves weighed in the low 60s. You just have to keep your cows (heifers) BW and family history in mind.

 

[show12win]

  That post by David was absolutly the best reply that I have ever seen on any board.I do not know the man but after reading that I believe you have someone who not only raises cattle but truely is a breeder.I came upon their website several years ago and was amazed at the quality of cattle they had for sale.It has been a special time when thier cattle sale pictures come up each year.Star power has been used very little up here but a few will surface this fall and it will be intersting to see how he works on our Canadian cattle.

Rob
www.highcountrycattle.com

 

[Steer4Caddy]

Let me do you a huge favor and suggest using BUILT RIGHT.  Not only is he calving ease, his calves are far and away better and more consistent.  I've used about 40 of each and I can say with confidence, Built Right is a much better bull.

Trust me.

 

[husker1]

Interesting posts.  I debated about posting on this as I don't want to talk anyone or any bull down, which is not my style.  However, I am just gonna state facts, so here goes...

It sure is confusing to me as to why Star Power seems to be calving the way he does for some.  Genetically, there is really no hole in his pedigree that would corresponde with these birthweight issues.  His mother is an darn good females, and not many will argue against the statement that Dream On has done as many positive things for the breed as any Simmental bull...ever.

In many cases, a bull is wrongly accused...as research shows that the female carrying the calf determines the bw by a greater degree.  I'm sure that SP has been bred to many cows (especially crossbred ones) that carry a great deal of birthweight in their pedigrees, which has been a large contributor to the issues.  However, you certainly wonder if SP is also a contributor with all of the negative data coming in.

I know there have been some good ones out of SP; shoot, he was bred to some of the best cows in the world that first year.  Some of those cows could have a pretty good one out of a goat.  What's most discouraging to me is that we used him on several pretty good cows, and the calves are just average at best.  Not at all what I was expecting.  Perhaps just poor matings on my part...perhaps the fault of SP???  ???  No birthweight issues at our place; just quality issues.

I feel for the owner, as many of us in the industry as well felt SP might be the second coming of Dream On...with the ability to add a touch more style.  Just makes no genetic sense to me.  However, I guess that's what makes this game exciting.  

If we all had the answers, it would be too easy.  8)

My greatest concern with SP now...How are his daughters that did turn out good going to produce?  The speculation continues...

 

[kanshow]

I haven't used Star Power yet but have thought about it.
  I guess I look at it a little different than some.   You have to look at accuracy & how many calves are on the ground.   I would never use an unproven bull the first year out on heifers.  I want a bull with a very high accuracy on CE.   We synch, AI, & calve out large numbers of heifers in Jan/Feb and we have to know we are getting small calves.   I'll admit that these are mostly commercial heifers so we are not looking for the next great one out of this group.   We would rather have a live cow raising an average calf that first year.    Last year we AI'd all the heifers to SS Goldmine and had maybe 4 pulls, including a set of twins, backwards calf, and a couple/few easy pulls where the weather was turning and we just wanted it done. 

 

[GoWyo]

My boy has a 2008 Star Power heifer out of a Maine cow.  She profiles as well as any but could be a little thicker.  Kind of a late bloomer - getting better as she matures into a cow.  We AI'd her to a DeRouchey Maine bull (lbw) and are looking forward to next spring.  I am interested in how the maternal calving ease will go.