Beef AI/Bulls MEGATHREAD

Future Farmer · 12-01-2016 2:39pm

RD10 wrote: »

Ya ZAG was the bull in my head to use. Ive a heifer to calve to him next minth so we'll soon see how his calves are.
Just looking at last yrs catalogue, ZCH was 5* replacement at €246 and 4.7% calving difficulty and now he's at €101 and 7.10% calving difficulty.
I prefer to use the limo's. They usually calf ok with the odd bit of help. As long as their big enough at calving thats the main thing.

Replacement Index has been calibrated in that time too...

Kovu · 12-01-2016 2:41pm

tismesoitis wrote: »

Strongly thinking of using RIO saler on our heifers that will calve at 2 year old. Any thoughts??

Tanko is the man to ask there! Think he used him a good bit on heifers.

Nettleman · 12-01-2016 3:15pm

tanko wrote: »

I've used HCA a lot on heifers, he's a good easy calved bull but docility of his calves is poor. ZAG might be a better option, don't have any calves off him yet tho and only put him on young cows so far.

how bad in the temper on hca progeny. I have a few straws in the flash and might use them this year?

patsy_mccabe · 12-01-2016 3:23pm

tismesoitis wrote: »

Strongly thinking of using RIO saler on our heifers that will calve at 2 year old. Any thoughts??

I used him twice. You'd want to be keeping the bulls to sell at 18 months or so as they can be a big leggy early on. As with all Salers, using on the not so quiet cows might not be a good idea.

welton john · 12-01-2016 3:56pm

tismesoitis wrote: »

Strongly thinking of using RIO saler on our heifers that will calve at 2 year old. Any thoughts??

had calves off their other saler bull pzb this year. Two 23/24 month lm x fr heifers calved him very easily.they sold well at a month old with their mothers.had him on 5 dairy cows two. they all spat out the liveliest calves we ever got. awful scrawney looking yokes but they shaped up as good as any lm or aa off similar cows

tanko · 12-01-2016 5:04pm

Nettleman wrote: »

how bad in the temper on hca progeny. I have a few straws in the flash and might use them this year?

I'd say it's worse than average for Lims and I see he has a poor docility figure on ICBF so farmers must be giving his calves poor scores for it. Id put him on quiet heifers/cows if i could. I see from my ICBF profiles that all the weanlings I've sold off him killed out as R+ or U grades, even a couple of U+ Bulls off him at good weights.
I've no calves off RIO yet, will have four by the end of March off OZS heifers hopefully.

patsy_mccabe · 12-01-2016 7:43pm

Anyone have weanlings from Fiston (fsz) ? Seeing that he is so easy calving, would be interesting to see a few of the older offspring.

Limestone Cowboy · 12-01-2016 7:49pm

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Anyone have weanlings from Fiston (fsz) ? Seeing that he is so easy calving, would be interesting to see a few of the older offspring.

Have one here. Not overly impressed with him but the cow hadn't much milk. Have a few ai'd to him calving in feburary too.

bogman_bass · 12-01-2016 7:58pm

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Anyone have weanlings from Fiston (fsz) ? Seeing that he is so easy calving, would be interesting to see a few of the older offspring.

Have a 3 month old calf by him. nice shape but not huge

sonnybill · 12-01-2016 8:53pm

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Anyone have weanlings from Fiston (fsz) ? Seeing that he is so easy calving, would be interesting to see a few of the older offspring.

Add your reply here.

He is a super bull .. I got e1125 for a 6.5 month white bull out of him . A smasher he was . Loads of Fiston and Gurka this year

RD10 · 12-01-2016 9:10pm

bogman_bass wrote: »

are you selling as weanlings? The only reason I ask is that I've had good results using GJB but I'm finishing them. Maybe not as fancy as a LM but by God do they grow!

Yes majority of them will be sold as weanlings. Have been building up numbers the last few yrs so unless i get a few nice 4/5* heifers that i can pick and choose from they'll be going.
GJB could be worth a look at for some of my smaller heifers though. Have u any pics of his progeny?

RD10 · 12-01-2016 9:22pm

Canaryblue wrote: »

Personally I think Anatrim Bodybuilder is the nicest bull they have, not sure if I'd use him on a heifer though. Whats her breeding do you mind me asking?

Yes i agree with you on Anatrim Bodybuilder. If she was a bigger heifer i might chance her but she's not the widest and looks like she had been on slim pickings before i bought her in. She's filling out a little now since she arrived, but you know yourself its hard put condition on them when inside.
She's by curaheen wakeman.

RD10 · 12-01-2016 9:29pm

Nettleman wrote: »

how bad in the temper on hca progeny. I have a few straws in the flash and might use them this year?

I dont find them too bad. Although was dosing weanlings the other day and one hca heifer was the only one going daft trying to turn around in the crush! Had a hca bull before and he was grand. Think it depends on the cows side too.. dont mix like with like!
Heard people talking about lennon frosty being bad on docility but ive a heifer from him quiet as a mouse. Just depends.

tismesoitis · 12-01-2016 11:05pm

Have 3 fiston bull weanlings and I wouldn't rate the bull at all!! Icbf weighed all calves recently and fistons didn't average 1kg per day growth. Had an lgl just over 1.5 and 5 zgh Bulls average 1.35. Fistons were by far the worst group!!

Canaryblue · 13-01-2016 2:14pm

RD10 wrote: »

Yes i agree with you on Anatrim Bodybuilder. If she was a bigger heifer i might chance her but she's not the widest and looks like she had been on slim pickings before i bought her in. She's filling out a little now since she arrived, but you know yourself its hard put condition on them when inside.
She's by curaheen wakeman.

She should have great stars anyway off him. What other AI companies would be available to you? You'll have to avoid all the bulls that go back to Raceview Merle-Beauty which is about half the simmentals in Irish AI.

Nettleman · 13-01-2016 2:44pm

tismesoitis wrote: »

Have 3 fiston bull weanlings and I wouldn't rate the bull at all!! Icbf weighed all calves recently and fistons didn't average 1kg per day growth. Had an lgl just over 1.5 and 5 zgh Bulls average 1.35. Fistons were by far the worst group!!

I used Fiston on some of my best cows when he was a test sire, 2013 i think- 3 bulls I sold as weanings only average and made poor money. kept 2 heifers on to see and they filled out ok, but my best cows have produced better. I still cant decide whether to bull them or not. concern over milk yield and muscle on back end. Letting them run to 3 year old calving to mature more for calving. Bodybuilder was at ploughing a few years back, and seems to be better than APZ

croot · 13-01-2016 3:22pm

Nettleman wrote: »

Bodybuilder was at ploughing a few years back, and seems to be better than APZ

That's what you call damming with faint praise. Isnt APZ just about the lowest ranked sim bull in AI.

tanko · 13-01-2016 3:28pm

Bodybuilder is €20 a straw.

Nettleman · 13-01-2016 3:34pm

croot wrote: »

That's what you call damming with faint praise. Isnt APZ just about the lowest ranked sim bull in AI.

APZ was being peddled as the gods gift to cows....I didnt swallow the propaganda but alot of men did. I havent used bodybuilder so cant say but he might work well but i got pasted on another thread for saying the availability and quality of high reliability high maternal SIM bulls in AI stations is crap-so Im not resurrecting that again. I am a big fan of Simmental cattle but factories and finishers dont like thier KO's on males. I see derrypatrick herd was using FSZ and FWO this year so lets see what DWG they get when those calves are on the ground.

Fuxake · 13-01-2016 3:36pm

RD10 wrote: »

Yes majority of them will be sold as weanlings. Have been building up numbers the last few yrs so unless i get a few nice 4/5* heifers that i can pick and choose from they'll be going.
GJB could be worth a look at for some of my smaller heifers though. Have u any pics of his progeny?

GJB not guaranteed easy calving. Had a brute of an experience with a 3 y old Simmy heifer. Had another one calved to a Limo heifer no probs outdoors. growth rate seems exceptional so let's see.

Nettleman · 13-01-2016 3:36pm

tanko wrote: »

Bodybuilder is €20 a straw.

would lads spend 50 euro or more for a straw for commercial or would that be just mad?

Salerchamp · 13-01-2016 3:36pm

tismesoitis wrote: »

Strongly thinking of using RIO saler on our heifers that will calve at 2 year old. Any thoughts??

Heard RIO straws are down to the last few hundred now. Price is still 8 or 10 euro I think

RD10 · 13-01-2016 4:18pm

Canaryblue wrote: »

She should have great stars anyway off him. What other AI companies would be available to you? You'll have to avoid all the bulls that go back to Raceview Merle-Beauty which is about half the simmentals in Irish AI.

Well my ai man uses p.g but im sure if i asked him he'd be willing to purchase straws from elsewhere.
she was a 3* gone up to a 4* now so hopefully she'll keep going that way. Her mother is by hillcrest king i forgot to mention.

patsy_mccabe · 13-01-2016 4:25pm

The last time I used RIO, last year I think, the AI guy said he hardly ever gets asked to use him. Just goes to show how guys are making their decisions based on ICBF numbers now. Heifer didn't hold to him, by the way.

bogman_bass · 13-01-2016 4:49pm

Nettleman wrote: »

would lads spend 50 euro or more for a straw for commercial or would that be just mad?

Yes and yes!

bogman_bass · 13-01-2016 4:49pm

Fuxake wrote: »

GJB not guaranteed easy calving. Had a brute of an experience with a 3 y old Simmy heifer. Had another one calved to a Limo heifer no probs outdoors. growth rate seems exceptional so let's see.

No but still easier than most Limos.

Salerchamp · 13-01-2016 5:54pm

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

The last time I used RIO, last year I think, the AI guy said he hardly ever gets asked to use him. Just goes to show how guys are making their decisions based on ICBF numbers now. Heifer didn't hold to him, by the way.

Had an ICBF rep on farm a few weeks ago and he kept saying RIO daughters are great mothers. To think that a few years ago RIO was negative for milk as well!!

Miname · 13-01-2016 9:04pm

RD10 wrote: »

Well my ai man uses p.g but im sure if i asked him he'd be willing to purchase straws from elsewhere.
she was a 3* gone up to a 4* now so hopefully she'll keep going that way. Her mother is by hillcrest king i forgot to mention.

Put a shorthorn on her, it's a savage cross once you get a heifer. I've two heifers calved to the shorthorn bull bressie and they just farted them out. Small handy calves that seem to be constantly trying to swig every cow going.

RD10 · 13-01-2016 10:28pm

Miname wrote: »

Put a shorthorn on her, it's a savage cross once you get a heifer. I've two heifers calved to the shorthorn bull bressie and they just farted them out. Small handy calves that seem to be constantly trying to swig every cow going.

I actually bought in a sim x sh heifer at the same time i bought in this p.b simmental heifer a few months back. They make a lovely animal alright, nice markings on her. And dya know i would never have even taught to use a sh on this simmental for her first time. You'd more than likely take a hit with bulls though.

Miname · 13-01-2016 11:24pm

RD10 wrote: »

I actually bought in a sim x sh heifer at the same time i bought in this p.b simmental heifer a few months back. They make a lovely animal alright, nice markings on her. And dya know i would never have even taught to use a sh on this simmental for her first time. You'd more than likely take a hit with bulls though.

I had one last year, a pure runt when he was born but came into 840 at 300 kilos so wasn't desperate bad.

Beef AI/Bulls MEGATHREAD

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