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Opinion on Simmental

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 3,514 ✭✭✭Limestone Cowboy


    Ya they are all springers calfs. Were all 3 year olds calving down. Heifer calfs were tiny, bulls were a bit dodgy on them. I think they cross a bit better onto a charolais cow than a lim. Bring nice soft hair and serious bone off a charolais cow.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,642 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    Just thought I’d taking w couple of photos of these 10 month or so old calves. Mostly ai. The sim lad is a decent oul chunk and was a tough calving. Lims easier and far flashier. Must be £100 difference in them. If you have to live with 10 bulls for every 7/8 replacement heifers you’re into £1000. You’re a long time making it back if and it’s a big if the sim cow does a better job than the lim would have done



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,642 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    Then one like that will do any job mixing breeds I think always a good policy. Last photo



  • Registered Users Posts: 206 ✭✭Biscuitus


    What AI limousine bills are people using for replacements then? Most catalogues are full of terminal bulls that won't bring milk.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,285 ✭✭✭Anto_Meath




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  • Registered Users Posts: 10,640 ✭✭✭✭patsy_mccabe


    Exactly, very poor choice of maternal bulls. You'd nearly be better off getting straws from Gene Ireland. I got IX (LM5983) last year. No calves yet.

    'The Bishops blessed the Blueshirts in Galway, As they sailed beneath the Swastika to Spain'



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,031 ✭✭✭Who2


    top three sims all are due to calve to sfl over the next ten days( all second calves) the next two are brooklands Marco. Thankfully the one on the sim is a heifer so she’s already lined up as a replacement.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,642 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    Thanks pal you’re kind to say that. Those ones are good stock I have some not just anything special but the lims are the better cattle here anyhow and then at the ring too. Good point there about the maternal lim bulls we always keep our own replacements from our stock bulls. Previous oul bull did 12 seasons and was an excellent all rounder. The next boy I think more terminal and his heifers have gone back in milk but all calved to sim bull and majority heifers so we should have a decent pick. Latest bull is by eravelle and he seems to be an excellent all rounder although I think this bull is too fine for our cows which is why I’m looking at ch.

    I bought some dairy cross heifers a couple of years ago and they have heifers now springing and we always try to stick to milky docile cows for replacements. Moving to ch would or will cut milk further so down the line a bit getting replacements would be something to consider but ch with fr in the back breeding would have plenty of milk too. So that’s my thnking. Sims are nice cattle in their own way and I like them for a cow but you need to do the sums on the hit you might take with the bull calves.



  • Registered Users Posts: 9,158 ✭✭✭tanko


    After weighing the cows and calves this week there’ll be more Saler cows here from now on, lighter cows with heavier calves than Limousin and Simmental cross cows here anyway. Great calvers, lots of milk, good feet, tidy udders, easy fed, they have a lot going for them.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,398 ✭✭✭hopeso


    What's their temperament like? Are they dangerous after calving?



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  • Registered Users Posts: 9,158 ✭✭✭tanko


    I only have four of them yet, their temperament is the same as the Lims and Sims here, wouldn’t consider them dangerous after calving. Ive had my share of wild Lims and Charolais here over the years. The temperament of Saler cattle has improved a lot in recent years compared to what it was when they were first brought into this country i think. Have a couple of cows off Highfield Odran here, he bred quiet cattle for me, the other cows are off Rio and Valiant, haven’t had any bother with them. Have eight heifers and cows incalf to Manclaux for the spring, he’s breeding good docility from what i hear so far.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,885 ✭✭✭Hard Knocks


    Salers are good, in comparison with the LM & SI cows what’s the calf quality like, would you need a more muscle bull?



  • Registered Users Posts: 9,158 ✭✭✭tanko


    Calf quality is very good, they’re not muscly cows so yeah you would need to use a well muscled bull for best results, they cross very well with Charolais bulls. If you had the right Saler cows Culard Charolais bulls are supposed to be the bees knees but i won’t be trying anything like that. I’ve found Gamin very good on them here.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,885 ✭✭✭Hard Knocks


    Had noticed that too, the Saler has great pelvis and can take the high CD



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,025 ✭✭✭DukeCaboom


    Ordran , vta and Rio were all great bulls to be fair. Had only one Rio ever here. What a cow. The ugliest looking yoke in the place. Had a topper of a calf every year.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,642 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    Never had a saler cow here. We had a couple of calves but they were lunatics and weren’t kept on. No more lunatic than an odd lim would be but lunatic all the same. I know a charolais breeder who runs a suckler herd too and all his cows are saler, possibly pb too. I’ve tried parthanese on a few lims and kept them on as cows I’d be very happy with them but they were always on good lim heifers from proven cows that would have matched well with anything



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,885 ✭✭✭Hard Knocks


    Half thinking on a Part cow, in comparison with their dam’s do they bring anymore than a LM/SI/BA would



  • Registered Users Posts: 5,085 ✭✭✭Grueller


    No point carrying a part cow unless you run a blue bull. Any other calf with the hint of part markings will be €150 to €200 back on where they should be.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,642 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    That may be true if you are selling weanlings or stores but we bring cattle forward and sell near finishing. They get comparable money to anything else here. I wouldn’t be too pushed on the blue with them they are pretty muscly and I’d be concerned about calving them. That said they all calved themselves this year. If you fancy scrolling back a bit those best sim calves both came out of 2 part cows. Full sim markings strangely. With the lim they usually have the colour and snout of the pt. They have pros and cons like any breed but although I do like them I’ve moved away from them a bit. One bull calf this year but he’s a clinker



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,421 ✭✭✭J.O. Farmer


    I don't think the blue bulls are that hard calved compared to say charolais.

    They're muscly but fine boned. The problem is blue cows can have a narrow pelvis. As a fella once said there's a bit more give in muscle than bones.

    The problem is if you go blue you need to be producing an export quality weanling, plain calves are poor sellers.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,642 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    Yea fair enough. Neither blue nor pt will be my way forward. A mix of either or both in the herd is fine for me but not the basis.



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