Pulling bulls

This week we are pulling our bulls. If you aren't certain what I mean by that, we are not going to physically pull them around (assuming their are no attitude issues), and what I mean by that statement is we are going to take them out of our cows.
Ranchers can manage when they start calving by when they turn their bulls out with their cows. They manage when they stop calving by when they take the bulls out of their cows. This is all assuming the neighbors bull doesn't pitch it before or after your bulls are with your cows. Artificial Insemination (AI) is another very effective way of managing calving, but we don't currently use that method and this will focus on natural breeding.
Managing your calving season is important for several reasons, one being that you want to work around the weather in your area, especially if you don't have adequate protection in case of bad weather. Another is that the closer in age all your calves are, the more uniform they will be their entire lives.Your firstborn calves will also have the competitive, size and age advantage over their younger counterparts for their entire lives. When you will market the calves is another thing to keep in mind when choosing a time to calve.
We strive to have all our calves born as close together as possible each year so they are uniform, easier to manage (think one branding instead of three because calves keep being born for several months), and more marketable (extra big or small calves may be sorted off when you sell).
But, we also want as many cows to calve as possible, and it's not economical to turn a bull out for 10 days, and only get a 50 percent or so calf crop. A cow's estrus cycle lasts 21 days, and gestation length is 280-some days, or about 9 months. So, for each cycle you leave the bulls in, you extend your calvig season by one month. With that in mind, we will typically leave our bulls in for one, two or three estrus cycles (called simply cycles), depending on the group of cows, year, and other factors.
Lots of people also put bulls with their first calf heifers sooner than they put them with their mature cows. This is because calving sooner will give the heifer more time to put on condition post-calving, and before she is turned back out with a bull to breed again. Trying to get a cow to breed back after she's had her first calf is one of the most challenging aspects of livestock reproduction, and a lot of management decisions are geared toward getting her pregnant for a second time.
To put it in perspective, since June 15, when we turned the bulls out with the cows, we have been managing what will be happening on our ranch starting next March, and on through the remainder of next year with our next calf crop. Or, you can think of it the opposite way, in that we have been managing for this year's calf crop that we're about to wean since June, 2011, and actually before when we purchased the bulls that sired them. As in many cases, this is one area of ranching that takes significant planning and investment long before you see the fruits of your labor.
This year we left the bulls in with our yearling heifers, who are those being bred for the first time, for 40 days, or two cycles. This gave every heifer two chances to get bred. If she didn't breed she will be sold, which eliminates the least fertile females from ever entering our mother cow herd. Often times we only leave the bull in with the heifers for one cycle. This ensures we are retaining the most fertile and efficient females into our herd, and makes calving heifers last one month instead of two. The less time spent calving heifers the better in most cases, plus it goes back to having a uniform calf crop and giving each heifer more time to gain condition before she's expected to breed again.
In our mature cows, the bulls are going to be pulled at roughly 60 days, or three cycles. These cows are in much larger pastures, have a calf sucking on them which uses more energy and can make it more difficult for the cow to breed back, and have already had enough money invested in them to make it worthwhile to give them three chances to get bred.
Another key consideration in putting in and pulling bulls is that gestation length in cattle varies, just as it does in humans. Different bulls and different cows will throw calves that are born early, right on time, or late. So, since we turned the bulls in on June 15, we will expect to start calving at least one week early. This is particularly important in our heifers because we use low birthweight bulls, and the way you get a lower birthweight is through a shorter gestation period. Combine that with that fact that we are continuously available to help our first-calf heifer during calving, and it becomes something to pay close attention to.
Some years the bulls aren't pulled, typically because we get so busy with other tasks. We also have cows spread out over a 200 mile area, so it's not like we just spend an hour and they're all gathered. For us, pulling bulls is a big "want to" each year, but not a "absolutely have to" management practice.
If you don't pull bulls the vast majority (over 90 percent) of mature cows will still be bred in 60 days in our place. Very few head will be bred later than that. Big deal you may be thinking, and really it's not a catrastrophe, but it is a pain in the neck. You will have to set up a second day to brand those few head, if they aren't branded they will have to sorted off when you're shipping to summer pasture (and they are always in the way during this), and throughout the entire spring you will spend extra time shuffling, sorting gathering those few head. Plus, those calves you have to spend all that extra time on will be worth less than their larger, more mature siblings for the majority of their lives.

Buying Bulls

 I've shown our bulls before, but realize the majority of my focus tends to be on the cows, and their calves. Today I'm highlighting the men of the operation.
Bulls are half of the genetic contribution to each calf, and while a cow is very important in a lot of ways, she raises just one calf a year. A bull, on the other hand, will sire an estimated 25-30 calves per year (some do less, some do much more). One key area of importance with bulls is their genetic influence within a herd, and the fact that it will last for decades.
Because of the ability of a single bull to influence a herd, we spend a lot of time and effort and money making sure we buy bulls who will sire both bull and heifer calves we like phenotypically, and who will excel in specific performance related areas that are important to us.

First, we do our research. We check out potential sires of the bulls we will buy in semen directory catalogs, or online (you can check out one website I use here). Shown above is a page from a semen directory, with two popular sires. Producers can purchase semen from these bulls, and artificially inseminate their cows to them. This system is one way both registered and commercial cattlemen can have access to the best and most elite genetics available in the cattle industry when breeding their cows.
We buy registered Black Angus bulls, which have a lot of information recorded on them, including pedigree information, and a plethora of production related information, and how likely he is to pass those performance traits to his offspring.

Here is some of the information on the bull from the right page above, who is called Bismarck. Every bull has a name, that often includes numbers. You can see his pedigree over by the picture of the cow. The first three capitalized letters proceeding the actual name represent the ranch or people who bred the bull. For instance, SAV, stands for Schaff Angus Valley. Bismark's dad is GAR Grid Maker, and his mom is SAV Abigale 0451, and SAV Abigale 0451's dad is Schoenes Fix It 836, and her mom is SAV Abigale 6062.
Pedigrees are one part of our research. We like some bloodlines of cattle, and won't buy bulls with too much influence from other bloodlines. This is usually due to one or more traits a bloodline is known to carry, and pass on to their offspring.
Then there are the numbers, perhaps you noticed them at the top of the photo? Every two or three capitalized letters are an abbreviation for a genetic trait of importance. The number highlighted in blue is that bulls performance indicating number for that trait, and the number below that is his accuracy for that trait. The percentage number at the bottom of the grid is how he ranks in the breed.
For example, CED stands for Calving Ease Direct, and is a measure of the ease, or difficulty, this bulls calves will experience when being born. In this trait, a higher number is better, and his 13 (that's a high number in this instance) means his offspring shouldn't have any trouble. The .93 is a high accuracy for the trait, which means there is a lot of data recorded on actual offspring of this bull that were used to calculate his performance. But, you have to use all the numbers in combination, and weigh and measure them against each other to get the perfect mix that you want in your herd. Going right from CED, BW = Birth Weight, WW = Weaning Weight, YW= Yearling Weight, and so on. Each of these traits, (CED, BW, WW, YW), is called an EPD (Expected Progeny Difference).
Every breed has EPD averages for every trait you see. The numbers are a comparison of how that bull compares to other bulls in his breed, and how is progeny will differ compare to those sired by other bulls. As a rancher, I have a good idea what the breed average is for each trait, and I have my own requirements of what numbers a bull must have in each of those traits before I will buy him.

After we do our research on sires, we get out our catalog and mark any bulls that work for us on paper. That means they have the right numbers in all of those different traits for us, and their pedigree doesn't include certain individual's we don't like. Different ranchers will have different requirements based on the environment their cattle live in, how they market their cattle annually, and what their feed program is, to name a few examples.
Ranchers who sell bulls often have a sale, and they will send you a catalog if you request one, or have purchased from them in the past. Catalogs are a compilation of information on all the bulls in the sale, with their pedigrees and how they perform in all those EPD areas.

If a producer has enough bulls that meet our requirements on paper, we may attend their sale. At the sale we look at all the bulls for physical traits of importance.
First, they must structurally correct. Just as different humans have different bone and joint problems that limit their mobility, so do cattle. If we buy a bull that has an unsound skeleton, he is significantly less likely to hike over our rough terrain, and make sure he gets as many cows bred as possible in a breeding season. And, let's be honest, that is his one job each year. Structural incorrectness increases his odds of personal injury, and he can pass those problems on to his offspring. Just like your dad passing his bad knees on to you...
There are also physical attributes that indicate how a bull will perform in certain areas. EPD's, and all that information I showed you, is relatively new to the cattle industry. It's been used heavily since the early to mid 1990's. Some people still don't use EPD's as a selection tool when buying bulls, but we believe in using as much information as possible to make the best and most well-informed decision.
One thing to check out physically is the shape and size of a bulls shoulders, and the shape of his head. These are typically among the "problem spots" when calving. If a bull has smooth shoulders and a relatively long, narrow head, he's likely to pass them on to his calves, and they will be born with ease compared to calves with big, bulky shoulders and a big, fat head. Usually.
Third, a bull has to have the style and look we like. As in all things, different people have different taste, and cattle are no different. I'm really not kidding. All black cattle do not look alike.
You can get short, wide, massive bulls, or long, narrow, tall bulls. Obviously those are extreme examples, but you get the idea. My dad and I both have very specific tastes, and also as with most things, if we're going to buy a bull, we much prefer him to have the look we like. This is the "cuss and discuss" part as we call it, and we will give each other a very hard time about specific traits that one of us likes and the other doesn't : )
As we find bulls that meet our physical requirements, we write them down, with notes for areas they excel or are weak in.
Then, we combine our physical picks with the bulls who made the grade when we looked at the catalog. Any bull that passed in both areas is one to potentially bid on. We will have favorites rise to the top as we go through this process, and they will be our top picks to purchase.
A budget is set based on how deep our checkbook is prior to attending any sale, but upon arriving we will discuss how much we would be willing to spend on each bull we have marked. Dad and I like to go together, but either one of us will also go alone to bull sales.

Then the sale begins. Each bull is sold individually, in an auction-style method. Some sales are held at a local sale barn, and some ranchers have their own set of facilities on their place. You have to pay attention, and make sure you understand what price the auctioneer is at if you're bidding. If he's a good auctioneer it's not hard once you get the hang of it.
Then if all goes as planned, you will leave with your top choices for well under budget : )
Not everyone buys bulls like this, and there are lots of successful ways to buy good bulls. But, if we're buying bulls at a production sale, this is the process we go through.
To give you an idea of what bulls cost, most Black Angus sales in our part of the world averaged $3,500 - $4,500 per head last year. So far this year they are higher than that, with some averaging over $5,000 per head.
We use bulls for four years. Any longer and you run the risk of inbreeding, and the potential for sexually transmitted diseases increases. Plus, introducing new genetics is a good thing. A percentage of bulls you buy will not make it to their fourth year, and some don't even make it through their first breeding season due to death or personal injury.
The bull sale season is hitting high gear right now, and there are sales every weekend for the next several weeks. I literally have a stack of catalogs and flyers from different producers that is several inches thick.
This is one of my favorite activities in ranching, because it is how you introduce new, "better" genetics, and improve your herd through selecting bulls with specific traits and attributes. I love the entire process.

Heterosis

Hello everyone! Hope you're enjoying the weekend before Christmas. I have had a couple more questions (thank you!), and am going to dive into one from Ryan over at the RA Ranch.
 Have you written anything on heterosis? ...or more so where I'm now-what to cross on these angus/hereford cross heifers I'm keeping? That's the short version of what I'm wondering.


Thanks for the question Ryan.


I have an example of angus/hereford (black baldie) heifers shown above. There is no "right" answer to this question. But, we're going to run through some stuff on heterosis, and some of the more common choices people in Ryan's situation make.


First, for anyone who is wondering what in the heck is heterosis, good ol' Webster defines it as: the marked vigor or capacity for growth often exhibited by crossbred animals or plants - called also hybrid vigor.
Still a little confused?


I've given this a lot of thought, and one way I've come up with to explain heterosis is with paint colors. If you have purebred animals, it's like having one color of paint. Say yellow. Then there are other purebred breeds, and they are also single colors. Say blue and red.
So long as you have one breed, it's like only having one color of paint. It can be a beautiful color that you love, but it's still just one color. If you crossbreed, that's like adding the paint color from another breed. You suddenly have the ability to make more colors, which can make your painting better, or worse, depending on your opinion and abilities.


When you crossbreed with two breeds, you have yellow, and red, and all the shades of orange you can make by mixing the two. Is it better? That's up to you to decide. Maybe you like just yellow, or maybe you like the result of combining paint colors.

This is where Ryan is with his black baldie heifers. He's crossed two purebred breeds (Black Angus and Hereford), which is like the mixing of yellow and red.


You can add yet another color through crossing your yellow and red with blue.You can still make orange, and have added the potential for purple and green, and all the original colors too. Now you're getting a lot of colors in your painting. Again, whether you like all that added color or not is a personal choice. It's also important to remember that as you add more colors, less of any one individual color will be seen.


But, another thing to keep in mind is if you keep adding colors and mixing them, eventually you'll end up with that ugly shade of brown we've all seen in art class that nobody wants to use for anything.
The same is true in crossing animals. Some is great, a lot usually isn't. Each breed of cattle offers different strengths and weaknesses, and by crossbreeding them you have the potential to maximize the good aspects of different breeds and minimize their less desirable traits. But if you go too far, the result can be an inferior animal instead of the superior animal you were aiming for.


Now that we've covered what heterosis is, and how it works, we can cover some options for "paint colors" for Ryan's heifers.


Both the Angus and Hereford breed are strong maternal breeds, and black baldie cattle are great mother cows. He has heifers that are a combination almost any commercial cattlemen would be happy to own.


One option would be to breed to a strong terminal breed, such as Charolais or Gelvbieh, which are known for their ability to increase rate of gain, muscle and yield grade. Calves that are half terminal and half maternal will technically retain some maternal traits, while also having increased growth potential and muslcing ability.


It's not maternal breeds don't do well in these areas, and you can't have heavy muscled, fast growing cattle that are maternally bred, it's that terminal breeds are known for doing better overall. Back to the paint idea, if you're selling pretty paintings, why not use more colors. In the livestock business, commercial producers are selling pounds, so why not use breeds that will give us the most pounds in the least amount of time?


Now you may be thinking, well gee, if you're selling pounds, why bother with any maternal breeds after what you just said? Well, because maternal breeds excel at things like mothering, milking, fertility and marbling. That great big calf won't do you any good if he never happens because his mother wasn't fertile, or she didn't care for him and he died as a baby, or she didn't have enough milk and he didn't get big because he didn't have enough to eat as a calf. Marbling is also a key part of producing a great tasting beef product. So, as with paint, the different breeds bring different strengths and weaknesses to the table, and deciding what you're going to breed is much like selecting paint colors for a painting.


Another thing to consider is whatever one sex of the calves has for traits, so does the other sex. So, yes it's great to have a bunch of great big, heavy muscled, fast gaining steer calves that are just massive and impressive. But, their sister's will probably be much the same, and if you're keeping those females to put back in your cowherd, you have to consider her mature size, what size of calf she will have, if she will produce enough milk, keep in good enough condition to breed back, how much she will eat, etc...


It's a fine tuned balancing act to produce a calf crop that does everything you want on both the steer calf side and the heifer calf side, in your location, and there is no "perfect recipe" that works for everyone.


You can also have maternal bred cattle that will gain as well as terminal bred cattle, and terminal bred cattle that will be moderate and fertile, depending on the specific cattle within a breed you use. There is a lot of variation within any breed, and as I said above, there is no set "right" way to breed cattle. People are very successful, and very unsuccessful, with any number of breeds and crossbreeding combinations.


Another option is to breed those heifers back to either an Angus or Hereford bull, and increase the influence of one of those breeds. We have a lot of cows that are 3/4 Angus, 1/4 Hereford, and I really like them. Since these are both maternal based breeds, that's the strength of the calves. But, these are also two of the most popular breeds in the world (Angus is the most popular), and they didn't get that way by just being maternal. Both breeds offer a lot in the area of gain, carcass quality and growth in addition to producing heifer calves that will breed back, be a good mother, produce milk, etc...


Or, Ryan could inject the influence of another maternal breed, like Red Angus, and increase his heterosis with that third maternal breed.


Another thing to consider is how cattle are bred (with bulls, or AI), and in how many pastures? It takes a lot more managment to keep everything strait when you start crossbreeding if you use bulls. If you just have one breed of bulls, then everyone can be together. For each additional breed you add, you often need to add another pasture during breeding season. Management can be a big factor in how much, or little, crossbreeding to implement on your operation.


Our family has done a three-way cross, where we bred for black baldie cows, and bred them to Gelvbieh bulls. We had to maintain three cowherds during breeding - all Hereford cows would be bred to Angus bulls (to get the black baldie cows), all Angus cows were bred to Hereford bulls (also to get baldie cows), and all baldie cows were bred to Gelvbieh bulls to get that three-way cross. We didn't want to keep any Gelvbieh influenced heifers, because they were often too big and coarse for us, so we had to have both Hereford and Angus cows to get our own replacement heifers, and the black baldie cows to produce the steers and market heifers we wanted.


The three-way cross were great cattle, and performed well whenever we marketed them. But, our situation changed, and it became much harder to maintain three cowherds. And, our straight Angus calves gained as fast as our crossbred calves in the feedlot, and we could run a single breed of bulls, so we're now all Angus.


There's a lot that goes into breeding cattle, whether you're crossbreeding or using one breed, and no two ranches are the same, so there is no one perfect way to breed cattle for the best result.


That was the long answer. The short answer is that in today's world, you can't go wrong if you turn out a high quality Black Angus bull with them, however they're bred.


Good luck Ryan, and hopefully I covered a few options for you to consider.