And for that reason we bought a simm bull to put on our limmy and lim x cows. Very happy with their offspringCattle are usually as wild as the man looking after them.
And a very able stockman reckons Salers are the ideal suckler cow, apart for their temperament. My own opinion is that Limousins would be the ideal suckler cow if they were a bit milkier.
i bet you are!We’ve just sold our Simmental
And for that reason we bought a simm bull to put on our limmy and lim x cows. Very happy with their offspring View attachment 925024
I think the Achilles heel of the Stabiliser is that store buyers are a little wary but if you're finishing your own, they've got to be a consideration.We changed from limmys to stabilisers over the last 5-6 years it’s the best thing we have done calving difficulty is way down and finishing bulls has definitely reduced time to slaughter and make good wee cows too seem to suit our system well working up from dairy bred cows
They're more than a little wary.I think the Achilles heel of the Stabiliser is that store buyers are a little wary but if you're finishing your own, they've got to be a consideration.
It's a rarity to see them mentioned in a store sale report. Just still an unknown quantity to many, I suppose.They're more than a little wary.
Why is that?It's a rarity to see them mentioned in a store sale report. Just still an unknown quantity to many, I suppose.
Fair point. I'm no expert but would guess that a lot of breeders would take full advantage of their own genetics and finish their own bulls. Maybe @Poorbuthappy could shed more light on why Stabilisers aren't a regular fixture at store sales?Why is that?
Haven't they been around for about 30 years
I take it goes are a lowland cow and aren't kept on uplands since most of those on harder farms have no option but to sell as calves/stores.Fair point. I'm no expert but would guess that a lot of breeders would take full advantage of their own genetics and finish their own bulls. Maybe @Poorbuthappy could shed more light on why Stabilisers aren't a regular fixture at store sales?
The Givendale herd (original British?) certainly wouldn't be roughing it in the East Yorkshire Wolds. IIRC there's a big herd in Northumberland that winter their cows on the hill.I take it goes are a lowland cow and aren't kept on uplands since most of those on harder farms have no option but to sell as calves/stores.
Why no option?I take it goes are a lowland cow and aren't kept on uplands since most of those on harder farms have no option but to sell as calves/stores.
If your a store buyer calving issues don’t worry you as your sleeping tight that’s why they want charalais and lims why wouldn’t theyThey're more than a little wary.
Interesting post.... I have run pure Shorthorn for a number of years now and year before last billed with a British Blue, had absolutely no trouble craving the cows at all, not a single assist. When I was bulling with the shorthorn I had more bother than anything I’ve ever seen. Tried many different bulls through AI or a stock bull and would have to help at least five to clave, I only have a small heard so five was an unacceptable number for me. I have since bulled again with the Blue and have no intention of changing. Unreal calves from the blue and they really are growing like rocket shipsWhat would you class as a hard calving cow ? having to assist any of them ?
We run all sorts of cows and wouldn't find the British Blues or Blue crosses any more hard calving than anything else, we have had a few char cross cows as well and they were not a problem
Hill farms generally aren't equipped to hold onto their cattle to finish them combined with being further from cereal and straw supplies.Why no option?
Plenty stabiliser breeders finish their bulls intensively indoors.
Best heifers retained or sold for breeding. Cows wintered on a hill as @Woolless says.
Why are they still such an unknown?.
Wouldn't recommend to anyone selling store, suspect its still cos of the "unknown" factor
Which brings me back to the point that they mustn't be a hill cow if males are better finished.most breeders I know finish their own.
I'm not a hill farmer, but I hear of plenty wintering them on a hill.Hill farms generally aren't equipped to hold onto their cattle to finish them combined with being further from cereal and straw supplies.
Calve in the spring and sell calves at weaning usually suits best with winter being longer and more expensive in the hills.
It tends to make more sense to move cattle to the feed than to move feed to the cattle.
Why are they still such an unknown?
Haven't they been on the go for about 30 years? Maybe more for all I know.
Which brings me back to the point that they mustn't be a hill cow if males are better finished.
Personally I'd always want the option to sell stores.
I'd say Raceview King has done a lot of harm to the breeds temperament in the past 15 years.Sorry if taking thread further of topic but is anyone else finding Simmentals have become wilder as the breed has changed colour to the darker red type most seem to be now or have I just been unlucky?
Been keeping our own replacement ones for 35 years but been having to cull out a temperament problem since buying such a bull in 2012. Unsure if his similarly coloured replacement is producing calves the same or whether they are getting it through their mothers by the 2012 bull