|
Ste. Rose, MB | I guess they would be bigger boned than many Angus, but they do calve very well. They would probably work alright on most black cows, a lot of fellas do use Simmental bulls on Angus X cows & have very good results. As long as the bulls are smooth shouldered, clean front ended & have a nice head, normally it's all good. We are very selective about calving ease, because it is possible to get an easy calving bull with excellent growth, you just have to look a little harder. Our senior herdsire, "Kingbuster" which probably weighs around 2800lbs + (gets too fat on just hay) calves the best, he has a very shot gestation & most of his calves are between 80 -105 lbs. Most of the time I cant believe how small they are, coming from a big bull & the cows aren't tiny either. They just seem to grow like weeds after, 2wks old & they're so wide topped, it just makes us chuckle.
The Simmies did have a real bad rap for a long time & that came from those French/Swiss lines. The vigor issue: they are vigorous enough for us, we rarely ever have to help a calf suck. Only time is if his knees buckle a bit or if we're lucky enough to get the odd dumby. lol I think everyone probably gets a few of those... We've been kicking out our calves between 1-2 days old, all January, & it is cold out here! As long as it isn't snowing or really stormy, they're ok. We check them before dark to make sure that they've sucked & that they remember who mommy is, otherwise, they are out with the rest of the herd & have to contend with the cold. Usually, the cold isnt the bad thing, its the wind. If we'd be running commercial cattle, I'd definately consider calving in May/June, but with seeding/spraying at that time out here, a person gets pre-occupied in the fields & then doesn't pay enough attention to the cows. But since it's papered cattle, well its Jan/Feb calving & that's how the industry is designed.
David | |
|
dbmaguet
