The final bull vying for Siobhan's affections (or rather, those of her owners) is SGF STIT Sean, owned by
Spruce Grove Farm. This link takes you to the page for their bulls; Sean is the first one.
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| SGF STIT Sean |
Sean is also homozygous for polled. He is A1/A2. This means his calves have a 50% chance of getting an A2 gene from him. He is 44" high at the shoulder. His smaller size makes him a good choice for a first-time heifer.
Spruce Grove Farm wants to raise dual-pupose cattle with "
excellent beef breed conformation as well as good udders that produce plenty of milk," as the owner wrote to me.
Below are photos of some of Sean's progeny.
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| Sean bull, ADCA |
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| Sean bull, ADCA |
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| Sean bull, ADCA |
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| Sean cow, ADCA |
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| Sean heifer, ADCA |
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| Sean heifer, ADCA |
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| Sean heifer, ADCA |
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| Sean heifer, ADCA |
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| Sean heifer, ADCA |
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| Sean heifer, ADCA |
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| Sean steer, ADCA |
FWIW I vote for number one. Number four is a no for me just on conformation.
ReplyDeleteHave you checked out temperament? For the sort of house cow that you guys have that would be more important than an extra 5% of beef.
I remain to be convinced by the whole A1/A2 thing.
Brent, thank you so much for your comments. They are very helpful! Unfortunately, Number 1 is Siobhan's sire! (But thanks for the vote of confidence! I picked him!) Number 2, Rousseau, is my first choice--except that he produces really big calves (for a Dexter). I'm concerned since Siobhan is so small and this is her first. Number 3 is even bigger, so he's out. He's actually bigger than the Dexter standard. Before we heard your input, Herb and I had actually decided to go with Number 4, Sean. He does have a very nice temperament, which as you say is important with Sara, and his calves are a good 20 lbs. smaller than Rousseau's. I definitely see your point, but at this point I'm considering that this is calf to get Siobhan through her first calving and in milk. There's only a 50% chance it won't get eaten! :) We aren't planning on using this calf to build our herd. I'm looking to Rousseau for that! I don't know about the A2 thing for sure, either, but it's definitely something people here are looking for in milk cows. Right now I just want to get milking! :D
ReplyDeleteYour thinking seems totally sound. It is all about the mother and not the calf. You want a small calf for her first and to get milking. The look of the father is less important. Maybe he was having a bad hair day?
ReplyDeleteAnd nice choice for sire. :-)