Can't decide which route to take first

Rectifier · #41 08/13/14, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davel745

if you get cows get a cow and a bull.

I would never buy a bull to service a single cow. Bulls are expensive to own and operate and a single cow can often be run with a neighbours bull for free or a nominal fee.
A bull should only be bought as part of a well planned breeding program, which a single cow is not. Rapid inbreeding would result and you would need another bull very soon.

MOSSYNUT · #42 08/13/14, 07:11 PM

Not hijack but how many cows would you suggest for a bull?

Rectifier · #43 08/13/14, 08:02 PM

I'll assume we are talking about the economic point to purchase a bull rather than how many cows one bull can service.
It all depends of course on local availability of stud bulls, prices and goodwill, but people are going to start looking at you as a moocher if you have more than a couple cows and want to run yours in for free. If you have 5 cows as a hobby you might want to look at a "used bull" with a good record who is being swapped out for new genetics. Obviously you must trust the seller.
At some point you are serious about cattle and making money and should buy a semen tested bull... I have a friend into purebred Angus with 10 cows and a $6000 bull.

Take this with a grain of salt as we are not cattlemen, we are shepherds. We have 50 ewes and we are still sharing rams as our lambing months don't coincide with the neighbour! But rams are very randy and can go a long way with a little rest. They also are much cheaper than bulls and easier to handle.

crazyfarm · #44 08/14/14, 09:13 AM

Sidenote for ya'll, our neighbor has a bull.