Q:  In general, when selecting bulls that you plan on keeping replacement females out of, is it better to breed bulls that are calving ease bulls so that it will pass on to his females, or will that sacrifice growth? Would it be better to use a moderate birth weight bull? (January 2012)

A:  When selecting bulls for the production of replacement heifers, I would recommend using bulls that are above breed average but are not extremely high in traits such as Yearling Wt EPD. Extremely high Yearling Wts generally equates to larger mature weights, which is rarely what is needed in commercial cows.    The selection emphasis on bulls to be used to produce replacements should be on bulls that are intermediate on a lot of traits but not extreme in any trait. Better than average calving ease and below average birth wt EPDs are desirable but the extremely low birth weight generally results in frail replacements that lack the volume, depth, and capacity to produce longevity and stayability as commercial cows.
    Review the breed average EPDs for the breed you are interested in by going to that breed website or you can check most of the AI stud directories for the breed average EPDs.   Emphasis should also be given to important traits for which we do not have EPDs, such as teat & udder structure, foot soundness, volume, depth of rib, capacity and disposition.

Jim Gosey, Professor Emeritus
Univertisy of Nebraska - Lincoln

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