Butler Genetics Do It Again!

With a pedigree containing at least 5/8 of proven "Butler Horn Producing Genetics" Bar H Appaloosa Anny not only captured a Horn Showcase Bronze but also TOPPED the Horn Showcase Sale at $42,000. Congratulation to Christopher Herron on the sale of this great female and to Joe & Lorinda Valentine on their purchase. If you want Horn then add some Butler to your breeding program by contacting a Butler Breeder today.

Update on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 05:52PM by Russell Hooks

Butler Genetics Topped the recent M Arrow Ranch Production Sale hosted by ranch owners Ron & Barbara Marquess. The top selling heifer was M Arrow Kelly Sue with a final bid of $9750 from Star Creek Ranch.

                                                                                                         M Arrow Kelly Sue (photo from sale catalog)

This stricking young female is a daughter of ZD Kelly and out of a clone of Rutledge's Miss Sue. Like a lot of the bigger horned cattle in the Longhorn breed her pedigree traces back to Butler Genetics. In fact she traces back to no less than 39% Butler.

 

Update on Monday, March 17, 2014 at 02:39PM by Russell Hooks

  

ECR Phenomenal Bug is 3/8 Butler Breeding and was the High-Selling Lot selling for $39,000 at the 2014 Eddie Wood Cowtown Classic Sale. She measured 77 7/8 inches TTT and 91 1/4 inches TH. 

The Secret to Producing Horn

What do these 4 cows have in Common besides 80 plus inches of Horn?

Answer: Butler Genetics 

 

All four of these super long horned females trace back to at least 34.375% Butler breeding. The longest horned female in the breed, BL Rio Catchit (90.25"), traces back to no less than 46.875% Butler genetics. Some of the most respected Registered Texas Longhorn breeders of all time used Butler genetics as a key part of their programs. Johnny Hoffman, Betty Lamb, Blackie Graves, and JW Issacs are legendary breeders who are still recognized for their contributions to the Texas Longhorn cattle breed. Each one of them utilized Butler genetics extensively as they built their programs. I had the honor of showing cattle for Mr. Johnnie and he told me on several occasions....

"You take the Butler out of your herd and you'll take the horn out of your herd."
---Johnnie Hoffman

Today's breeding legends like Owen McGill and Bob Loomis have recognized the importance of Butler genetics, and have built elite herds resulting in some of the longest horned cattle in the history of our breed. The gentics from these herds are some of the most sought after genetics in the Longhorn industry
and they were built around Butler cattle. While straight Butler cattle won't necessarily have as long a tip-to-tip horn measurement as the cattle with blended pedigrees. After reviewing the pedigrees of the longest horned cattle in the breed it is pretty clear that Butler cattle are a major contributor to the hybrid vigor needed to produce Record Setting horn length when crossed with other bloodlines.

Take your herd the next level in horn production by following the examples of these great breeders by building your program around straight Butler Genetics. You will have the oppertunity to start that horn improvement process on August 31, 2013 at the Butler Breeders Invitational Sale in Lockhart, TX.

A Shrinking Longhorn Gene Pool

In the early days of the Texas Longhorn Breed registry and even before there was a breed registry (TLBAA) there was only a hand full of folks that were dedicated to preserving the Longhorn or at least their idea of the Longhorn. This in most cases was usually based on childhood memories. These individuals were located in different parts of the country but mostly Texas. These folks would gather together any cattle that they felt showed to be Longhorn or a strong Longhorn influence. They acquired these cattle by various means such as inherited from family, purchases at auction barns, slaughter houses and from individuals out in the country.

As time went by these small isolated herds of Longhorns would become the foundation for preserving the Longhorn breed. These herds would be referred to by their owners’ last names…Marks, Yates, Butler, Phillips, Peeler, and Wright. Because these herds were mainly closed to outside influence they became known as a straight Longhorn bloodline or straight family of Longhorn cattle because their ancestry could be traced back to only cattle from that herd or the cattle that made up the foundation of that herd.  They were not genetically closely related to any of the other herds. They are all Longhorns but exhibited slight variations from herd to herd in their phenotype and breeder selected traits. These variations were mainly based on that breeder’s particular preference for a particular look or trait. In the 1960’s the government sent out a group of inspectors to select cattle to establish a herd of Longhorns on the Wichita Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. This herd would take on the name of WR which is the brand they carried on their shoulder. The WR cattle would be added to the above list of foundation herds. Later on these seven herds would end up becoming known as the “Seven Families”. These herds would become the foundation of today’s modern day Longhorn herds. The term used to describe the cattle that trace back to only one of these herds throughout its pedigree was “Straight” and whatever the breeder or herd name. (Example: Straight Marks). CLICK For Complete Article

Suggested Beef Breed Improvement Program

A respected authority on the beef cattle industry in his home county of South Africa, Dr. Cas Marce gave a detailed presentation on functional efficiency at the 1985 TLBAA National Convention (a videotape of the seminar is available from the TLBAA). An associate of veteran Longhorn breeder Waller Scott, Maree has had the opportunity to study several Longhorn herds. Based on those observations, discussions with Longhorn breeders and his extensive experience with many cattle breeds, Dr. Maree has made the following report to TLBAA members.

By Dr. Cas Maree

Department of Livestock Science

University of Pretoria

The selection of cattle for functional efficiency is frequently not promoted by judging standards along traditional lines in terms of breed characteristics. All conformational features and subjective traits should at least represent some function or improve some biological feature of benefit to the animal(s) concerned. Otherwise, breed standards become meaningless and may indeed be disadvantageous to the breed.

Features under Column A determine functional attributes, while features under Column B determine the more traditional breed standards. There is fair overlapping, but it is essential that the promotion of any feature in Column B shall not in any way be detrimental to features (functions) under A.

A. Features related to functional efficiency

1) Fertility

2) Growth ability

3) Calving ease

4) Adaptability

5) Carcass quality

6) Physical fitness (freedom from all defects)

B. Features related to conformational standards

1) Breed/breed type

2) Color

3) Size

4) Muscling/carcass type

5) Head, neck, back and hindquarters

6) Legs and feet

7) Heritable defects

8) Trade marks

The following observations are relevant to the Texas Longhorn:

Fertility

Requirements for a high level of herd fertility are the following:

In females-Early sexual maturity and conception, ease of calving, regular and easy reconception and a long, productive life span.

The Texas Longhorn has an excellent rating for female fertility.

In males-Early sexual maturity, well developed and normal conformation of testicles, good semen quality in addition to a high level of libido and total physical fitness are prerequisites for fertility in bulls.

Growth Ability in Females:

 In females, ease of birth, a strong and vigorous calf, and a good weaning index and early conception are the essential features of growth ability. There is a close interaction between growth ability and fertility and also adaptability.

Fertility is a sensitive and reliable indicator of growth ability. Poor doers will not conceive. Unadapted females will do poorly.

Many breeders concentrate on size in females, but fertility is what counts, not size. Females that do not breed regularly are big and fleshy. Selecting big females inevitably leads to the selection of sub fertile females.

Growth Ability in Male:

Growth parameters in beef bulls are the weaning index, post-weaning growth (ADGADA) and 12-month, 18-month, mature weight, etc.

Again, it easily happens that the most growthy bulls are not highly fertile. That is why they grow tall and such bulls are inclined to be leggy and flat.

Fertility is a much higher priority in breed improvement (or economics) than growth ability. Body weight gain is directly related to selling price and beef yield. Therefore, a safe balance is to be maintained between fertility on the one hand and size (weight) on the other hand.

Selection for growth (weaning weight, adult weight, efficiency of gain) increases birth weight and adult size.

CLICK to Read Complete story.

Selecting Sires for Horns and More

By Russell Hooks

In an earlier article we discussed selecting for more than just horn in Longhorn females. Now let’s talk about Longhorn bulls. Some breeders think the tape measure is the answer to selecting the best bull. Once again that is not the case. There are numerous bulls in the industry that are in the 70” horn club; they are the “hot sires” of the day.  These young bulls have tons of horn and you cannot open up a Longhorn magazine without seeing an ad about one of these “great sires”.  But what actually makes a great sire?  PRODUCTION!  CONSISTENCY!  PREDICTABLE GENETICS!  Most of these hot ticket sires are so young that their only offspring are still babies.  Before I load my program (and the programs I consult for) down with these “popular and highly promoted genetics” I want to see some mature offspring.  Will some of these “hot sires” of today make a lasting positive mark on the industry?  Yes they will, but history has shown us that the percentage is very small.  I have seen too many “fad bulls” come and go in this industry during my thirty years in Longhorns.  As breeders, we need to develop a breeding plan that utilizes proven genetics instead of chasing fads.  If you chase the fads you will more than likely always find yourself one step behind.  Think about it, bull X is the bull of the moment – the one everyone is talking about. You AI your cows to him, it takes about 1-2 months to AI the cows, then nine months for the calves to hit the ground and they turn out pretty nice.  Now six to seven months later the calves are weaning age; you could sell some of them now but we all know that weanlings do not sell as well as two year olds.  So you hold these calves until they are twenty four months old.  The time frame is a total of approximately 35 months and the chances are good that by then there is another “hot ticket” bull. You have missed that small window of market opportunity.  I have observed that most of the “fad” bulls are only able to ride that popularity trailer for about 3-4 years and then they start to lose traction.  This is usually about the time their offspring are reaching maturity and they can now be fully evaluated on traits such as long term horn growth, fertility and milking ability.  I have seen “super sires” that have put offspring on the ground that show rapid early horn growth, but when they reach three to four years of age it slows dramatically and other sires’ calves that where showing less horn growth at a young age have caught up with the “super” sires’ calves.  In some cases the “super” sire is inconsistent in his offspring, some have great horn and some are average or even below average.  Now the “super” sire’s offspring are no different than any other good sire. When you are searching for a sire always ask yourself “how will his genetics benefit my herd, is it just his popularity I am interested in or can he help improve the overall quality of my herd over the long term”.  Click Here for complete article