jhm47
True BYH Addict
From your chart on the Shorthorn bull:
CED = Calving Ease Direct, which is the difference in % of unassisted births in heifers. The higher # the better. 16 if very good.
BW = Birth weight of the calf compared to the breed average. A -number is better. The bull you asked about is -3.4, which is good.
WW = Weaning weight. The higher # is better, and an indication of the growth of a bulls progeny.
YW = Yearling weight. Again, the higher the better.
Milk = The amount of milk that the female progeny of this bull will produce. Too low, and the females will not produce high WW calves, too high, and you may run into rebreeding problems, because the female will be putting her all into the current calf, and not breeding back on time. Medium # is best here.
TM = Total Maternal. The aggregate of all of the above.
CEM = Calving Ease Maternal. The relative calving ease of the bulls daughters. Higher # is best.
St = Stayability. This is the probability that these cows will still be in the herd after age 6. Higher # is better.
These are EPD's, and are not infallible. The "E" stands for EXPECTED, and is only an estimate based on a young bull's pedigree. The "P" stands for progeny, and the "D" stands for differences. When a particular bull gets used heavier, and has many more calves on the ground, the EPD's become much more reliable. Some very popular bulls have had thousands of calves born to them. One bull in particular, (Final Answer, an Angus bull) had several hundred thousand calves born to him. He truly was a great one, and I had the privilege of selling a lot of his semen to my customers. Good luck with AI, it's truly a tremendous tool to improve your cattle in a short time!
CED = Calving Ease Direct, which is the difference in % of unassisted births in heifers. The higher # the better. 16 if very good.
BW = Birth weight of the calf compared to the breed average. A -number is better. The bull you asked about is -3.4, which is good.
WW = Weaning weight. The higher # is better, and an indication of the growth of a bulls progeny.
YW = Yearling weight. Again, the higher the better.
Milk = The amount of milk that the female progeny of this bull will produce. Too low, and the females will not produce high WW calves, too high, and you may run into rebreeding problems, because the female will be putting her all into the current calf, and not breeding back on time. Medium # is best here.
TM = Total Maternal. The aggregate of all of the above.
CEM = Calving Ease Maternal. The relative calving ease of the bulls daughters. Higher # is best.
St = Stayability. This is the probability that these cows will still be in the herd after age 6. Higher # is better.
These are EPD's, and are not infallible. The "E" stands for EXPECTED, and is only an estimate based on a young bull's pedigree. The "P" stands for progeny, and the "D" stands for differences. When a particular bull gets used heavier, and has many more calves on the ground, the EPD's become much more reliable. Some very popular bulls have had thousands of calves born to them. One bull in particular, (Final Answer, an Angus bull) had several hundred thousand calves born to him. He truly was a great one, and I had the privilege of selling a lot of his semen to my customers. Good luck with AI, it's truly a tremendous tool to improve your cattle in a short time!
