With seven different sires used on our team for the February 2017 sale in Stirling it is perhaps not surprising that there is a variation in the size and shape of our bulls this spring. Despite this they share the common advantages of easy calving without losing the vital growth EBV which makes the Charolais bulls excel over all other breeds as a terminal sire.
Balthayock Leander. Lot No. 306.
Sons of Hofmeister have found success throughout the national herd. Leander was a twin with a heifer. Though not the biggest bull by any means, he combines short gestation, easy calving, low birth weight, and exceptional eye muscle area EBVs in his genetic makeup and is rated in the top 1% of the national herd.
Balthayock Luke. Lot No. 330.
A son of the Adonis sired Balthayock Grandee who we have used successfully on our commercial herd of cross Simmentals for the last five years. He proved to be easy calving and good natured. We have so much confidence on his easy calving genetics that we have used him to chase up some of our pedigree heifers after AI. His dam is a daughter of Ugie Echo, reserve junior champion at Stirling in October 2010, who we bought from Jimmy Wilson because of his marvellous feet, exceptional scrotal circumference, temperament and very easy calving EBV and we have used him extensively on our heifers and have sold many sons at prices in the mid-teens.
Balthayock Lookout. Lot No. 345.
A heifers calf by Ugie Echo who has been such a success for us at Balthayock and has for the last seven years, been our first choice bull to use on our pedigree heifers. With Balthayock Aesop and Balthayock Valentine in his dams pedigree, both of whom we used on heifers in their day, I am confident that his EBVs for easy calving, low birth weight without loss of growth performance, and exceptional EBV for scrotal circumference like his sire, will be of benefit to anyone looking for a safe choice of bull to put on their heifers.
Balthayock Legacy Lot No. 347.
If this bull was human he would be a strong candidate for a place in the front row of the Scottish rugby team. But despite his impressive shape both his sire and particularly his grandsire on his dam’s side Barbican Lancer, who was born in1972, has proved to be a particularly easy calving bull which we still use on heifers. Legacy is full of easy calving genetics along with well above average growth and milk on the female side of his pedigree.
Balthayock Langsyne. Lot No. 351.
A son of Blelack Forester, the 22,000 guinea Stirling senior champion in February 2012 who we share with Balmyle and Newhouse, Langsyne is out of a Barbican Lancer daughter who sons have sold for up to 7,000 guineas. Forester was a very big bull but Langsyne seems to have inherited more of his mother’s genes for size but I am sure he will be easy calving and very good natured like both his sire and dam.
Balthayock Lance. Lot No. 362.
Lance will grow into an enormous bull and is a real gentle giant. Sired by Maerdy Grenadier, the Highland Show male champion and junior interbreed in 2013, he has made such an impact both with us and with Jim Muirhead at Firhills. He also won the prize for the best herd sire in Scotland two years ago. Lance has the best of pedigree with the 34,000 guinea Stirling supreme champion Goldies Uppermost, the 30,000 guinea Dingle Hofmeister and the famous Balthayock Rosita, who has bred so many high priced bulls for us, featuring prominently in his pedigree. He deserves a place in a pedigree herd especially somewhere where a little more size in the females would be an advantage. Lance was a twin and because he had a leg back at birth, he had to be given some slight assistance although his twin brother who was born first calved unaided. Lance has been penalised rather unfairly I think with a slightly negative calving EBV although his twin has a positive calving ease EBV. We have found Grenadier to be an easy calving bull and to prove the point, Jim has used him successfully on all his heifers.
Balthayock Lineup. Lot No. 418.
A Ugie Echo son out of Balthayock Fortune , a first prize winner at the Royal Highland Show, she is a daughter of the 26,000 guinea Balbithan Vespasian who has bred so well with us and at Blelack. With easy calving EBV throughout his pedigree, Lineup has the potential to be the perfect answer to someone looking for a bull to put on their heifers. At 400 days his corrected weight was 741 kg with a daily live weight gain of 1.73 Kg since birth. He is that rare combination of easy calving without losing growth performance.
Balthayock Lightning. Lot No. 420.
We have used Balthayock Dante, a son of the 26,000 guinea Balbithan Vespasian, on our commercial cows for the last seven years and he has proved to be an easy calving bull that consistently produces quality cross calves for the spring sale at United Auctions. I am confident that Lightning will follow in his father’s footsteps. Valentine was used for many years on our pedigree heifers and Gelatin was one of our best breeding cows with 20 progeny including seven by embryo transplant. The best known was Balthayock Nougat with over six hundred pedigree calves registered in the herd book.
Balthayock Lanyard. Lot No 433.
Another typical son of Ugie Echo with a good all-round set of EBVs. He has inherited his fathers good nature and excellent feet. With Hofmeister, Lacinia and Fauvette on the dams side of his pedigree, he has proven successful bloodlines which have played an important part in the development of the Balthayock pedigree herd.