Rafter N Ranch, Inc
Rafter N Ranch, Inc
Raising Rodeo Cattle - Fun & Profitable
The two top selling rodeo bulls at the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale in 1974. Bob Barnes Rodeo of Iowa bought them for $1,000 and $1,025 respectively. In 1975 a bull sold to Marvin Brookman Rodeo for $900 and that bull went to the National Finals Rodeo. These were very good bulls.
As a comparison here is a sample of rodeo bull prices from the past; "Nitro" from Western Rodeo $32,500; "Trick or Treat" from Western Rodeo $30,000; "Turbo" from James Harper $25,000; "Panhandle Slim" from Cordell Rodeo $31,000; "Boots" from James Harper $20,000. Even a bull with quite a bit less bucking ability can bring from $2,000 to $5,000. The buyers of these bulls are not your average stock contractors anymore. Casino owners, oil men and other very successful businessmen are becoming bull stock contractors as a hobby.
Fueling this bull mania is a rapidly expanding fan base.
The Professional Bull Riders (PBR), an organization started in 1992 by the bull riders themselves, had 24 nationally televised bull ridings and 60 non-televised bull ridings in 1998. These events were scattered nationwide from Massachusetts and Florida to California with two held in Canada. Even people who don't own a cowboy hat can tell you all about the top Bulls and Bull Riders, actually they prefer the Bulls - "Blueberry Wine", retired in 2005, has his own fan club, that they have seen on television, in the PBR magazine or on the PBR web page. Many small towns all across America that used to have a rodeo have now changed to putting on a Bull Riding event instead. There are still a lot of professional and amateur rodeos nationwide that use a lot of Bucking Bulls. There has always been a shortage of really good Bucking Bulls, but now with added demand for stock, even average Bulls sell for more than Bulls did in the 70's.
Rodeo cattle are very diverse in color, confirmation, and personality. Some are very smart and some are downright dumb, they don't have to be smart to Buck good. but it helps. It takes a special person to raise Rodeo Cattle. You can't raise them in your back yard like you can llamas or ostriches. You need some room, preferably a farm or ranch, ours is 1000 acres, with a good set of corrals, squeeze chute, sheds, pasture, etc. Cowboys or people with cattle handling experience adapt to rodeo cattle quickly.
Rodeo cattle are usually more excitable when confined and should be handled slower and easier than other cattle.If you want to raise rodeo cattle, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. For example, some breeding programs are built around a favorite sire. Unless he is a proven producer we believe this is not a productive success path. Some bulls can buck , but are unable to produce calves that buck. Remember, when you purchase a weanling they should ideally have their first calf after they are 24 months of age and then that calf will also need to be 2 years old before they participate in the ABBI Futurities, that is approximately 3 years before we know if the Cow or the Sire can produce an animal that can Buck. The fastest race horse's sometimes don't throw speed in their colts.
We run a herd of pure "Plummer Genetics", a herd of out crossing and will add a herd of pure "Oscars Genetics" in the future. Our program is based on artificial insemination. We don't own any of these top bulls, but have had or can obtain frozen straws of semen from such great bulls as Bull of the Year; "Grasshopper" 1993 along with "Trick or Treat" and A9 "Copenhagen Lite" who are descendants of the great bull Oscar from the 1970's. "Wrangler Rivet", whose progeny have topped the National Finals Bucking Stock Sale for the past four years. Also "Wrangler Rivet" son, "Yellow Jacket", was bull of the year in PRCA.
We mostly breed "White Sports Coat" genetics, whose most famous sons are "Panhandle Slim" - PBR Bull of the Year in 1997, and a runner-up in 1998, 1999 and 4th in 2000; "Rooster" of the Rafter 7r Ranch; and "Houdini" the $100,000.00 Bull of Homestead Genetics.
You are about 20 years ahead in your breeding program if cows with bloodlines behind them are purchased, instead of trying to raise good bulls from the snooty old cow. Beyond bloodlines, heart or try as well as athletic ability are the most important things to look for in buying a heifer or cow. In our programs we buck out the heifers and cull the ones that don't buck. Be careful not to misrepresent and sell these to rodeo cattle buyers or you will loose the herd's and your reputation quickly. We videotape all the animals, bulls or heifers, when we buck them out so we can show a prospective buyer what a particular animal will do. Example of a Video
Most rodeo cattle have a percentage of Brahma blood in their heritage and are thus slower to mature reproductively. Some people breed rodeo heifers at 850 lbs., or 15 months of age, others wait until the heifers are 3 years old. We breed for a January or March calf and the heifer must be 18 months of age or we wait until the next breeding season.
Working Cattle is shortened, Vaccinate in November every year, Freeze and/or Fire Brand when we wean the calves in September, Worm in May and November, Spray in April and don't castrate or dehorn anything. Bulls are usually worth more with horns because they look more "rodeo." A bull that really bucks doesn't need horns to bring a lot of money. We tip the end of the horns, ends should be the size of a fifty cent piece or larger. On the cows prospective buyers can see that a cow is not polled and also to tell how much horn a cow can grow. Horns are generally hereditary as well as help run off predators when protecting a calf.
We raise our rodeo cattle to have a smaller "flight zone". We put our heifer calves on "free choice", all they can eat from the six ton feeder, while in the youth growth stage. While they are feeding we talk constantly to them, move slowly and spend time with them to help reduce the "flight zone". The Feeder is located close to the Water Tank which is close to the House and Barn. They hear the day to day noises of the ranch during their feeding and watering. If bulls are used to people, they hurt themselves less in the chute or while being handled. Later they expend less of the energy fighting the chute that they need to buck hard. Bull calves are kept in a different pasture form the heifers. Their pasture is on the side of a hill that requires up and down for the feed and water. This enables the development of ligaments, cartilage and muscle. They too have "free choice" from a six ton feeder. We feed a special mix from Gores Brothers Feed located in Comanche, Texas.
Some cattle are naturally wilder than others but most tame down to some degree. Some people handle their cattle with cow dogs. You would need a well trained dog to move rodeo cattle because the cattle are sometimes feisty and excitable nature.
We have found they will come to Julie's "Cattle Call" and follow her in the "Gator", one group crosses five large wooded pastures, and I generally follow up horseback for back-up. Boy Scout Motto "Be Prepared".Once rodeo cattle have established a home range, the cows are easy to hold. We've seen people hold a cow herd with a 3 wire fence. We use five foot of V-Mesh netting and two strand slick wire to create a five foot six inch fence.
We introduce the bucking chute and start chute breaking our animals at weaning. If the animals hurt themselves at this age, they heal quicker. They also have less injury later as two and three year olds if they are bucked a couple of times and chute broken at a younger age. They can stretch out muscles and get used to the body motions of bucking as they grow. If a bull bucks real violently he might hurt himself from bucking so hard, so be careful and do not over buck them. A young bull's cartilage and bone are not prepared to stand real violent bucking. We buck these bulls once as a weanling, a couple of times as yearling and a several more times in the 2 year old futurities, as 3 year old, if he has proven his self to be a prospect we will enter a very few of the PBR Classic events, but mostly let them grow and mature and hold off until they are 4 years old.
Rodeo bulls only buck for about six years on the average. Good one's buck for 10 years and others quit after six months.There are many auctions that sell rodeo cattle, some registered and some not, so be careful. We only purchase registered cattle. The Fat Stock Show, in Houston, Texas, has a rodeo cattle section in their sale and in 2004 The National Western Livestock Show of Denver, Colorado added a Futurity and Sale. We believe that the April Stephenville, Texas event by Looks West Productions is the best place for Heifers and the May Glenn Rose, Texas event by Texas Breeder's Classic is the best place for Yearling Bulls.
All of our Rodeo Cattle are DNA'd and registered with: American Bucking Bull Inc.
713 N.E. Hwy 66 Sayre,
Oklahoma 73662 (580)
928-5001
American Bucking Bull Inc. was formed in late 2003 in an effort to preserve and track the DNA records of the best bucking bred animals in the world. In addition to this goal, the ABBI also endeavored to enhance the business of raising and bucking these magnificent animals by providing a competitive format by which they could earn prize money and establish their value as buckers and sires. With two years of registration behind us, the participation in our programs has been phenomenal. Over 30,000 head of cattle are DNA verified and entered into our registry, and this year our Classic program for 3 and 4-year-old bulls consisted of 20 events held from January through September, culminating with the World Bucking Bull Classic Finals to be held in Las Vegas during the PBR World Finals. The total estimated purse for the ABBI finals will be in excess of $400,000, resulting in the winner's check being $150,000 dollars, easily the biggest payoff in bucking bull history. As the competitive opportunities increase, the trend toward higher value of these animals should continue. The ABBI has helped to provide one of the most fun and interesting avenues for involvement in the toughest sport on dirt, professional bull riding.
There are getting to be a lot of people interested in raising rodeo cattle for the glory and glamour as well as profit. Maybe we or you will raise the bull of the year, and he will sell for more than some people can sell their whole calf crop.
For more information or to start raising rodeo cattle contact
us at the
Rafter N Ranch, Inc. at
Bulls, Heifers, Cows and
Semen For Sale.
(325) 646-7979.
Julie@RafterN.com
