Conservancy Breeding and Choosing a Bull

In order to make correct choices in breeding Belted Galloways and Galloways, it is essential first to know your personal goals, and then every mating must be evaluated in that context. This basic and guiding philosophy is critical. In breeding Belties, goals generally fall into one the following categories: beef production, conservancy of an historic breed, competitive exhibition, and hobby. All are important, and they may be overlapping.

The next step is to decide whether to use natural service or artificial insemination. For the economically important traits in beef breeds, both parents contribute equally to each individual calf, but because a bull is used on several cows in each herd, his genetics become concentrated in the herd. As much as 90% of the total genetic contribution of the herd may come from the bull. Although it limits one's choices, for the hobbyist who simply wishes to have a couple of Belties in the pasture, breeding to a bull "down the road," if he is sound, may be the easiest and least expensive solution.

Breeding artificially allows one to choose from a larger variety of excellent bulls, but it requires greater management skills; timing of insemination is critical. Semen can be expensive, and conception rates are only about 50% for each insemination, so multiple inseminations are often required. But if you have only a few animals, buying a bull may not make a lot of sense since bulls can be expensive to purchase and maintain, can be difficult to manage, and can be used for only a limited time.

Belted Galloway breeders lag some of the other breeds in the collection of performance data, but before purchasing semen, the breeder should ask some basic questions. Although Belted Galloways are known for easy calving, the majority of calving problems are related to birth weights so one should inquire about birth weights, especially of calves born to heifers. It is also useful to inquire about weaning weights, yearling weights, and disposition.

Conservation breeding is the management of a breed as a genetic resource for the future, and if that is your primary goal, studying pedigrees is essential. As compared to conventional breeding which tends to focus on a few well promoted bulls, a relatively larger number of males will be used for breeding, preserving genetic diversity. Careful attention is paid to maintaining all existing blood lines, and all sound animals of breed type will be used.

In order to increase numbers or to obtain certain effects, some breeders have added genetic contributions from other breeds to their herds, and this "improvement" in some cases may represent a departure from the historic uses and characteristics of the breed. The herd book for the Belted Galloway Society allows for "up bred" animals to be listed in the appendix. After five successive purebred breedings to purebred bulls, offspring are considered purebred (which is distinct from fullblood, where ancestry can be traced to the foundation animals of the breed). Purists will want to learn which lines have added genetic contributions and may wish to breed only from those lines which do not have added genetic contributions.

The subject of competitive exhibition generates some debate. Some believe that seedstock producers focus too exclusively on superior physical appearance, paying more attention to primping and pampering with shampoo and hair dryers than to producing the kind of beef consumers want. The prospective Beltie owner should look beyond the belt and a pretty face and be certain that the breeder understands livestock production in a context broader than the show ring.

Production breeding involves significant record keeping, and one must first establish some benchmarks to serve as objective criteria, which helps to combat making choices purely on emotions. Production breeding can be a disadvantage if selection criteria are too narrow. Performance records are only meaningful when comparing animals raised under similar conditions.

It is preferable to include both performance and conservancy in a breeding program, selecting some sound animals which may lack performance, but which represent less common genetic variants. Such improvement breeding results in more balanced performance animals and fewer genetic losses.

The following are Benchmarks for Malabar Farm bull selection:

BULL SELECTION BENCHMARKS
AGE	WEIGHT	HEIGHT (in)	TESTICULAR SIZE (cm)
Birth	70-80 lb.
6 Months	500-600	41-45
12 Months	900-1000	47-51	30-34.
18 Months	>1100	51-55	31-36
4 Years	1800-2000	55-56	34-39

Adjusted weaning weight ( at about 6 1/2 months) measures the productive contribution from the mother's milk, while the gain from weaning to yearling reflects the individual animal's growth potential. The most important overall performance measure is yearling weight, because it includes contributions from both the cow and the calf, but these measures are only meaningful when compared to averages within the herd. To maximize production, one would wish to choose a bull whose growth rate exceeds the herd average and has been raised under conditions comparable to your own farm.

It is important to consider the disposition of a bull. Based on their size and strength alone, even bulls with good temperaments can be difficult to handle. An ill-tempered bull should never be used, no matter how good he is.

Other factors which are important in selecting a bull are soundness, testicular size, and sexual behavior. It is a great disappointment to wait expectantly for your calves to arrive, only to learn the hard way that your bull is sterile. Since most breeders are initially drawn to Belties because of their appearance, the visual appraisal of the bull and his belt is important, but should be considered only after the other criteria have been met.

The ultimate test of a bull is in his ability to produce desirable offspring. Purchasing a proven sire allows one to assess calves' sizes at birth and their growth rate, ease of calving, and visual desirability. Although a mature, proven bull may be the most expensive to purchase, the ability to evaluate off spring may allow one to choose the best bull for one's herd, and may ultimately provide the best value per dollar spent.

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