Thistle Ridge Ranch

Welcome to our 10th Annual Bull Sale!

I’d like to start off by saying that if global warming is manmade keep up the good work If we all pull together we can make Greenland green again! Well, now that I got the tree huggers mad at me we better get down to business.

This will be our 17th year selling bulls, and our 10th year that we’ve had a sale. This just doesn’t get old. The excitement we feel every calving season as we wait to see if we made the right choice the spring before on what bull we bred to what cow just gets bigger and bigger the more generations of cows you add to the equation. This year is no exception as we start having our first Red TR Rolls Royce 44B, TR Deep Dark Knight 175B, and T-K Sand Hills 80B calves We’re plum giddy

This year’s sale offering has got everything you need in an Angus bull, whether you’re looking for easy calving heifer bulls, big powerful herd bulls, and bulls with carcass data that rival any in the breed. The Charolais bulls are really split in 2 groups. We have lower birth weight bulls from the Sparrow and Wilgenbusch bulls that have come off of our 2 year old heifers, and then a powerful set of herd bulls with a few real rippers in there. The ultrasound shows the Char bulls are only carrying on average .12 inches of rib fat, so they are in their working clothes The bulls are being fed again at TFS Fincastle, and can be viewed there up until Wednesday, March 16th, at which time they will go to the Ag-plex. Again, thanks to Huey and his crew, the bulls look great.

We moved the sale up a week this year, only because the 4th Friday in March, our regular date, is Good Friday this year Please take this as a personal invitation to come out on the 18th, whether you need a bull or not, and help us celebrate our 10th Annual sale. The refreshments will be chilled, and the steak will be perfect

\Ben & Carol Tams

General Information...

Auctioneer:

Mr Bob Perlich 1403 329 3101

Blockman:

Rob Holowaychuck OBI 1 780 916 2626

Ringmen:

Darcy Moorehead 1 403 635 0308 • John Perlich 1 403 329 3101

Ben Wright 1 519 374 3335

Sight Unseen Purchases & Sale Day Phones

Bob Toner OBI 1 306 834 7385

Rob Holowaychuck 1 780 916 2628

Darcy Moorehead 1 403 635 0308

Bob Perlich 1 403 382 7800

Ben Wright 1 519 374 3335

Ben Tams 1 403 317 0689

We guarantee satisfaction on sight unseen purchases

Please call any of the above numbers for help.

Insurance will be available sale say Any bulls going back with us we strongly recommend insuring

Delivery:

Free Delivery throughout western Canada We ask that you please work with us on dates and other possible deliveries in your area. Leave your bull with us, we’ll deliver them when you need them. $100.00 off per bull if you take them home sale day.

Individual Bull Data:

Ultrasound data, scrotal measurements and semen test sheets will be available sale day

Terms:

Terms of the sale are cash or cheque at par made payable to Perlich Bros , unless prior arrangements have been made

Announcements:

Announcements sale day take precedence over the printed material.

Breeders Guarantee:

All bulls are guaranteed breeders Thistle Ridge Ranch stands behind every bull

Individual Bull Data:

Ultrasound data, scrotal measurements and semen test sheets will be available sale day

Liability:

Any liability of the bull is restricted to the purchase price of that bull

If any problems arise, please contact us as soon as possible. Everyone who attends the sale, does so at their own risk

EPD’s:

Please note that the EPD’s may change from the time the catalogue is printed until the registration papers are transferred

Accommodations:

Heritage Inn, Taber 1-403-223-4434

Super 8, Taber 1-403-223-8181

P re Sale Viewing:

TFS Fincastle, 4 miles east of Taber on HWY #3, 1.5 miles north. Bulls can be viewed there till Wed, March 16th, then at Ag Plex

Ultrasound Data:

All yearling bulls have been CUP ultrasounded and data will be available sale day on a supplement sheet.

Insurance:

An insurance agent will be available sale day to assist you with any insurance needs you may have. Although Thistle Ridge will be more than willing to keep your bull purchases for you until you need them, if taking this option we strongly recommend insurance as we cannot be responsible for bulls injuring themselves after the sale Remember, bulls do 4 things Eat, sleep, breed and fight That’s 50% of the time doing something they could get hurt at

Catalogue:

Design and Production by Prime Cut Publishing • Photos by OBI

Purchased in 2012, Rollin Deep has been our best investment both in flat out cash, and in marketable breeding genetics We paid $33000 for walking rights and 25% semen interest in him To date in Canada alone we have sold over $35000 worth of semen We then sold walking rights back down south, plus everything but our 25% Canadian semen interest for $50000 American Than our 2 high sellers last year were both sons at $60000 and $19500 respectfully The crazy thing is, his daughters might be the even better part 10 sons sell

I’ve said before that this might be the most powerful bull we’ve ever used They will be bigger calves at birth, but even so they are all born unassisted and there are never any extremes He’s a red-gene carrier out of a beautiful SAV Initiative daughter X Red SSS Endorse Feet and udders will not be a problem here either 12 sons sell

Purchased strictly as a clean-up bull we are happy with the job Windy Sue has done for us He only gets the leftovers, but he’s a good enough bull that he turns plenty of them into quality breeding bulls 4 sons

A few theories on….. warm weather=lighter birthweights

This is definitely the trend we see at our place The reason I bring this up now is because I know a lot of bull buyers have a set birth weight mark they won’t go over The thing to keep in mind is that a 90 pound calf this year, as warm as it’s been, can’t be compared to a 90 pound calf from last year, or the year before I’m shooting myself in the foot here, because our birthweights in this year’s sale are down on average a few pounds from the year before Last year was a fairly mild winter, therefore the birthweights were a little lighter This year so far, our birthweights are almost a good 10 pounds lighter Generally speaking, a 90 pound calf in

SSS Endorse 639X

A former $40000 high seller in SSS 2011 bull sale, Endorse has done a good job for us of raising cattle with a little more jam in them We have a very maternal herd, so we were really looking for a bull like him to add some kick to the program He’s done exactly what we hoped he would do 3 sons sell

We continue to AI to Monument because we’re all around impressed with the quality of his calves Their born with moderate birthweights, grow average to above average, and he definitely lives up to his REA EPD You’ll see more of his calves next year 3 sons sell

Escalade 318T

Escalade is a bull that came off one of our most cherished cows, the old Crowfoot 6K A prettier Angus cow you couldn’t make When you see the Escalade daughters, you’d know why He will fix udders, he will improve feet, and he will make a much more marketable carcass We will continue to use him on that cow here and there that we feel needs a little something fixed in her. 3 sons sell

( as we always are) and this guy impressed us with his thickness and sound structure $15000 later and I think we made a good choice His calves are all small and vigorous, and the bull himself is docile as can be with a great foot on him 5 sons sell

Taber will be a 95 pound calf in Northern Alberta You take that same calf to Texas, and he’ll be well under 80 pounds The colder the climate, the heavier the calf Same goes generally for January/February born calves vs April/May I think it has to do with the amount of blood pumped through the umbilical cord in colder weather. I don’t think you have to worry about it too much this year, but I think you’ll want to keep it in mind next year when you’re setting your weight limits

Bull Warranty

We guarantee to provide you with a sound, fertile bull capable of servicing a reasonable number of cows. In the event that your bull is a nonsatisfactory breeder the seller will not, under any circumstances, be responsible for more than the original selling price of any bull or female sold in the sale The consignors will not provide replacement or credit for physical injury or mismanagement Therefore we stress the importance of insurance on your bull An insurance agent will be available on sale day

This bull is apply named because that’s exactly what I said when I stepped outside on Dec. 22nd and saw him there Rollin Deep obviously got out somewhere along the way, and luckily he was born on a warm day, cause we weren’t watching He’s a good long bull, and that little extra age will give him a little advantage in breeding bigger framed cows this spring

This was the bull that was part of the pair that Jackie won Grand Champion cow/calf with at the Taber District 4H show Lots of length in this Rollin Deep calf, and out of a sweetheart of a cow we bought at Red Round-up from J Heart Angus He’ll be creeping close to 1500 pounds come sale day

A red-gene carrier black bull that should be able to be used on heifers The sire of this bull, as well as lot’s 6 and 27, was the only bull that was with the heifers in the feedlot, yet somehow his DNA doesn’t match Rather than give the DNA company more money to get it right, we decided to sell

Quite a bull here Thick topped, big butted, and as soggy as they get Similar to the Rolls Royce bull that U2 ranch paid $60,000 for last year, except for where his dam was an angular, feminine female, with lots of length, 27B’s dam is an absolute tank If you

RED TR Storm Chaser 35C

A very useful heifer bull out of the same sire as the lot 4 bull Lot 4,6, and 27 were ratio’d together with only the 3 of them, so if you really want a fair comparison you should compare their actual data with the other bulls that are out of 2 year old heifers

TR Nature Boy 38C

A very likeable bull who’s coming along nicely on test as well We bought the dam at Red Round-up from Nathan Jensen and she’s out of his good outcross Hunter 66Y bull A little too much bull here for heifers, although he himself was unassisted out of a 2 year old

I know

but his sire is probably the most powerful bull we’ve ever used, so just keep that in mind if you’re thinking of using him on heifers you don’t plan on watching closely

RED TR Vertigo 36C

Entourage 40c

RED TR Endorse 49C

Red Gene Carriers...

A quick explanation on how the red gene is passed on

If you breed a black red gene carrier to black cows with no red gene, you will get black calves If some of your cows are black, but do have the red gene, then you have a 25% chance of getting a red calf If you breed a black red gene carrier to red cows then you have a 50% chance of getting red calves If you breed a red bull, with black in its pedigree to red cows, they will always be red calves Red bred to red will always be red

Red TR Disotheque 54C

RED TR Indulge 70C

TR Lecter 74C

TR Statehood 77C

A really good straight black R5 Monument calf with excellent performance numbers The number 1 weaning index at 117 followed up with an impressive 110 gain index Stick to cows with this one, although the Hemi daughters make phenomenal cows, they do come with a little extra birth weight

RED TR Big Dipper 78C

Another Rollin Deep cow bull with a little more frame Sons of 365S have sold to PFRA, Box Elder Colony, and Bekkering Bros Last years high seller was a Rollin Deep out of a Knighthawk daughter

RED TR Navigator 91C

over the years till we run out of semen. He’s

and udder improver, not to mention he’s one of the best carcass sires period Check out the carcass EPD’s on this bull

TR Bluto 95C

RED SSS ENDORSE 639X TR ENTOURAGE 168Z TR MISS PATHY 416T*

Not as flashy as some of the other Entourage 168Z sons, but he’ll go out and sire the kind of calves that order buyers are looking for Very nice carcass EPD’s

A very nice cow bull with excellent gains on test Sons of his outcross dam have sold to Michael Loose, and Brent and Myrna Brewin

TR Statehood 105C

TR Smokin’ 109C

A big soggy Entourage with good length and great feet Dam is a Prairie Smoke daughter out of our good old 6K cow we got from Crowfoot I did NOT test this bull for the red gene, so there is a 66% chance he has it

RED TR Poseidon 118C

A Red Entourage son that will grow out to be a fairly big boy when it’s all said and done They make a good group of power bulls

Just a tank of a cow bull here with great gains on test, and a high lean meat yield percentage One of the heavier bulls, and yet he

He’s all muscle

Avg Red Angus EPD’s

Avg Thistle Ridge Red Angus Bull EPD’s

FOUNDATION

1302A MCATL PRIMROSE 1021-7861

little bigger framed Federation son with a moderate 90 pound birthweight for a cow bull Straight black

RED TR Caledonia 145C

168Z

A more moderate birthweight cow bull with tremendous carcass data Almost 65% LMY, with a 112 REA index, and a 146 marbling, and only a 75 rib fat Those are very antagonistic traits, making him one of only a few of the sale bulls that have that

RED TR Rollin’ Stone 147C

This bull keeps getting better every time I see him, so It’ll be interesting to see who finds him come sale day Dam is an awfully long, feminine girl we bought out of the Geis dispersal

RED TR Brandenburg 151C

U2 MISSION 61W

U-2 MISSION 253A RED U-2 LARKA 381N

Just a 69 pound birthweight on this heifer bull The dam of 153C is again an own daughter of the 6K cow, and a half-sister to the Escalade 318T bull

A high marbling bull that also has great performance numbers with a 109 wean, and 111 yearling indexes The dam is a super sweet Hemi 151T daughter that is now designated elite 2 sons of 702X have sold to Park Livestock, and Devon Warrilow

5L NORSEMAN KING 2291

March 01 2015 #1855956

Big gains on test and nice carcass data out of this good black cow bull If you notice there’s lots of Prairie Smoke daughters raising quality bulls

TR Federation 182C

Lots to like in this thick cow bull He’s a straight black Federation son out of a no miss Kodiak 5R daughter we got from Geis’s We started the sale off last year with 2 ET sons of hers that sold to Graham Alexander and Louis Greidanus Very high marbling bull

TR Federation 192C

Vaccination

All bulls were vaccinated in the fall with Pyramid 5, 7-Way Somnugen, and Ivomec They were boostered with Pyramid 5 six weeks later

RED TR Little Deep 197C

RED TR Law Dog 205C

Supertramp

Should be able to use him on heifers that are going to be watched Average gains on test, and a bigger rib eye for his young age

Once again we will be offering a heavy duty 3 bale hay feeder as a bull buyers draw. Donated by Henry Martins Welding Last

winner of a 30 ft calf shelter was John Lawson

RED TR 285C

I’m not sure why I didn’t register this calf at the time, he’s actually pretty good Should be able to be used as a heifer bull If you want me to register him, I will If you don’t care, I’ll split the $100 it’s gonna cost me with you

RED TR 292C

Last year our second high selling bull at $19500 was a Rollin Deep son out of this excellent young Escalade dam That bull was an April 17th born calf, and he ended up being the 1st bull to see duty Don’t discount these young bulls, especially if you breed a bit later Highest marbling bull this year at 5 85 IMF

Understanding Ultrasound

In order to use body composition EPD’s or ultrasound data to its full potential, a breeder must have an understanding of ultrasound terminology. Several of the ultrasound measurements are comparable to the familiar carcass measurements. The data is simply collected on yearling bullsa and heifers instead of market ready steers Take a step back from looking at the numbers and become comfortable with the terminology

ULTRASOUND CARCASS MEASUREMENTS

RibFat/Backfat: An external fat measurement taken between the 12th and 13th rib reported in inches Rib fat is the main trait that affects percent lean meat yield ie; A1, A2, A3 & A4 Percent lean meat yield is the calculation that estimates the percent of lean muscle on the carcass For example, a lean meat yield of 60% on a 100lb carcass would have 600 lbs of lean muscle and 400 lbs of bone and fat.

Ribeye Area (REA): An area measurement of the loin or ribeye muscle. Reported in square inches. While an increase in backfat wil lower the percent lean meat yield an increase in REA will raise the percent lean meat yield

Rump Fat: An external fat measurement taken from an image collected between the hooks and the pins of the animal Reported in inches The rump fat measurement, coupled with the rib fat measurement will increase the accuracy of percent lean meat yield.

Intramuscular Fat (%IMF)/Marbling: This measurement determines the amount of fat within the muscle. Reported in %. This measurement us used to determine the quality grade of the carcass

Vikse Over Time 104A

Sparrows Dudley 308A

Diablo is another $33000 high seller in Rod McLeod’s 2011 bull sale You see the pattern here, we like to use the good ones A daughter of his was just named Supreme Champion at the 2015 Agribition show in Regina He makes them thick and easy to like 3 sons sell

THRR Brewer 9C

CBT 9C January 23 2015 #PMC365567 Polled

SPARROWS ELDORADO 361L

SPARROWS DUDLEY 308A

SPARROWS SHADYLADY 512Y

We had very good success calving Charolais heifers last year, and part of it was the sire of 9C This group of Dudley 308A sons are moderate, thick, easy calving cattle Bonus here with 9C as he also has a 115 gain index

THRR Timberline 12C

SPARROWS ELDORADO 361L

SPARROWS DUDLEY 308A

AAA marbling on this bull with good gains on test as well If you’ve been wanting to try Char’s out but have always been afraid of birthweight issues, give these bulls out of our 2 year olds a look

THRR Winderness 18C

Nobody told this

coat The sire of this bull is the other half of the reason we had good success calving heifers last year. His picture doesn’t lie,

THRR Vesper 19C

THRR Lark 23C

THRR Wisconsin 25C

Highest gaining bull out of all the Charolais bulls and he’s just a 90 pound birthweight bull out of a 2 year old heifer He had a 107 weaning index to go along with that Good REA measurement as well

THRR Nystrom 51C

THRR Potvin 52C

The other brother A little less gain on test, but very similar otherwise to his full brother Brian Hicken bought a good Diablo son from 109X in our 2014 sale

THRR Lafontaine 64C

When this guy matures he’s going to fill out to be a big bull The dam is a

THRR Chavez 65C

THRR Williams 66C

THRR Lambert 68C

THRR Savannah 79C

SPARROWS ELDORADO 361L SPARROWS DUDLEY 308A

SPARROWS SHADYLADY 512Y

Aside from the botched dehorning job, this is a pretty impressive bull Good gains on test, a big REA measurement, and tremendous hair All this from a 2 year old first calver

THRR Arnott 85C

Sinister 88C

THRR

THRR Saratoga 104C

One

THRR Elexir 106C

THRR Harris 114C

THRR Barracuda 125C

This is 516R’s 5th straight bull in the sale, the last 3 all selling to Brian Hicken, and he only buys the good ones A 119 gain index on test for this impressive Diablo 2X son.

The only tanned bull in the sale this year, and he’s got pretty nice performance numbers as well 106 wean index and 103 gain Willie Tschritter bought a gooder last year out of the same dam

THRR Diago 149C

THRR 175C

THRR Gelinas 176C

4th

THRR 179C

THRR Walleye 187C

THRR Saprykin 189C

Creditor 227C

THRR 210C

my favorites He’s extra-long and hairy, and really rivals only Lot 81 for performance with his 108 wean and yearling indexes, followed by his own 119 REA index

Just an 88 pound

THRR Mikelson 255C

THRR Mikelson 257C

THRR Creditor 261C

CBT 261C April 6

son to ever sell He did a very good job, as you can tell by both his direct sons, and also his grandsons like Lot 90

For a mid-April calf he’s still gonna make the sale weighing in the neighbourhood of 1250 pounds Nothing wrong with that

Ben & Carol Tams