DBL D BAR Herd: The “Essentials” of Beefmaster Breeding
The DBL D BAR Ranch hard culls our bulls, heifers, and dams to meet the 6 essentials on which the Beefmaster breed was founded: weight, conformation, milking ability, fertility, disposition, and hardiness. These essentials make the Dd herd look good, perform well, and add value to any purebred or commercial herd. Beefmasters are the right breed for the right reasons, and they are serious cattle for serious cattlemen.
Dd emphasizes natural breeding practices that keep our herd healthily purebred. We take special care to review pedigrees of dams and herd-sires, and avoid line breeding by rotating herd-sires to select pastures and breeding partners.
All purebred calves at Dd are conditioned for seed-stock development. This conditioning includes calf vaccinations, regular weighing for birth and weaning, yearling weights and measures, ultrasound measurements, and dehorning as required. Dd also classifies our calves by BBU standards at least once a year.
Our ranch pastures are big enough to accommodate Dd cow/calf operations up to about 200 producing dams and 4-6 main herd-sire bulls. We allocate pastures to primary herds of purebred, natural and artificially inseminated Beefmaster dams, as well as one commercial herd for E6 progeny bred from Beefmaster bulls and Beefmaster, Brangus, and Braford dams. The pastures also include pens for herd-sire bull maintenance, developing heifers and young bulls, and calving first-calf heifers.
Our primary purebred Beefmaster herds typically count about 60 dams per pasture. In each of these herds, we have both spring and fall calving seasons. Dd rotates bulls for about a 75-day breeding cycle twice a year. Before returning them to service, we bring them to the bull pen for dietary nutrition and testing.