Stud Battery
We wanted a ram that had excellent top line, clean front end, good rib shape and structure. After that we wanted as much power as we good get. Just like the Army’s Stryker, our Stryker packs a punch but is built to move! Styker’s sired by Prestige, the $30,000 Alred/Elliot ram purchased at Sedalia by Begalka, Rule and Simpson. Prestige’s lambs have been winning several shows including 2010 Junior Champion Reno ewe, Grand Champion crossbred ram at 2011 Reno, and Reserve Grand Champion at 2010 Nebraska State Fair FFA show. At 2011 MWSRS Prestige lambs including 1st place yearling Hamp ram, 2nd place January Hamp ram, 1st Place Feb Hamp ram (Stryker), Reserve Grand Champion Hamp ewe. Prestige has several other sons in service including MGM (Schminke and Stewart) and Mr. Chubby (Lambright and Langemeier).
With apologies to Abbott and Costello, who if you are not familiar with their who’s on first you may wish to see, Wikiepeida Who’s on first or You Tube
We also will apologize in advance to the owners of rams mentioned below. We are not making fun anybody’s rams, as all the rams we mention below are great rams, but we just couldn’t resist with the way all these names stacked up.
You can eaves drop on a recent conversation between Joe and US
Us: We’re really pleased with our new buck Dagger, see how he moves and keeps his head up high.
Joe: Wow, he’s actually swaggering.
Us: Naturally, Swagger was his sire
Joe: His sire swaggered too?
Us: I don’t know if his sire swaggered, I said his sire was Swagger.
Joe: Well, regardless, a ram like that’s a got to be lot of money.
Us: Money is his mother’s sire
Joe: I thought I heard his half brother was a lot of money.
Us: I’ll say, half of his half brother sold for $52,000, that’s a lot of money in our world
Joe: Someone’s paid $52,000 for a ram to breed ewes!
Us: Well, he doesn’t actually get to breed the ewes, it’s for AI.
Joe: This is really crazy
Us: No, Crazy is his half brother.
Joe: I thought his half brother sold for a lot of money.
Us: He did, but another half brother is Crazy, and Crazy’s ewe lamb at the same sale sold for $6,250.
Joe: I’m starting to lose my composure.
Us: We’ll that can’t happen to Dagger because Composure in his genes!
Joe: You must think I’m some sort of jackass to believe all this.
Us: No not all, It's Dagger that has a donkey for a grandsire
Joe: WHAT! How can he have donkey for a grandsire?
Us: Swagger’s sire is Swamp Donkey
Joe: What’s a Swamp Donkey?
Us: I don’t think you want to know, but trust me, he is Dagger’s grandsire.
Joe: This is all insanity
Us: That’s not very nice, you’re here to see our new ram and now your talking about Rule’s ram. Insanity isn’t even related to Dagger.
Joe: CRAZY, SO MUCH MONEY, STOP YOUR SWAGGERING!
Us: No, it’s just Dagger being Dagger but he does have some Swagger
We have to give credit where it’s due and thank Paulson's for finding Dagger for us. He’s got the kind of pedigree we looking for to increase our line breeding. He shares a grandsire with Burch (Road Hogg) and Composure, Stryker’s grandsire also shows up in Dagger’s pedigree. We wanted a big hipped, big topped, big boned, correct ribbed, wide pinned set ram that still had a clean front-end and a straight top.
Hot just doesn’t describe Swagger’s lambs this year. From the half interest in a Swagger son selling for $52K, to wethers selling for $12K, his lambs have led the way in the wildest year of prices for club lambs. Swagger’s lambs have won several majors and state fairs. MacLennan’s January Swagger lambs were spoken for, so we “settled” for choice out of the February pen. Dagger is exactly what we had in mind to breed both Burch and Stryker ewes to!
Goals for 2013 ram
- Genetics - Trunk, 28, Composure blood lines - CHECK
- Phenotype - Big topped, up headed, deep twisted ram, very correct structure - CHECK
- Breed - Registered Hampshire, desire wool cap and the trendy shaggy legs - ALMOST CHECK (not registered but boy does he look like a pure Hamp)
We bought Predator on-line but we’d “checked him out in person”. He will be our lead ram for 2014