Sean Ryan runs a pedigree Limousin herd in Cappamore, Co. Limerick, alongside his father Paddy and son James who is 10. The Limousins operate under the herd name Sliabh Felim and began in 1999. There are currently 10 pedigree and 20 commercial breeding females.
The herd began with the purchase of Cave Court Nancy from Mrs. Kathleen Vaughan. Sean explains that, “Originally we went down to buy a fatstock weanling and we spotted this very stylish heifer- Cave Court Nancy and we ended up buying her instead”. Ostie was then purchased from Glen Devlins herd in Monaghan with her 1 week old heifer calf Glenisla Topaz at foot.
The first pedigree calf born in the herd, Sliabh Felim Susie went on to come first in her class and Reserve Junior Champion at Tullamore show. Susie also won the All Ireland Limousin calf final in Corofin the same year. Commenting on this success Sean said, “Our initial purchase Nancy, she stayed with us for so long, bred so many females that were all retained, calved every year within 365 days and bred extremely well to whatever bull we crossed on her. Susie went unbeaten the year we showed her. Nancy was not dear the day we bought her but she was Lucky for us”.
[smartslider3 slider=9]
Sean singles out, “Festin, Nenuphar and Malibu especially as a cow maker both in the pedigrees and commercials, as the most influential sires”.Another very successful female in the showring was Sliabh Felim Ursula who is out of Ostie. She won the All Ireland Limousin Calf final in Elphin, 1st in Tullamore and the following year was picked as part of a team of 5 cattle that went out to represent Ireland at the Paris show. This team went on to come 1st at the Paris show. The following year Ursula was Reserve Overall Champion at the National Limousin Show. Topaz who is a half sister to Ursula and was bought as calf was then sold at Roscrea Premier sale, getting reserve champion and selling for €6100. More recent sale success includes Sliabh Felim Kenny who was Reserve senior champion in Athenry last year before selling for €4700. Sliabh Felim Leo was champion at the recent Tullamore Limousin Society Sale and sold for the top price of €5000.
All the females in the herd feature either Cave Court Nancy or Ostie in their pedigree. They are from AI sires, with a wide variety of bloodlines. All insemination dates are recorded on ICBF giving valuable information on cow fertility and gestation length of the bull and the cow. The herd has an average replacement index of €82 which places it within the 4 star bracket across all breeds and above the national average. The terminal index is where the herd really excels, with an average of €136. This is in the top 20% within the Limousin breed and across all breeds. This can be attributed to the carcass weight figure for the females which averages 27kg. The herds average is 5kg above the Limousin breed average. There are 6 young bulls currently in the herd which have an average terminal index of an exceptional €147.
What attracted you to WHPR?
“We are weighing and Linear Scoring for years so it was the logical next step. Anything that can improve the integrity of the Breed and Breeders has to be welcomed. I found the visit quick and very straightforward, great way for assessing temperament in Cattle.
It is extremely important, the buyer/customer has confidence in the information pedigree breeders provide because they are putting their business at risk basing their decisions on what information they can access on a particular animal. If the information provided is incorrect, it can have major Financial consequences for the purchaser and also for fellow breeders of that particular Breed Society with that customer choosing another Breed for their next purchase”.
To view bulls that have been weight recorded by ICBF, click the link below to go to the Stockbull Finder. This is an online sales section for bulls from WHPR herds. Search by breed and county to filter down selections!
Stock Bull Finder