The Sires used at Dragon Breath over the past few years include:

Australian Sires

Dragon Breath Evolution, Banquet Bundy, Black Diamond Direction, Raff Midland, Te Mania Knight, Te Mania Kelp, Te Mania XPO and Te Mania Viceroy.

American Sires

Righttime 338, Future Direction, Summitcrest ScotchCap OB45, Roth Regulator, Focus of ER, Ultravox, New Design 323-9150 and Famous 7001.

Red Angus Sires

LSF Combination, Major League and LCC Above and Beyond.

Banquet Bundy

Bundy has to be one of the top two bulls we have ever used when it comes to calving ease. Visual muscling is very good (see Dragon Breath Evolution's own page) and structural correctness is not a problem. Appears to be a early easy calving bull that ticks many of the right boxes.

In Sydney 2011 there were four exhibits by Bundy with two firsts, one second and one third making Banquet Bundy one of the most successful sires used.

If I had to fault him, I would have to say that he has not passed on any of his extra frame size but there is no lack of muscle.

Black Diamond Direction

Best bull at Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne shows - not a bad start. Like so many Future Direction sons he has a problem with known genetic defects, however genetics this good should not be overlooked. Has been a little hit and miss with some of our cows however he has been good on calving ease and one of his son's topped the Webbs All Breeds Sale for us in 2011.

Raff Midland

We only have the one Raff son. As a calf he looked a little ripper and he has gone on to display wonderful length and extra frame. If it was not for a genetic defect we may have used him some more.

Te Mania Knight

Te Mania Knight is a tried and proven calving ease and carcase sire. Now rarely used and with semen in very limited supply I have used this bull over only the largest and most fertile cow. (Note: Scrotal size is a known problem with this bull, however we have not witnessed this.) The only fault is that their visable muscling may in some cases be a little light (Scanned muscle is however very good) so if we looked to use him again I would take this into consideration. This is a top sire if producing a heifer bull with carcase traits is your aim, or for adding extra fat and marbling without resorting to 036 or Precision bloodlines. Structurally we have not witnessed any problems, however white on the udder appears common. 

Te Mania Knight progeny continues to impress generation after generation whenever they are scanned and the one Knight bull of ours that has had a 50k DNA test has resulted in significant improvement in his EBV's.

Te Mania XPO

Te Mania XPO is now a relatively proven bull on the scene. Calves match his carcase figures, however what we have found is that our animals frame scores have suffered. Good size calves with no calving problems, but it is not until after weaning that these calves have come into their own. Very thick, great muscular expression and deep bodied. If I had to find fault, it is that they are a little short and compact. I could envisage that XPO would be a good cross over larger Ultravox, Yellowstone or VRD cows and heifers. Scrotal seems to be sufficient, however I dont think I would look towards XPO to rectify this area. Quiet temperament is one of the common traits of these calves.

Te Mania Viceroy

A son of Kenny's Creek Sandy (and grandson of Te Mania Knight) Viceroy's calves has a real presence about them. Solid from birth, these calves have all done well. They have good visable muscling and hold their head up well (unlike most Sandy calves I have seen). So far our scanning we have not seen any problem with EMA however acording to his EBV's this is one area to look out for. Scrotal values all appear to be very pleasing with this sire with our mature bulls ranging from 41cm to 47cm scrotal circumference.

Right Time 338

Only one on the ground, however this heifer has to be one of the best we have ever bred out of a Te Mania Knight dam. She now has a very lively Evolution calf at foot who we are looking forward to see how it develops.

Summitcrest ScotchCap OB45

Tried and true. This highly proven bull is rarely available these days, however his positive calving, positive fat, IMF and good scrotal performance make him hard to go past. Progeny can be a little high in the flank area, however over the right cow they seem to work a treat. Good conformation and tight sheath seem to be common traits for this sire. EBV's would suggest that they are a little light, however we have been happy with how they have grown out (maybe a little later in maturity).

Roth Regulator

This bull is meant to be a real heavyweight at birth, with a long gestation period, however we have witnessed the opposite. Our first calf has been a 30kg heifer born 10 days early, (271 days). Even at 3 months of age you could see the power Regulator can deliver, with the heifer exhibiting a strong topline, is very heavy boned, at 12 months she weighed in at 535kg without excess condition (scanned at 5mm/6mm of fat and yet had an IMF reading of 6.8%).  The bull calves are smooth fronted with enormous rear ends with daily weight gains 10% above their contemporaries. Unfortunately this bull is no longer available.

Focus of ER

Beautiful bull and some fantastic calves. Medium size calves at birth, they have simply exploded.  Calving ease has proven to be great, however a lack of visible muscling and poor scanning is not that uncommon.

Ultravox

Ultravox is a real mixed bag and even when used over the same cow you can get two very different looking calves. From great looking animals with all the traits of Ultravox himself to tall narrow gutted creatures. I have not encounted to many with poor feet or legs, and I believe that this has to do with the cows that I have used him over. These cows are all large framed themselves with good structure. I believe that many of these issues around feet come when breeders are looking for too large a genetic gain in only one generation eg. putting Ultravox over a small frame cows.

New Design 323-9150

9150 calves are small at birth and calve easily (you could probably put 9150 over lowline and still have no calving problems) however as they grow they can assist in frame and length, and seem to have average depth, but limited visible muscling and this is seen when you put them over the scales. Given that 9150 is so closely related to 7127 it is hard to believe that they are so opposite. 9150's future is likely to be in creating great cows. I say this because the combination of calving ease, height, length and milk provides great opportunity's for the following generation. However that said this is not a bull I will be going back to try again.

Famous 7001

Famous has proven to be a superstar sire for delivering structural correctness having been the ROV Bull of the Year in America and Sire of a ROV Bull of the Year. However Famous' large frame is not evident at birth but becomes apparant from around 12 months on. He may not have the most glamourous set of EBV's but at the same time they are solid and allow his progeny to fit into a number of end markets. It is his ability to produce good looking calves, with strong toplines, good heads and structural correctness that makes this now, non available bull a real asset. Unfortunately Famous is no longer available.