I have a bull calf...what do I do???

Whatever you do you NEED to castrate him. Bulls are dangerous, especially to someone new to cattle. It might take him a while, but he will eventually challenge you. Bottle babies are the worst. They have absolutely NO fear of you, and intact male bottle babies will sooner or later see you as competition and something they have to dominate. That equals you being injured. They imprint on whatever raises them and a 150-200 lb human that comes up against a 1500-2000 lb animal well, you get the idea. Horns will make him even more dangerous, he CAN spear you with them. He can do plenty of damage with just his head alone.

Myself, I would castrate him and finish him out and put him in the freezer. Barring that, sell him. And if you MUST keep him, CASTRATE him, DEHORN him and make sure that he respects YOUR space. Use a stick, but teach him that he CANNOT come into your space. Smack him on the nose if he does, he will learn quickly.

Read this article, it will explain a lot!!
http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=161883

Thanks to all of you. The man from the slaughter house will be coming down next week.
Not taking any chances here, and like every has said, we have worked hard with him, and fed him the best, so we shall do the right thing.
bottle fed , dairy bull, close to 1 yr old = meat.

Bravo! Lovely to see such a responsible and quick action. Have fun with your heifer calf, next time. And bon appetit!

Not feeling very brave about it, but what has to be done will be done

Next time we are getting goats

Hahaha! The goats might be easier to eat...after the get into the house, the garden, the garage, hop on your car with their pointy lttle hooves....

jersey meat is the best, you'll feel better soon i promise. you will have many fond memories

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All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Jefferson
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We waited quite a while on this one due to being busy and chicken to do the deed. A few days ago he got loose and became quite frisky. We managed to secure him and this morning he very quietly stepped into the pick-up and went to slaughter. It was an emotional time, and for anyone else in my situation, believe me, it is hard but necessary.

That's funny. We have three calves right now. their names are Jerky, T-bone, and chuck.

If you are going to name them, make it appropriate!

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

No doubt it was a difficult task, but as you surmised, it's just going to get riskier as time goes by.

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

So? How did it go? Have you had a taste yet? How much meat were you able to put into your freezer? Are you going to be getting another calf?

we are taking big mac and phillip( as in fillup the freezer) to butcher soon

we know a lady with ED dA'bull(edible)

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All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Jefferson
my stores facebook
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Herself can't stand for me to tell her the names of animals we are eating, or about to eat. I don't have any trouble being kind and gentle with them while they are alive, and I don't have any trouble killing, butchering, and eating them later. Well, maybe the turkeys; they follow me around the yard begging for grain, and they call to me when they see me. But, as my Uncle who delivered his 11 children at home always says, "A man ought to be able to finish what he starts."

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“It is tedious to live, it is tedious to die, it is tedious to c**p in deep snow”
Old Norwegian observation

Ahhh yes, a man should be able to finish what he starts. I am a total wimp and have decided that cattle farming is not my forte. The problem is starting with one, and treating it as a pet. Bad move.
Anyway he yielded 300 KG of Organic Beef (11 months old), not bad I have been told. I didn't want it so it has gone to the poor people. At least someone got something out of my hard work

I understand your emotions on this, but you just may have passed on the finest beef you could eat....

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"