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

I was given a one week old bull calf from the dairy farm, 10 months ago. Besides nearly drowning in the swimming pool he has grown into a lovely bull.
I am concerned as to how long we can keep him safely..he really is a pet, but logic tells me this is an impossible situation.
Also, can anyone tell me what breed he is? the pics are taken at 1 week, 2 months and 9 months.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4.../star1week.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e43/cgdubai/star2.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...9monthstar.jpg

here is another pic.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...star9month.jpg

The calf looks predominantly Angus but since it came from a dairy I would say it is an Angus and Jersey cross. Now with the second pic, I am more positive of the Jersey portion and the Angus is less prominent. Is he starting to get aggresive?

I am trying to upload a larger image but don't know how....eeek

Anyway he is white back legs. All I know about the farm is that they buy their cows from Australia and sperm from USA.

He is not aggressive, but quite frisky, he likes to jump around like an excited dog. He has running commentaries with the Macaw parrot all day long and seems rather intelligent, and has also learnt a few simple commands. But his horns have broken through and I am worried.

Horns are not something to worry about. They can severely hurt or kill you with their head alone.

Here's the thing with bulls: Probably 90% of them will never bother you. The other 10% of them will test you out and maybe hurt you. The kicker is, the 10% that might try something can act like the other 90% up until the moment they decide to act differently. More farmers are killed by "tame" bulls than by bulls that act aggressive, because they thought they were safe. Never assume a bull is safe.

At 9 months your boy is still ok, and he most likely will be ok for several more months. But always be aware of him , and never assume he's safe because he's been friendly.

BTW, the worst bulls are said to be dairy bulls and the worst dairy bulls are the Jerseys.

I'd make plans for him to be going down the road if you arn't using him for breeding.

Edited to add: Around here they call cows like that Black Jerseys. They are Holstein x Jerseys that come out all or almost all black.

Jennifer

Thanks Jennifer
I appreciate what you are saying and with young kids around I suppose I had better be safe than sorry.
So what kind of age do you recommend is the end of the road for this boy?
It will truly break my heart.

he looks like he has angus, i have jersey holstien crosses and jersey angus

and he favors the jersey angus more so our

eat him at 18 months

I'm just learning myself,but would like to add to the question if I may.It sounds like he might be a pet but this could be a option???Not sure
What would happen if the bull was dehorned and castrated ? would this make him a steer ?and if so ,could he be raised for meat? Like I say I'm just learning and don't know much but I guess this is how we learn.

It may be better to have him castrated, that way the (eventual) meat won't taste so strong. It might be safer, too.

bull meat contrary to popular belief has no strong flavor, bulls gain faster than steers, steers are made steers to keep them from fighting each other so much when put together


we always leave ours bulls, as did our parents :shrug:

When I was young, 8 or so, I received a bull calf from a dairy. He was a big pet. We steered him. Since we owned a beef operation, we didn't want him cross breeding jersey genes into the herd. The worst thing that ever happened was he once accidentally stepped on my toe (hurt but no real damage). I was able to ride him like a horse.

To me, keeping a bull as a pet around kids is no different than keeping horses or other large animals around.

The real question is do you have the space and time to deal with a 1200 lbs or more animal?

I have the space but not much knowledge....

It seems to me you have done well so far. If you have taken him from a week old to 10 months, the hard part is over.

Although if you are going to steer him, the sooner the better. Complications are more likely as he gets bigger.

Alright, I have never owned a cow myself, but this thread title caught my eye and *maybe* I can be of help.
My best friend in high school was given an Angus steer when he was two days old... he'd been left behind when the small herd he was born into went out to graze, and wasn't found until he was two days old. She took him on, bottle raised him (which may have been part of the problem) and loved him.
"Buddy" was really very sweet, and she was able to keep him until he was 18 months or so. He was a steer, dehorned, but one day he decided he wanted to play with her like he would another steer. He pinned her against the fence, and would not move despite all her urges and pushes. He also began sort of "butting" her and her family in play... it broke her heart, but he had to go before someone got hurt. He was just getting progressively "bouncier" and when a big animal like that gets "bouncy"...
Hope this helps... though, if you were to build a pen for him, where he's at least confined, and maybe even get another steer to keep him company...

Be brave, and eat him when the time comes. And, next time, get a cow, and that way you can keep her, and then eat the babies...DON'T NAME THE ONES YOU PLAN TO EAT!.

a bull is a bull is a bull :cow:

We have slaughtered many jersey cross bulls over the years.At 10 months old he should dress well.If you can wait safely,a little older might be better,however, you do need to slaughter and dress this bull at some point.You should not feel bad about this situation.You and your family have done a good job raising him.You should not feel at all bad about having him slaughtered,and you should enjoy the beef that he produces.Best of luck.Regards,John.

Castrate him asap. And please never think of him as a pet- he is not. Either feed him out or sell him my two cents.

At 10 months, he's probably too big to castrate by yourself (without headshoot etc.). If you don't have any cows, I wouldn't worry too much about him still being a boy. But, as with all bull, keep a eye on him. I agree, he's not a pet, and shouldn't be treated as one! (agree with jerzeygurl... only reason we steer is we have heifers and cows, and don't want them to breed)

I'd raise him until this fall (when the grass starts to fail) and march him off to freezer camp. (at 10 months he's probably only 700 pounds or less... let him help keep your pastures down until this fall. He'll be nice and tender!and much larger.)

I also agree with animalfarmer, there is nothing to feel bad about eating him. He was raised with care (and will taste better for it). As a Orthodox Priest told me recently, He has eyes at the front of his face (predator eyes), and eye teeth to tear meat with. I'd 10 times rather eat our own meat (knowing what it ate and how it grew) than some "factory" meat.

Pat

Pat, it's not often I disagree with you but I would like to point out that it's not just your own cows you have to worry about, those little hormones are more than happy to crawl fences and visit neighboring cows as well. I would recomend contacting the vet to castrate if a capable neighbor can't be found simply because this little guy may or may not end up on the table as soon as he should and could find his own brand of mischief and there is no neighbor as unhappy as the one that finds your bull in with his cows.

kgchis, I totally disagree with your suggestion that having a bull for a pet is even remotely wise for a beginnner. You may want to research how many people are injured or killed each year by bulls. They don't exactly train like a horse and their reactions can be quite unpredictable. One of the absolute most dangerous and unpredictable bulls I've ever had the misfortune of handling was a bull that had been shown and handled well from the time he was a baby. Unfortunately, when he went out to breed, he would read a human as an equal and competition for his herd and when he came off cows he was even more agressive for a period of time because he was simply cranky. I watched him fling a 250 lb man like he was a rag doll. A well handled sweet dispositioned simmental just crushed a neighbor into pipe fence and the results were quite fatal.

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 :Bawling:

Next time we are getting goats :p

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 :p

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!
:)

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

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)

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."

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....