When to breed a bull and do you have to...
 

As green I am and trying to learn here…I have the following questions…If I get a Zebu bull calf.... for how long could he be ok with the company of a steer and when does he really need a woman ?
I only like to start breeding the bull after 3 or 4 years as that is the time for us to retire and we can be permanent at our little ranch.
Would that be possible?

As long as they get along, you can keep them together for ever. Never "really" needs a woman. However, I would stay out of the way when he does get one.:D

LOL...:bouncy:Some additional questions:
1) How long can a Zebu bull be on its own without any company?
2) Can you breed a Zebu bull with a low line Angus and what is the meat like?
3) Could you have one Zebu bull with one cow or do you need more females for him?

You really are green if you think appropriate company will be a woman! He'd definitely need a cow or heifer.

I don't know much about Zebu cattle (I assume you are talking about miniature Zebu?), but cattle are herd animals, so they like to be in a herd.

If you want to raise beef then you are better off getting a beef breed. Meat quality had as much to do with what they are eating and how fast they are growing as the breed.

Usually a bull can handle as many cows as he is old in months (up to a point), 18 month old bull should be able to handle 18 cows, 30 month old bull can handle 30 cows. About the maximum an older bull can handle is probably somewhere around 40 cows in a tight breeding season.

:clap::clap:

As a herd animal, a bull needs a companion animal, so 1 bull, 1 steer together should keep each other company.

HOWEVER, a bull is still a bull and breeding cows is what he lives for. So, if you have this lonely bull just standing around waiting for you to retire and get him a cow, meanwhile your neighbors have cows that he can smell.......you see where this is going? Those instincts are powerful. You would need strong fencing, probably electric. Your bull will be frustrated and that could make him turn mean, be dangerous.

It's just not a great idea to keep a bull "on ice" for 3 or 4 years until you are ready for him. Wait to get one until you are ready.

General rule of thumb, one bull needed per 25 cows. So keeping one bull and one cow together as a "couple" is applying human behavior to cattle. If you just want a cow or two, you don't need to keep a bull at all. Use AI, borrow/lease a bull, board the cows during breeding season where there is a bull to service them, etc. Bulls make poor pets and expensive pets. They can be dangerous, they are harder on facilities, etc.

Zebu are not really miniature...they are small by nature. Miniatures are breed miniature.... Zebu’s are not.
I understand they are herd animals ..that’s why I want a steer with the bull for company.
I have a very small pasture of 4 acres what I will expand to 6 later so normal size cows would not be a good idea.
Yes I want eventually raise for beef and like to do that when I retire in 3 or 4 years by raising my own babies but in the meantime I like to have something on the land till than.Zebu is great for a small and poor area without decent grass and easy to maintain on feed. Beef steer miniatures I can simply not afford and find them also not economic for that purpose think you better of breeding them and selling them than eating in my opinion.So the thinking is to have a Zebu crossing with a low line angus in a later stage and was hoping that would give a better kind of meat than Zebu and more eatable while maintaining a small cow cross breed for a small pasture and used to hot Texas weather.
The question for me is not to know how many woman he can handle but how many he need to handle minimum to stay happy and useful.Anyway…this is my beginners’ theory about it and open to all suggestions to learn…

Think this makes sense so it might not be a good idea and I would be better of buying 2 mini steers. Shame that they are so darn expensive and you better of buying the meat LOL...I am just worried that my size of pasture is not big enough for 2 full size steers.

I would wait until I was ready for a small herd, instead of getting a bull to keep alone. They will not do well, and will find a way out of just about any pen. I would get a couple of steers, you might look into Dexter steers, they butcher well.

Think ya’all are right…having a bull was not a good idea.I can not afford just for raising beef to have a couple of mini steers and believe I am way better of buying the meat.I may have to wait 4 years till I can breed myself unless someone can convince me what to do with that empty pasture of almost 6 acres.
Thanks for all the reply’s and good advice…

I would never try to breed a bull but maybe that's just me.... I did have a vet that preg checked a bull once, he still hangs his head in shame, although at least he said he wasn't bred

:goodjob:

LOILOLOL, who was the most surprised, the bull or the vet? :pound:

Things happen with Canadian vets .......:spinsmiley:

They were both somewhat displeased

I can just hear some ol cowboy saying "lets run the bull through and see if Doc notices"....

Sometimes a bull and a steer can become really good friends. To the extent that I might remind you, often the "teaser animal" for collecting bulls for artificial insemination, is a steer. There have been cases where a bull has become injured when kept with a steer, particularly if the steer is larger and decides he doesn't want to be that kind of friend. (Think sudden direction change here, snap, ouch). If you decide to get steers now, and if you keep one around, later, when you get cows, a steer can be used as a heat indicator for doing AI. They can't reach the pedals, but they still sit behind the wheel, so to speak. But another cow would work just as well. Just saying, if you start with only one cow, don't send your steers to the butcher, till after she's bred if you go the AI, no bull, route.

How about a young heifer or two. Young ones should be inexpensive, will eat down the pasture for now and then in a couple of years they'd be ready to breed.
You could then decide if you want to get a bull or just AI them. She will keep your steer company in the mean time. We have dexters and well we think they are great. Not too
expensive especially if you go with unregistered. We like them in red with no horns.

As long as your pasture is somewhat decent I see no reason why you couldn't pasture at least one if not two full size steers just fine. 4 acres of decent pasture should feed two animals with no problem.
Also, my husband hauls bulls for a living, his boss raises real nice bulls, and with only a small herd to breed I don't think you want to mess with keeping a bull. They're dangerous, unpredictable, and even with a small breed they're strong enough to seriously injure or kill you. They are not pets. They are not to be trusted. They are 2000+ lbs of raging hormones. AI could be considered more work, but it's worlds safer, especially for a novice cattleman. And if you're asking these kind of questions, in my opinion you don't have the experience to deal with a bull yet.

Thanks for all the GREAT advice..you guys rock and as I already said ...the plan of the bull is of the table. Where I am at in Texas any pasture does not fit the label “decent” with the draught we are in so it will always be a struggle for any cow.I really like hickerbillywife’s comment what gives me hope.I may should try one steer and one heifer instead. Yes I am definitely a beginner and here to learn from you guys in many ways. Also my English you have to bare as it is for me a second language what is far from perfect but hey whom is………??

dirkwood, if hay isn't too pricey in your area, I would get a couple of steers and keep them in hay if your field can't feed them. The manure and uneaten hay will help get the field/soil in better shape. Every year you do this your field/soil/grass should be improving. Get a cattle panel and hook it to the back of your riding lawn mower/4-wheeler/truck/tractor and drag it around the field occasionally to bust up the manure piles. If your fencing is adequate, sheep or goats are an option to (no need to drag the fields). Even if you don't eat them, they are bringing a good price. Take the money from selling them and buy you some beef.

Thanks Melissa....sheep are difficult here...they all get some sort of a parasite and get sick and goats would ruin the pasture I have worked on for a few years without animals on it.(I did had a couple of Donkeys before that)After them I have been cultivating with a real one, seeding and fertilizing so now I have for Texas standards a good pasture en will try to keep it like that. I think dividing my pasture and rotational grazing will do fine for 2 Dexter's so going to be trying that as soon I got all the fencing and gates done.