How many here keep a bull for breeding?

[DOlthaus]

I have heard that it isn't worth the trouble to keep a bull. I'm interested in keeping one for breeding. Don't really want to do the AI thing. I rather do things more naturally and I'm interested in keeping the gene pool as large as possible.

I have seen farms with a bull in a separate pen. Doesn't seem to be much trouble. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it just a matter of having enough cows available to keep him occupied and happy?

[menollyrj]

We keep a bull in with the cows. The most important thing is to have a GOOD fence!! Once he figures out how to jump the fence, it is all over...

-JOy

[chukashtamoa]

I thought the same thing. I had just gotten 2 Dexter's in Dec. 06 didn't know about the AI thing. I was new to cattle, how do I find one, can I time it for success? Wouldn't getting a bull be better? Well I got one in March paid 700.00 plus 100.00 for transport and about 85.00 in feed. Not to mention with him and the other 2 on 5 acres of pasture and no rain, well you know the rest yep lets play pasture slap down. LOL after 5 months and with my cows still not bred and no takers for a registered Dexter sire that doesn't through calves he went to the sale barn, cleared 406.00. Well found a AI tech with the shots trying to sinc. the girls for 12.00 and a 35.00 tech fee got one bred and still trying to breed the other. Though you start feeling like a bull every day at feeding, you check the rear. The moral of the story is I should have just got over that I need a bull syndrome.

[DaleK]

We usually keep at least one Holstein bull around but do a lot of AI too, we keep him mostly with the later lactation group to get any that don't catch. Wouldn't recommend anybody getting a bull until they've had some experience with cows, you never want to get too complacent with one or he'll turn you into jam.
There's also no use buying a bull if you're just going to get one from the first breeder you find. My latest bull took me 3 months to find in online and phone searching to find a cow family and a matchup I liked, then a month more to arrange two different trucks to truck him almost 400 miles to get him here. Ended up costing me $2200 which is almost twice what bulls are going for locally but if you aren't willing to spend it on the bull you might as well forget it. He's 20 months old now, he'll probably stay until next fall then I'll replace him. Also if the breeder isn't prepared to sell him as a guaranteed breeder you're wasting your money. This guy got 7 cows confirmed pregnant in his first 3 weeks on the job and the vet's expecting 10-12 more for the next 3 weeks.

[Faith Farm]

We have bulls 24/7, 365 with the brood cows on two farms without
to many problems. My oldest was 8 years old which we took to the sales
barn 2 weeks ago after he suffered a rear leg problem. A son of his is
coming up weighing 700 LBs, to replace him which I hope will produce
good calfs from 15 brood cows. The other bull is a loaner from a neighbor
who has been with the ladies about 3 months now. All 25 brood cows have
been serviced by him which I hope all take. I also have a replacement bull
coming up in this herd also.
My operation depends on a continuous supply of 900 - 1000 LB calfs for
process. A batch of all one weight and age doesn't work for my operation.
The one practice we do is separate young heifer calfs to a separate farm.
I suggest if you have a healthy relationship with a near by cattle farmer,
ask if he will loan you his bull for a few months. You save on the expense
and he has a place to park his bull in between breeding.
Fence jumping can be a problem if there are in heat cows in a near by field.
I've seen 2000+ LB bulls clear two 5 ft fences to get to the girls next door
and one from next door to get to my ladies. Funny thing was, once their
business was done they both returned to their respected fields.
I just bought a 4 way squeeze shoot cattle handling system with an AI
work alley I hope to use to AI cows in the future. The option to add new
blood to my herd @ a reduced cost appeals to me. The home team bull
is always there to clean up. Happy cowboying!

[ksfarmer]

I keep 2 or 3 bulls year round but I try to have one per 25 cows and a 90 day breeding season. When not with the cows they are in a small pasture by themselves.
If I had less than 10 cows, I don't think it would be worth keeping a bull. Better to AI or work something out with a neighbor to borrow or lease a bull. Or joint ownership.
Just remember, the bull represents 50% of your calf crop, so be sure to go quality.

[genebo]

I keep a Dexter bull in with my herd. He not only breeds them, he manages the herd. I don't have to deal with each of them. I call him and he brings them all. It cuts my work load down.

I really enjoy having him around, too. He's such a cool guy.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[OregonGuys]

We keep polled Dexters and we've got a couple of bulls and thoroughly enjoy them. We separate them from the cows for about two months after calving in order to time the next year's calves. When we're ready (Aug 1), we put them in breeding groups depending on our breeding plans. After the cows are all settled, we put everyone back together again. The bulls enjoy each other's company better than the company of cows, once the breeding is done, but do like to be in one big herd together. I like to keep the bulls with the cows as much as possible as the bulls behave much better

I can't imagine life without the bulls. The farm would feel very incomplete. They are my best buddies (I can read them very well and know when to take extra care, which is rare). Breeding is a cinch with Dexter bulls on hand. I might not feel the same with other breeds with their less well-mannered bulls. Another advantage of keeping bulls, is a sense of localized self-sufficiency, which this website is all about.

Here's our younger bull, Cascade's Hotshot, a red polled Dexter yearling:



www.cascademeadowsfarm.com

[DJ in WA]

Originally Posted by DOlthaus

I have heard that it isn't worth the trouble to keep a bull. I'm interested in keeping one for breeding. Don't really want to do the AI thing. I rather do things more naturally and I'm interested in keeping the gene pool as large as possible.

I have seen farms with a bull in a separate pen. Doesn't seem to be much trouble. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it just a matter of having enough cows available to keep him occupied and happy?

As KSFarmer said, it depends on how many cows you have. How many?

And what is your motivation? If you want to be natural, go ahead. And if you only have a couple cows, prepare to waste money. I went with a bull twice for a single cow, but will never do it again. Hurts to feed them for months just for a few minutes of work out of him.

And they like to beat up on things - boys will be boys. Left a wheelbarrow in the pasture one night and found it's crumpled remains the next morning. And they like to butt on the gates and the trees...Finally threw some logs and barrels out there for them to knock around.

But if you need naturality, or it gives you fulfillment, go for it. I've since gone unnatural with AI and am 5 for 5 successful breedings.

[dosthouhavemilk]

We raise up a "clean-up bull" every two to four years. Sometimes we will simply bring in an Angus bull to clean-up.
Our bulls are normally shipped at 15 months old after they have done their jobs...
We raise Jerseys and Jersey/Norwegian Red crosses. We have 40+ fencerow neighbors, are located in the town limits, and simply cannot afford the liability issues related to Jersey bulls once they hit that 18 month mark.
Having said that, there is a 20 month old bull out in the pen with the market wethers. He's been living with the buck and wether herd for the past year. He'll be around a bit longer yet. Quite the little gentleman. Little...he's around 40 inches tall still. Purebred Jersey...very odd. We have not had a chance to use him for breeding and wonder just how successful he will actually be...lol

We use AI and have for many decades. My father was on the Noba board and he and grandfather were very involved in the AI industry when it got up and running.

Now if we were talking goats I would never be without a buck around. But I can toss them. I can't toss a mature bull...well, except this fella. I could toss him but it wouldn't be a smart move...lol

We are currently running less than 50 head of cattle from 10 years old down to 4 months old.

[Ken Scharabok]

With the sale of my last one I plan to stop running a herd bull year round. This year I exchanged use of a harvested corn field to a friend in return for the use of one of his Romanola bulls from mid-May through August. Next year I plan to buy a bull at the livestock sale, keep him for the same period, then take him back to it. My rent will be the difference between purchase and net sale and if I breakeven or lose a couple of bucks, that's fine. Good bulls go through the ring for reasons other than performance and almost always at slaughter prices.

[Dexter_Cattle]

We use a herd bull, but this year 2008 we are going to be using him and doing some AI work. We collected two Dexter Bulls that we plan to use plus a few others. This allows me to have not so many half brothers and sisters as we usually do.

I love our bull "Hotty", he is very very tame and calm and never gets excited about anything. I recommend both. For those not interested in having a bull, we are offering semen from 2 bulls. www.GrandmasDexters.com click on Semen Sales for Pics and info.

I hope that helps.
Dan

[Dutchie]

I keep a bull with my heifers, all Dexters. Not a problem.

[SRobles]

I keep a few bulls on my place just makes it easier on me. They keep the cows all together and as ive seen a few times they protect my calves from wondering dogs

[furholler]

We do. So far he's batting 1000. AI seems kind of hit and miss to me. Bulls are much better at it than humans IMO.

[francismilker]

In my experience, it's a headache keeping a bull with the cows year round unless their heat cycles are staggered out enough to keep him at home. With just a few cows, they usually get their homework done and then head for greener pastures or unbred ladies. (could be just over the fence to the neighbors, or ten miles down the road) If I didn't have at least fifteen cows, I wouldn't keep one around. IMO

[ozark_jewels]

We've always kept bulls. We usually have between 3-6 cows. The bull lives with the cows most of the time and with a dry cow or the steers the few times he can't stay with the herd. We have never had a bull get out and go visiting.

[Ronney]

I too keep a bull to deal with my 9 cows and as I do a split calving it works well for me. For most of the year I can run him with the cows as they are either in calf or needing to be; because my spring calvers are later than most farmers calf here, I lease him out in October/November and he gets home in time to service my cows. Works well for me.

Good fencing, particularly on boundaries where there is likely to be cows or heifers, is a must. You don't score brownie points with the neighbours if your Angus bull impregnates his stud Simmentals My bull has twice gone walk-abouts. The first time he took all the dry cows with him, the second time he went to visit a neighbours bulls. There was no damage in either case but it did reinforce the need for good fencing.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[DOlthaus]

Well, I certainly appreciate all the advice. I think I've decided to borrow a bull for now. AI if that doesn't work out. I might try buying a bull in a few years though. Need new fence first!

Thanks!

[MTplainsman]

I keep 5-6 bulls on hand. If I save back replacement calves, than I am looking at another two! Costly, very, very, costly! I run one 2 yo+ bull per 30 cows. I have a herd a little larger than average "homesteader" status, so I have to have so many bulls to keep around. If I were to have 30 or less cows, and I didn't have alot of extra income, I might make a deal on bull use to save you big money and time. However, I think there is gonna be a new law that makes used bull sales and leasing very expensive and tough to do now. There is a disease test you will have to pay for, if you sell or lease a used bull. I need to learn more about this myself. Research this and weigh your budget to see which way works best for you.