5 Rules for Living with Bulls

[Chixarecute]

Five Rules for Living with Bulls

If you are going to use bulls on the dairy farm, then everyone must know and adhere to these five rules, stresses Michael Overton, veterinarian at the University of California-Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare.

Failure to do so could lead to accidents or even loss of life.

1. Treat every bull as if he’s a known killer, especially Jersey bulls.

2. Never turn your back on a bull.

3. Always have an escape plan in mind before entering a pen with
a bull.

4. Look for and report to management any warning signs of aggression, such as pawing, head down, or sideways stance.

5. Beef him at the first sign of a problem or at 2.5 years of age — whichever comes first.

- Dairy Herd Management



What's that line from the old Hill Street Blues tv show? "Stay safe out there."

[ginny63]

I have reg. Dexter cows and plan on breeding them to my neighbor's reg. mini Jersey bull. Is a mini Jersey have the same temperment as a regular Jersey bull? I am doing my neighbors chores while they are on vacation and I watch him close, but I will have him here for 3 months starting June 1st. I am always careful around bulls, but I have always heard about Jersey bulls, they go beserk for no reason.

[Chixarecute]

I think AI came about because of the safety factor more so than the improved genetics factor. I've never kept a bull, and DH's family was doing AI for years before we married in 1983.

Just remember that every bull is a potentially dangerous situation. A small bull can injure/kill you just as easily as a large one. You can't go wrong by assuming they are dangerous. Making the opposite assumption...

Make sure any kids at your place know the rules and never, ever, allow them in by the bull. Others here have mentioned to never pet them on the top of the head, around the ears or poll - teaches them to lower their head (charging position). If you must, scratch them under the chin for a treat.

Enjoy those little calves that will be coming along!

[rancher1913]

thats why most dairy's around here do AI and then use a angus clean up bull, much safer and easier, only downside is sometimes you get a crossbred hefier instead of a dairy hefier.

[Cheryl aka JM]

I'm hoping to use AI because I'm afraid to keep a bull~ and I haven't found anyone with a bull who will let me pay a stud fee and run my two heifers with their cows for a few months. I tried to talk a local guy into it~ but all he wanted to do was sell me a "really nice" jersey bull. Nope~ I'll take my chances with AI then.

[francismilker]

Originally Posted by ginny63

I have reg. Dexter cows and plan on breeding them to my neighbor's reg. mini Jersey bull. Is a mini Jersey have the same temperment as a regular Jersey bull? I am doing my neighbors chores while they are on vacation and I watch him close, but I will have him here for 3 months starting June 1st. I am always careful around bulls, but I have always heard about Jersey bulls, they go beserk for no reason.

Yes they do. In some cases worse. I think they have "little man" or "napolean" syndrome.

[Shoupie]

This ought to make you cringe

Friendly Mini Bull

[deineria]

This ought to make you cringe

Friendly Mini Bull

I had understood that it is mainly the dairy bulls that are most dangerous. . .

[Ed Norman]

I worked for a guy who kept a Holstein bull and it broke his back. He lived, the bull didn't.

[tyusclan]

Originally Posted by Shoupie

This ought to make you cringe

Friendly Mini Bull

Yep, that's a disaster waiting to happen.

Originally Posted by deineria

I had understood that it is mainly the dairy bulls that are most dangerous. . .

As a rule, dairy bulls are more aggressive than beef breeds, but that doesn't mean beef bulls are completely safe.

Several years ago I borrowed my friend's beef bull to breed my Jersey cow. When I got ready to load him up to take him back he turned on me in the small pen going into the chute. I had a stockman's can, and walloped him a good one across the nose. He shook his head, bellowed and came again. I hit him again, and turned him that time. It was a good thing too, cause my cane broke with that lick. I don't know what I would've done if he'd come at me again.

[Up North]

We have another rule here. Don't befriend a bull. I'd much rather have them standoffish and keep away from me instead of coming up for scratches.

[Eunice]

Thanks for posting this thread. It cannot be said too often, and then there is always a person that thinks his bull is the exception. Sorry, no exceptions. I have worked around cattle for over forty years, mostly on dairies, heard the stories, seen what can happen. Bulls are a necessary part of the business, but I sure like to see them at an AI facility rather than on the farm.

[Madsaw]

There is a few misconceptions in this thread.
First off AI came about due to the abillity to increase ones gentic base in the herd with out have to wait yrs to try differnt bulls. The dairy cattle we have today are a good indicator of that. Just think of all the different bulls you would have to have on a farm to try to get different traits to come out in different cows.
Secondly I beleive bulls raised on a cow that is worked with will be a calmer less aggressive bull. This is also proven by some UV study indicateing bulls raised that way.
We sell any bulls at a young age if they have much of a attitude when we enter the pasture or pens. By this I mean even before they are yearlings. Also raiseing bulls out of docile cows helps too.
Does it work? Yes, we have raised and sold and used many bulls over the yrs. The worst bull we had was a bull from a AI'ed cow. He was plumb nasty by the time he was 5. Right now we have a young bull with the heifers and a young er one waiting to take over the cow herd. Our old one is getting ready to retire this yr. Our oldest bull we had we keep with the dry cows in his last yrs. He was 15 when he died. He saved my skin twice from the nasty AI bull twice in a few months before he shipped out to freezer camp.
What I have learned over the yrs is the way they are raised and handled is how they react to human interaction in the herd. Our bulls now could careless if your working around the cows. But, never forget a bull is in the pasture and keep that in mind.
As to beef being calmer then dairy. The worst bulls I have every seen are black angus, jersey and a brown swiss. I have yet to see a calm angus, for the most part they are always tearing at the fence trying like mad to get to you. Jerseys I just refuse to raise. They are too high strung. Brown swiss are just like a old switzer. Slow to anger but when they do watch out.
Bob

[ozark_jewels]

We have always had Jersey bulls and with respect and rules, we haven't had any problems. When a bull gets too much attitude, they become freezer beef.

Having kept some till six years of age, I disagree with the last *rule*. Every bull is different.
Using Jersey bulls on Holstien cows, we can't automatically butcher them at 2.5 years of age. By that time, they are just tall enough to reach our tallest cows.
Not to mention at 2.5 years of age, you haven't any idea how his daughters are turning out yet.

My brother-in-law was rolled by his Fresian bull.

My friend had a killer Angus bull.

Anyone who doesn't have respect for something like this is just crazy.

[deineria]

I have also read the studies about removing them from the dam and not allowing them to be raised by the mother in the field being a large reason way they become such a threat.

[springvalley]

We abide by the rule "Don't mess with the bull!" And that means from birth! We don't pet them, we don't stroke them, we don't even 'coo' to them. We save all the fawning over for the heifers. But this is true with almost all of our animals. We treat our rams and billy goats the same. You start messing with their heads and this is an invitation for them to push back as that's what they do to determine who's the boss. First agressive move on their part, however, and I'm darn sure they'll know who's the boss when I'm done. They have to back down. Starts out when they're young and get a swat on the nose. Tells them to back off and respect my space. If I ever feel like I can't get the upper hand, they're in the freezer.

I still remember Marc's face.... We had angus at the time and just bought a new bull. We found out right away that he truly hated red or blast jackets that make that rustling sound. Anyway, he had gotten out of the paddock where we had the cows and Marc and I went into the pasture to round them up. He went right back to the cows and was standing quietly by the gate to be let back in. I crossed the creek and started around him, giving wide birth, when he put his head down, snorted and pawed the ground. Immediately I thought of my options... hope I could make it to the other gate and over it before he got me? Nope. I'm not that fast. Jump into the creek? Nope. He loves water and would drown me. So I puffed myself up as big as I could, reaching out and above my head and on my tippie toes, GROWLED as low and loud as I could.... and CHARGED HIM!!! I don't know what possessed me to do it, but it caught him off guard and he backed out of my way. He must have realized that I truly was possessed!! When I glanced at Marc, he had the biggest eyes popping out of his head!!! tee hee... Of course I had to go change my pants.... sigh...

-Catherine

[ErinP]

huh...

I guess I've worked bulls often enough that I'm not really anymore afraid of them than any other animal. But then, I'd never turn my back on a cow either, particularly if she has a calf on her. Probably just from greater opportunity, I've been nearly run over by a heck of a lot more cows than I have bulls...

Usually when we're semen testing bulls (a couple dozen at a time), I usually get stuck helping keeping the tub/alley full. When working bulls, you have to have enough nerve to crowd them up, but know when to back off, too.

I guess like anything else, you have to have experience to not only know how to read the animal, but also know your own limitations. My husband will charge a bull closer than I because he knows he can vault the corral fence. Me, not so much... lol
But at the same time, when we have one trying to climb out of the tub, I won't hesitate to beat on him with the sortin' stick either.

So far as breeds, I dunno... For the most part, my direct experience has only been with Angus and Herefords. Every ranch we've been on has had 30-100 bulls (a couple were purebred breeders)
Herefords seem to be, in general, more laid back than Angus. But I can't say that I've ever seen one "tearing at the fence trying like mad to get to you" , either.

I will say, from what I've seen, one bull by himself tends to cause a whole lot more trouble than 2 or 3 of them turned out together...

[ErinP]

PS: So far as making them into pets, that is a disaster waiting to happen. I too, have known entirely too many people who had a pet bull that hurt their owner.
Worse, we had a neighbor in SD who had a pet buffalo steer. They were working buffalo one day and that steer ran through the gate, shook his head playfully at his owner, and hooked him with a horn.
It ripped him from his sternum up to his collarbone. His wife had him wrapped in a blanket to hold everything in while waiting for the EMTs. He died once they got to the ER.

[SFM in KY]

I grew up on a Montana ranch, we had Herefords and Angus bulls. We did not raise our bulls, we bought them from purebred breeders ... Herefords and then some Angus when the black baldies got popular.

Most of our cows were Herefords, later with some black baldies. They were reasonable to handle though e did handle them mostly horseback rather than on foot, other than sorting them in the corrals for branding or weaning/shipping.

Generally speaking the bulls were "manageable", again mostly worked horseback. We did not get careless around any of them however, especially when they were kept up in the corrals, separated from the cows, during the winter.

Nastiest bulls we ever had were both Angus. With one of them, the rule was you never went in the corral without taking a pitchfork with you and my Dad used it a couple of times. Another one would even charge a rider if he got hot and mad when you were moving cattle.

Those are the only two breeds I've had any experience with, but I would never trust one, ever, of any breed.

[shiandpete.1]

My husband and I delivered hay to a couple who had a "pet" heifer buffalo. They were all proud of how sweet she was but she scared me because I could see a disaster in the making.