Care of growing bull

[wendle]

After a failed AI, and a few more cows acquired I decided to get a bull. He is a Dexter.
Is it better to keep him tame? Halter broke? Or keep that little bit of fear of people in him? Right now he is 4 months old and friendly. Both his parents are calm, even the sire at 6 years old.
I typically use a dog to move the cows so I'm not worried as much about how to get him moved from place to place as keeping his attitude decent. Well decent for a bull.

[G. Seddon]

I think that temperament is one of THE most important characteristics; but a bull is a bull is a bull and you must be on your toes, no matter what breed. Personally, I want ours to be approachable, because it makes life easier when applying fly stuff, dewormer, etc. I never touch his head. I never get in his space when there's a cow in heat or when he's eating. If you plan to halter break him, do it while he's small (now). Short lessons for short attention spans, LOL.

If you have any handling facilities or smaller enclosures and you plan to feed him anything special, it's helpful to get him in the habit of coming into that area or walking through the chute and headgate (without closing it) before he gets his treat so that if you NEED to at some point in time, he will not be reluctant to go there. He may hesitate the first few times but will learn quickly.

I taught our previous bull to back up on command ("BACK"); he learned that fast and never forgot it. He had to back up before he got his bucket.

Your little red guy looks nice! Good luck with him.