Scruffy Bull

[InvalidID]

About a month ago I bought 3 more bull calves. These were Holsteins and look pretty good so far. Well, one of them (T-Bone) has a really scruffy coat. He's the largest by far, is fairly meaty looking (for a Holstein) and is really friendly. So my question, why would he have longer fur than his brothers? And how can I make him appear less scruffy?

[mozarkian]

Has he been wormed? Their coat can get pretty rough looking if they are needing it.

[InvalidID]

Ahh, good call. I haven't wormed any of them yet. Thing is he doesn't look that rough, it's like his fur is longer than the others. Is there a long haired Holstein breed I'm unaware of? I'm pretty new to Holsteisn, and cattle in general really.
Also, they all seem to have some red in them. Mostly around their faces. Could it be there's some other breed in there somewhere?

[G. Seddon]

Red might indicate copper deficiency. Do they have free choice loose minerals (not a mineral block, loose)? In addition to deworming, this will improve their overall well-being.

I'm not aware of any long-haired Holsteins. Maybe some Scottish Highland in the woodpile?

Are you going to have them castrated or banded? Most dairy bulls are notoriously ill-tempered.

[tinknal]

I would agree with worming and minerals, but most bottle calves seem to go through this scruffy stage after weaning.

[InvalidID]

They have a block, but my soil came back really good for everything except selenium. I suppose it is possible this guy was a little deficient when I got him as he was eating an old stump from day one. I bought a block and he licked it a bunch for awhile, but after being out on decent pasture he stopped.
I wasn't thinking worms because they are all putting on good weight, but maybe it could be better?

Tink, this guy is the largest and SHOULD be weened already but he's not. He came in a group of three so I left him on the same schedule as his brothers. Oh well, 2 more weeks and they'll all be done.

Also, how do you guys choose a dairy bull? Scruffy I think ends up in my freezer, but his two brother both look pretty nice to me. I have to decide which keeps his jewels and which gets to be the stud and I'm having a hard time picking between them. I'm sure temperament is a big deal as well but both are pretty friendly. The bigger of the two seems a little friendlier though as he'll walk up and rub on ya and follow you around, even if there's no food being offered.

[G. Seddon]

Do you have a lot of cows to breed? I'm not able to advise you on which one to keep intact, but please do not let any of them rub their heads on you or rub them near their heads; it invites dangerous behavior.

[Valmai]

What breed of cows do you have and how old are they? Holstiens are big and produce big babies. Should you be looking for a smaller breed bull to put over your cows?