[hayzor]

We're raising a jersey bull calf for beef. He's about 2 months old. We bought him from a dairy, and the seller told me he was too young to castrate, but didn't tell me when the "right" time was. When is the best time to do it and what is the best method?
I'm a do it yourselfer, but I don't want to get into more than I can handle (with the castration anyway). Should I have a vet do it?

Thanks

 

[Happy Jack]

.
You can use a special rubber band when they are two or three days old harder to do at 2 months old because it is hard to get a rubber band over it. Make sure you get both nuts below the rubber band, and do not push the rubber band up to close to his body, because when the bag and nuts fall off in a few weeks there will not be enough hide to heal back together, and there will be a big hole in his belly.

Now you have a big problem which is hard for a vet to fix.

If you can hold him some how you can cut the bottom third of the bag off so the fluids, water, and blood will drain, and pull each nut out one at a time until the cords break up inside of him. Make sure you put disinfectant on the bag

It is getting close to fly season, and flies will put maggots on his raw bag if you wait to long to do it.

If you don't know what you are doing or don't know someone who does it would be better to get a vet to do it.
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[james dilley]

if your going to use him for freezer beef why cut him at all the meat is still tender up to 18 months if you don't plus theres less fat cover .

 

[hayzor]

I've heard that jersey bulls can be pretty mean. When do the hormones kick in and he starts acting like a bull? Also, when is a good time to put him in the freezer - Is it weight or age or both that should determine?

 

[Happy Jack]

If you leave him as a bull and there are any cows close enought for him to here when they ball he will probably go through your fence and go do his business.
And the neighbor will not like it and you could be sued, because the wrong bull bread their cows.

Be carefull with him around yourself and children. He is getting old enough to climb on ther backs and hurt them now, if they bend over or squat down playing around him.

 

[uncle Will in In.]

You can also clamp them. The clamp has a set of jaws with wide ends that squeeze together on the bag severing the cords, but doesn't cut the bag. It has a pair of handles about 20 inches long. The nuts eventually dry up and the bag shrinks up. No open wound.

 

[SHELBY]

We banded all of ours at 2 months and didn't have any problems with open wounds. Banding is easy even if you have never done it before... We have also left a few of them bulls and have raised them to about a year old and have good tasting meat..Around a year old we would get about 500 lbs of meat....It all depends on how you feed them too on how much gain you get.....All bulls should never be completely trusted even when presumed to be "PETS" Always be on the look out for that one day when they will tear after you no matter how big they are. Not only bulls though even a good sized heifer can make you run for the hills....

 

[Sarah J]

We banded our Holstein bull a few days ago...he was born in mid-January. We actually "cheated" and distracted him by giving him a *bottle* - he was so overjoyed to have a bottle again that he completely ignored what I was doing behind him! :haha: I don't think he's noticed to this day. It's quite easy - the hardest part is pushing the testicles through the band opening since they are a bit bigger at that age!

Sarah