Post by Selden on Feb 6, 2005 6:52:34 GMT -5
Well, Ferdinand is 2 mos. old today. I have been sitting here doing some math. Katika is probably due in late July. (There is a tiny possibility she could be due in mid-May, since she saw the bull in late July -- but she tried mounting me in September so I assume we missed that heat. She went back to the bull in October.) Say she calves July 25. I figure she will probably be cycling again by late September, early October. At this point Ferdy will be 10 mos. old. I am assuming he will be interested but too small to do the job, and that state of affairs will continue until he's at least a year or so old, in early December. (The dairy I got him from told me they use 15-18-month-old bulls.)
I have been reading on the Web about handling young bulls safely and am getting more and more nervous. Luckily the most informative posts are by our own AnnB! Ann, am I nuts? I have a small plot of land and this will not be a situation, like the farmer's where I had Katika bred, where I just turn the cows out on 140 acres and don't interact with them. I will have to lead Ferdinand in and out every day, just as I do with Katika.
Ann's post on Homesteading Today that really gave me pause was : "What you have to remember with ANY bull is that him tossing his head at a fly can kill you. His first show of aggression could easily be fatal to the closest human. NEVER turn your back on ANY bull and NEVER drop your guard for a moment -- no matter how well trained he is, he's still a bull." Will Ferdinand be dangerous pretty much as soon as he reaches adolescence? I had hoped there would be a small window when he was capable of breeding Katika but not yet a menace to me.
Second question, is butchering at 10-12 mos. a ridiculous idea? Or would it be better in terms of meat to castrate him then and raise him out another 8 mos.? (I realize that castrating at 10-12 mos. would be a job for the vet.)
A.I. is impossible here, getting Katika bred at another farm required lots of begging and imposing (finding a farmer, borrowing a trailer numerous times, etc.), not to mention incredible headaches and hours of driving. I had hoped that raising my own bullock would be the answer. But now I'm getting nervous. I certainly would rather beg and impose rather than fatally endanger myself or my family. Please anyone chime in with advice.
Thanks.
Selden
I have been reading on the Web about handling young bulls safely and am getting more and more nervous. Luckily the most informative posts are by our own AnnB! Ann, am I nuts? I have a small plot of land and this will not be a situation, like the farmer's where I had Katika bred, where I just turn the cows out on 140 acres and don't interact with them. I will have to lead Ferdinand in and out every day, just as I do with Katika.
Ann's post on Homesteading Today that really gave me pause was : "What you have to remember with ANY bull is that him tossing his head at a fly can kill you. His first show of aggression could easily be fatal to the closest human. NEVER turn your back on ANY bull and NEVER drop your guard for a moment -- no matter how well trained he is, he's still a bull." Will Ferdinand be dangerous pretty much as soon as he reaches adolescence? I had hoped there would be a small window when he was capable of breeding Katika but not yet a menace to me.
Second question, is butchering at 10-12 mos. a ridiculous idea? Or would it be better in terms of meat to castrate him then and raise him out another 8 mos.? (I realize that castrating at 10-12 mos. would be a job for the vet.)
A.I. is impossible here, getting Katika bred at another farm required lots of begging and imposing (finding a farmer, borrowing a trailer numerous times, etc.), not to mention incredible headaches and hours of driving. I had hoped that raising my own bullock would be the answer. But now I'm getting nervous. I certainly would rather beg and impose rather than fatally endanger myself or my family. Please anyone chime in with advice.
Thanks.
Selden