Post by MaineGal on Apr 9, 2010 13:38:36 GMT -5
Hi Folks,
Not sure if I am posting this in the right section, so please forgive me if I'm not.
I also have to admit, right up front, that I'm embarrassed to be asking these questions at this point in time....... I did not do my homework!
My questions are about our bull.
We've had him since last June when he was 3 days old, he's now 10 months. He's a Jersey/Holstein, approximately 500 lbs.
When he was given to me, of course he was absolutely beautiful and I fell in love with his big brown eyes. I put him in the back of our mini van and drove him to our home.
When I pulled into the drive way and unloaded him, my DH came walking up from the field and said, "WHAT IS THAT??"....................Of course he knew what it was, what he really meant to say is: "What are you doing with that???"
I had to convince him that it was a very special gift that would eventually fill our freezer, and I just could not bring him back. Besides.......look how cute he is!
At that point, the kids came walking up and they started fawning over him and there was just no way that Daddy could turn him away.
I should tell you now that neither of us had any experience with a cow.......(that's what we called him...........see I told you we had no experience! And needless to say, I've made some mistakes along the way.
Fast forward 10 months..................He's not little anymore and he's now very aggressive. Almost over night.
The first mistake that I made was that I did not plan and be sure to have adequate fencing for him. The day we got him, we put him in our back yard which is right outside our kitchen windows. (We loved to watch him and feed him treats thru the window......bad, bad mistake! He now thinks he's at a drive thru window and I have to keep all the blinds down so that he can't see us..... If he can see us, he's at the window mooing like crazy. My fear is that he might come thru the window!)
Anyway, the fencing in that part of the yard is simply old, wooden privacy fencing......but at the time it didnt seem to be a concern. He was just little. Now, after wintering over in that back yard, I hold my breath every day because if he leans on the fence, it is going to give way and he will be loose.
Two weeks ago, we built a much larger, new pen for him, down in the pasture with 5 ft cattle panels. We have tried to move him, but he's wild and dangerous...bucking, kicking, snorting and just to big for us to manage.....
Thankfully we were able to get him back in the old wooden fenced area, and said, "whew! That was scary!" My heart was pounding out of my chest.
We've talked with a few people that know bulls, and they've offered a few different suggestions on how to move him (tie him to the bumper of the car with only a 2-3 foot lead so that he cant rear up, put a ring in his nose, etc., etc.) I was not comfortable with any of those suggestions simply because I'm scared to death of him now...... He's not the same little guy that I brought home! And he obviously knows he is the boss!
Anyway, to make a long story short, we consulted our vet who is coming tomorrow morning to castrate him. He will anesthetize him, hog tie his feet, castrate him and then we can lift him up onto our utility trailer and move him with the four wheeler into his new pasture, all while he is under anesthesia. It seems, at this point, it is the safest way to get him there without traumatizing him or having anyone get hurt.
My questions are:
1~At what age is a bull normally castrated? (We didnt do it when he was young because we were told he would not grow well................ We totally overlooked the fact that he would become so aggressive that we couldnt handle him!)
2~Do you think it would be wise to have the vet put a nose ring in him tomorrow as well? (We dont plan to move him again.......the mobile butcher will come out in October and will slaughter him right here.)
3~Do you think the castration is going to be effective in calming him down? (Vet says it will take 6-8 weeks before the testosterone is out of his system, and then we should see a difference in him.)
4~Do most of you dehorn your bulls when they are young? (We did not, and I regret that.)
5~ Finally.......do you think the cattle panels will be sufficient to hold him in his new pen? They're mounted on 8 foot cedar posts that are 3 feet in the ground. I ask because I feel it is wise to run hot wire as well.
OK, I think that's it for now.
I recognize I've made a lot of mistakes....... I've learned my lesson.
Thanks in advance for any advice you might be willing to share.
Blessings,
MaineGal
Not sure if I am posting this in the right section, so please forgive me if I'm not.
I also have to admit, right up front, that I'm embarrassed to be asking these questions at this point in time....... I did not do my homework!
My questions are about our bull.
We've had him since last June when he was 3 days old, he's now 10 months. He's a Jersey/Holstein, approximately 500 lbs.
When he was given to me, of course he was absolutely beautiful and I fell in love with his big brown eyes. I put him in the back of our mini van and drove him to our home.
When I pulled into the drive way and unloaded him, my DH came walking up from the field and said, "WHAT IS THAT??"....................Of course he knew what it was, what he really meant to say is: "What are you doing with that???"
I had to convince him that it was a very special gift that would eventually fill our freezer, and I just could not bring him back. Besides.......look how cute he is!
At that point, the kids came walking up and they started fawning over him and there was just no way that Daddy could turn him away.
I should tell you now that neither of us had any experience with a cow.......(that's what we called him...........see I told you we had no experience! And needless to say, I've made some mistakes along the way.
Fast forward 10 months..................He's not little anymore and he's now very aggressive. Almost over night.
The first mistake that I made was that I did not plan and be sure to have adequate fencing for him. The day we got him, we put him in our back yard which is right outside our kitchen windows. (We loved to watch him and feed him treats thru the window......bad, bad mistake! He now thinks he's at a drive thru window and I have to keep all the blinds down so that he can't see us..... If he can see us, he's at the window mooing like crazy. My fear is that he might come thru the window!)
Anyway, the fencing in that part of the yard is simply old, wooden privacy fencing......but at the time it didnt seem to be a concern. He was just little. Now, after wintering over in that back yard, I hold my breath every day because if he leans on the fence, it is going to give way and he will be loose.
Two weeks ago, we built a much larger, new pen for him, down in the pasture with 5 ft cattle panels. We have tried to move him, but he's wild and dangerous...bucking, kicking, snorting and just to big for us to manage.....
Thankfully we were able to get him back in the old wooden fenced area, and said, "whew! That was scary!" My heart was pounding out of my chest.
We've talked with a few people that know bulls, and they've offered a few different suggestions on how to move him (tie him to the bumper of the car with only a 2-3 foot lead so that he cant rear up, put a ring in his nose, etc., etc.) I was not comfortable with any of those suggestions simply because I'm scared to death of him now...... He's not the same little guy that I brought home! And he obviously knows he is the boss!
Anyway, to make a long story short, we consulted our vet who is coming tomorrow morning to castrate him. He will anesthetize him, hog tie his feet, castrate him and then we can lift him up onto our utility trailer and move him with the four wheeler into his new pasture, all while he is under anesthesia. It seems, at this point, it is the safest way to get him there without traumatizing him or having anyone get hurt.
My questions are:
1~At what age is a bull normally castrated? (We didnt do it when he was young because we were told he would not grow well................ We totally overlooked the fact that he would become so aggressive that we couldnt handle him!)
2~Do you think it would be wise to have the vet put a nose ring in him tomorrow as well? (We dont plan to move him again.......the mobile butcher will come out in October and will slaughter him right here.)
3~Do you think the castration is going to be effective in calming him down? (Vet says it will take 6-8 weeks before the testosterone is out of his system, and then we should see a difference in him.)
4~Do most of you dehorn your bulls when they are young? (We did not, and I regret that.)
5~ Finally.......do you think the cattle panels will be sufficient to hold him in his new pen? They're mounted on 8 foot cedar posts that are 3 feet in the ground. I ask because I feel it is wise to run hot wire as well.
OK, I think that's it for now.
I recognize I've made a lot of mistakes....... I've learned my lesson.
Thanks in advance for any advice you might be willing to share.
Blessings,
MaineGal