Post by milkmaid on Jan 3, 2016 10:04:03 GMT -5
>>I do not have all cross breed calves. I have calves that I bought from dairies.<<
>>I have a holstein/hereford cross, 8 months old.<<
Um.....? That is a crossbred bull. Cross between two breeds. And not just that, a cross between two completely opposite types of cattle (dairy vs beef).
People who are attempting to improve their herd, whether they have one cow or ten thousand, use purebred animals of known genetics with some expectation of the offspring's quality, birthweight, appearance, milking ability or beef, etc. People with one poorly managed cow in the backyard who is frequently not healthy, underweight, 500 days in milk, etc - those are the people who buy crossbred bulls. And I've seen those bulls on craigslist when they're resold, and they are scrawny, scruffy, potentially disease ridden and parasite infested.....
Do you really want to sell your calves to those type of homes?
Do your cattle, your family, and your community a favor. Castrate your bull calves. They need to have an incredibly good reason to be breeding quality, and possession of two testicles is not an adequate reason. Cattle, dogs, horses, etc do not need to breed or reproduce to have a fulfilling life.
People who raise and sell bulls for breeding actually do more than simply... not castrate. (Who would have thought? *sarcasm*) They vaccinate, semen test, trich test if required in their state, and feed correctly so that the bulls are an appropriate size and weight at the correct age - and fertile. This "I can't imagine them with a band around their nuts" and "I hope they have the chance to breed before they're put in the freezer" reasoning for trying to sell them as bulls to some other misinformed person is absurd.
If you're going to ask questions like that.... you will get answers like you've gotten. What you do with the information is up to you.
>>I have a holstein/hereford cross, 8 months old.<<
Um.....? That is a crossbred bull. Cross between two breeds. And not just that, a cross between two completely opposite types of cattle (dairy vs beef).
People who are attempting to improve their herd, whether they have one cow or ten thousand, use purebred animals of known genetics with some expectation of the offspring's quality, birthweight, appearance, milking ability or beef, etc. People with one poorly managed cow in the backyard who is frequently not healthy, underweight, 500 days in milk, etc - those are the people who buy crossbred bulls. And I've seen those bulls on craigslist when they're resold, and they are scrawny, scruffy, potentially disease ridden and parasite infested.....
Do you really want to sell your calves to those type of homes?
Do your cattle, your family, and your community a favor. Castrate your bull calves. They need to have an incredibly good reason to be breeding quality, and possession of two testicles is not an adequate reason. Cattle, dogs, horses, etc do not need to breed or reproduce to have a fulfilling life.
People who raise and sell bulls for breeding actually do more than simply... not castrate. (Who would have thought? *sarcasm*) They vaccinate, semen test, trich test if required in their state, and feed correctly so that the bulls are an appropriate size and weight at the correct age - and fertile. This "I can't imagine them with a band around their nuts" and "I hope they have the chance to breed before they're put in the freezer" reasoning for trying to sell them as bulls to some other misinformed person is absurd.
If you're going to ask questions like that.... you will get answers like you've gotten. What you do with the information is up to you.