[Sbom]

A friend of mine has two young (bulling heifer size) Hereford bulls for sale if you wanted to go down that route. She's base on the Staffsordshire /Shropshire border.

[trish.farm]

Herefords (traditional type) have the reputation of being the most docile breed.  Would also give white-faced calves so folks would know what they were getting.  Have you considered AI?

I have AI'd for 2 years running, 1 heifer has refused to get in calf both years after 2 trys each year, Genus chap reckons she needs the real thing!!  had major problems this year as i got all 3 jabbed and PRIDed etc etc, when AI day came around it was a heatwave and none of them took, so had to have them AI'd on a natural heat 3 weeks later at more expense!!

I love Herefords, have a hereford x holstien that i adopted onto one of my girls, he is gorgeous.  Bit worried about the size of head and shoulders for a jersey cow?

[SallyintNorth]

Just back online after a holiday.

Firstly, Jerseys can be tricky to get in calf using AI.  I struggled a lot at first but have got better at it now.  The main thing is to make sure they don't get upset *at all* for a good 6 weeks after insemination - and any change can upset a Jersey, they like routine.

Secondly, we have a superb Angus bull (and I'll tell you what his Jersey x calves are like in about 5 months' time ) - but he was subfertile when we bought him - from one of the top local Angus breeders - at 14 months old.  We had the vet at him, of course, and there was nothing wrong with him at all, he was just immature.  (He was acting the part but firing blanks.  Sperm count *extremely* low.  He's fine now  )  So I would say you absolutely cannot bank on a youngster doing the job, no - and you would definitely need to know that the girls were in calf before you sent him away.

I haven't tried Hereford on mine but Herefords are used on dairy heifers to give them an easy first calving, so it could be a good one to use.  Jerseys have a very wide pelvis so really shouldn't have a problem with a Hereford calf.  (Although I do use AI for a Jersey calf for mine first time, and would use the Angus if I couldn't get them with AI.)

As to disease status, ask your vet.  Up here ours recommends BVD-free for *at least* two years.  You'll have other advice locally, they'll know what's what in your area.

And it's disease status that is the worry with hiring bulls, of course.

I suppose you've already checked what live bulls are around on the farms near you?  When we were struggling to get Hillie in calf for her 2nd, and our bull wasn't yet working, we had lined up that we could walk her along the road to the neighbour's Whitebred Shorthorn if we needed to...

[trish.farm]

Good to have you back online Sally!!   

Spoken to all local cattle breeders and sadly the only Hereford or Angus bulls that are local have a BVD problem on their farms!!  My girls are free from all bugs and the calves i buy in to add on are from a bug free farm!!

Just trying to get my head around what to do next year so i am organised and ready!  Delilah has failed 2 years running with AI and will be 3 1/2 years next year which i imagine is getting on a bit breeding for the first time? Everyone says she needs a proper bull!  Not a genus tech!!

I would like to stick to an Angus as my AA x J bull calf who is now 7 months old is a cracking little chap, someone is already interested in buying him and his adopted mate at weaning later this month.  However, if a Hereford would be easier to deal with  i would go down that route. 

Blimey this is complicated!!

[Cowgirl]

I agree that AI is a real chore - we had no success trying to catch ours bulling and though we have been quite lucky with the CIDR Estrumate GNRH protocol, it's a real bind having to inject them and I hate doing it and so do the cows. Up here people love mating their Jerseys to British Blues and the progeny seem to be quite saleable. If you are set on an Angus watch the temperament (our local vet was telling me they had to shoot one recently because it went berserk and was attacking everyone) and don't assume a yearling bull will be small - some Angus are truly huge (did anyone see the Highland Show winner this year?) Personally I would not contemplate hiring a bull - far too much disease risk. Buy from an established breeder who does not over feed bulls for sale. It depends what you want to pay but the chap who bred our Herefords now has Angus cattle - he lives in Berkshire and his cattle have Elite Health status. It might be worth having a chat with him.

[shygirl]

also from our experience a 6 mth bull is likely to act like a bull not a bullock. you will need a crush for safe handling.

[Cowgirl]

Sorry missed the Charolais thread! Perhaps you've already decided!

[trish.farm]

Hmm, have talked myself out of getting my own bull.  Still undecided on whether to use neighbours Charolais.  Stressing myself out with this!!!! 

[Cowgirl]

I know Jerseys are supposed to be able to calve to just about anything, but a Charolais is a bit worrying!
What to do about a bull is a real problem for people with small numbers of cattle - we have the same problem. We kept our first male calf but of course we still have his mother, and now we have his daughters, so he will have to go soon and be replaced. Your idea of buying a youngster and then selling him on is a good one but financially it's a big commitment - Angus are much more expensive generally than Herefords, but possibly the offspring and the bull himself will sell for more. The disease question makes it worse - a real headache. I sympathise!

[landroverroy]

 Sometimes you get so you can't see the wood for the trees.
So, looking at the facts - you've tried unsucessfully with AI, so you need to use a bull.
I had the same scenario 25 years ago when I first went into cattle. I had 2 Hereford cows and wasn't having much success with AI. So I bought a young 10 month old Hereford bull from a neighbouring breeder. He got the cows in  calf immediately. I used him once more, then sold him for meat and made a nice bit on him.
I've done that every 2 or 3  years since. We now have a lot more cows and the young bulls have never missed one. In fact the last 2 bulls, having seen to my herd have then swum the river to check the cows of a neighbouring farmer. We've had to collect him at the end of the grazing season, and the farmer hasn't minded as his own bull is nothing special, he's had extra help (ie us) to gather his stock, and he's ended up with some very nice white headed calves.
The risk of importing disease is obviously important, but is minimised by buying a young bull that's never been used, from a known source. You don't need a top bull - so can get one for normal store prices, that'll be more than adequate for what you need.
 

[shygirl]

In fact the last 2 bulls, having seen to my herd have then swum the river to check the cows of a neighbouring farmer.

that is my biggest worry, that the bull escapes. ours spends all summer "on guard" at our boundary fence watching the field of bullocks on the neighbouring farm. we have 2 stock fences and a burn to separate them, but im hoping to increase the height of he fence this winter to 5 ft. he stands there even if his cows are quite far away, just watching but  he hasn't looked to jump he fence, even though he could. ours are shetlands so we wouldn't be thanked at all if he got the local beef heifers in-calf.

[landroverroy]

Mine have only done it in the first year while they were still young and thought they could serve everything on 4 legs. So if yours has so far only looked and dreamed, then I don't think he's going to be going anywhere.
Last year we had 2 uninvited bulls get in with our cows. So one of my Hereford heifers ended up with a massive Lim X bull calf that the vet had to drag out, and one of our highlands, on a different site, ended up with a  Lim X heifer.
You can't spend your time worrying about what might happen or you'd never keep any livestock.
You just do your best to prevent the predictible, and if the worst comes to the worst - well stuff happens and it's usually not as bad as you'd feared.
 

[Factotum]

We've put up some electric fence - which seems to work at keeping the bull where we want him.

Before we had that, it was one of our heifers that jumped the fence to join him - she was very 'keen' and he made her very happy - so it's not always the boys that jump...

Sue.

[Paul Sill]

If you wanted to try once more at AI, some local farms and the AI tech we use are suggesting welsh blacks as the most fertile type you can get. We use the scratch card heat detectors too and have found they very good, come in packs of 50 but you can buy small amounts on ebay.

[trawscoed]

I second what landroverroy says, I got a 15 month old dexter bull from a reputable local breeder and he is certainly virile. As well as a big softie, (though i don't let my little boy close to him, just in case). The bull would otherwise have become a steer so I picked him up at a good price. Also, when I went to see him he was certainly showing off his skills so I thought that was a good sign.

Although he is a bull some of our cows are around 6 and seem to dominate him and he is certainly not the pushiest of the herd. I do make sure to always pay him special attention and handle him every time I see him. So far no problems and our cows seem to be in calf now.

If the bull produces some good offspring I may sell him as a breeder but even if he is slaughtered from an economic viewpoint this was certainly the best way to go. If you are considering a bull and want to cross breeds- I assume you won't be gettinga  Jersey bull!- you have to figure out what traits you want to get and go from there.

Good luck