The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Cattle => Topic started by: BrimwoodFarm on January 09, 2019, 07:24:43 pm
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Hello all,
I'm a livestock manager for a public farm park and we have a couple of bull calves. I really don't have much cattle experience so I'm hoping for some advice/tips from you!
They're about a year old now. Still intact Holstein Freisans, and generally very friendly cows. However, they're at an age that they're becoming rather baulchy and are large enough to do damage if they wanted...or even accidentally. I know I'll probably have to split them soon and send both, or one, to market to prevent hostility towards each other but is there anything I can do in the meantime to make them understand that we, the keepers, are boss?
As I say, they're friendly to a point but because they're so used to people, they'll happily come and pin you up against a gate as they're trying to take the bucket out of your hands. They don't have nose rings - I'm not sure how effective that would be in getting them to back off?
Any ideas/tips/handling advice greatly appreciated.
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You have 2 Holstein fresian bulls on an open farm?????
Accident waiting to happen!!!
The friendlier they are the more dangerous they will be...market ASAP and next time get them castrated as calves so you can keep them longer.
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You have 2 Holstein fresian bulls on an open farm?????
Accident waiting to happen!!!
The friendlier they are the more dangerous they will be...market ASAP and next time get them castrated as calves so you can keep them longer.
Yep, that's my concern... definitely accident waiting to happen. Good call about the castration....I expect my bosses will buy some more in at some point, so I'll make sure to get them castrated earlier on.
Can I ask about TB....they were done in Oct but am I right in thinking they have to be done again now because the 60 day period is over?
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Yep, they’ll need a pre movement test unless going straight to slaughter.
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Send them to a red/slaughter mart and you do not need to tb test.
They should go there rather than a store mart as they WILL become dangerous, there is a reason you cannot have dairy bulls in a field with a public footpath.
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Bulls are not friendly, they are not pets ever. And get rid quick. They have gone to a bigger farm.I suggest you watch these videos on cattle handling which are really good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsYS8BtqbGk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsYS8BtqbGk)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBV2Ss0XmDc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBV2Ss0XmDc)
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Test them and put them in a store market. There is no point putting them in a fat beef ring if they are no where near finished. A bull beef finishing unit would be a better place for them.
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This sounds so dangerous I thought it was a wind up. Assuming it is true - ffs get them away now. Dairy bulls are so dangerous it is illegal to have them on public rights of way etc
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Horrified!
2 entire dairy bulls on a public farmand it sounds like there is no one with cattle experience to deal with them.... get rid by fastest route possible (will need to be nose ringed if sold on) ….. H&S ex would have field day even if there was only a minor accident. Note: TOO friendly cattle can be as dangerous as wild ones! Even dairy farms rarely keep dairy bulls due to their nature.
If you really have to have cattle decide before you buy them what you want them for and get yourself or another member of staff trained to deal with them.
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Horrified!
2 entire dairy bulls on a public farmand it sounds like there is no one with cattle experience to deal with them.... get rid by fastest route possible (will need to be nose ringed if sold on) ….. H&S ex would have field day even if there was only a minor accident.
In actual fact they only need a nose ring if being kept for breeding, which these clearly aren't. :sunshine:
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Hello all,
I'm a livestock manager for a public farm park and we have a couple of bull calves. I really don't have much cattle experience so I'm hoping for some advice/tips from you!
As I say, they're friendly to a point but because they're so used to people, they'll happily come and pin you up against a gate as they're trying to take the bucket out of your hands.
Any ideas/tips/handling advice greatly appreciated.
If they are that pushy, you should not be going in their pen/enclosure to feed them. Even the most placid animals, having been allowed to do this, are unaware of their weight and can easily trample on you without consciously meaning to. Change your feeding arrangement so you feed them from the outside, eg a trough hung on the gate, or a feed barrier that they can get their heads through in order to reach the trough.
Just getting Friesian bulls because they are cheap is false economy in your situation. You're not geared up to handle them, and the money spent on castration could have been used to buy better calves, that'll give you some sort of return when selling. These will fetch next to nothing as stores because it costs as much to fatten a poor animal as a good one and even decent breeds are not fetching much at present.
Next time get heifers!
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Thanks all.
This is a problem I inherited so I'm glad for your advice! TB testing Monday & Thursday this week so can send off to market the following Tuesday I hope.
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Don’t get heifers! They’re nothing but trouble as soon as they start bulling. And it’s highly likely they’ll escape when the lust is upon them. Get castrated bullocks. And not a dairy breed or Limousins, get something placid like Angus or Hereford.
And teach them some manners, and halter train them, when they’re still a lot smaller than you!
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Don’t get heifers! They’re nothing but trouble as soon as they start bulling. And it’s highly likely they’ll escape when the lust is upon them. Get castrated bullocks. And not a dairy breed or Limousins, get something placid like Angus or Hereford.
And teach them some manners, and halter train them, when they’re still a lot smaller than you!
Angus are not renowned for their docile temperament! Herefords and Simmentals are generally nice quiet cattle.
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BBs are like pets most of the time too
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might be a good idea to define BB?
I would totally recommend Shetlands ….. steer or heifers ….
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Don’t get heifers! They’re nothing but trouble as soon as they start bulling. And it’s highly likely they’ll escape when the lust is upon them. Get castrated bullocks. And not a dairy breed or Limousins, get something placid like Angus or Hereford.
And teach them some manners, and halter train them, when they’re still a lot smaller than you!
Angus are not renowned for their docile temperament!
Yes they are.
I’ve farmed Anguses.
Herefords are generally quiet yes.
Simmentals are variable.
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Seems highly likely that BrimwoodFarms will get what's available :thinking: . So I would say - if nothing else, make sure you don't get uncastrated dairy bulls.
I agree entirely about Herefords. I've always kept them and found them placid and easily handled. Never had the heifers jumping out either. Agree even more about not getting Limousins! Their one aim would seem to be to escape!
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I agree entirely about Herefords. I've always kept them and found them placid and easily handled. Never had the heifers jumping out either.
Actually we had a whole dynasty based on a Hereford x heifer that jumped a wall, a road and two fences to get to the bull... All the females in the line were, shall we say, “active bullers” :innocent:
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Will agree to disagree on that one then sally; my experience of Angus has been flighty and temperamental, the calves are not quiet either. Maybe it makes a difference if they are suckler or dairy bred. My experience is mainly suckler bred.
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Interesting, twizz. We had Angus bulls for our suckler herd in Cumbria, and bought in dairy-bred Angus x and Hereford x heifers too. The only flighty ones were the ones that had a bit of Limi in them ;). I have to say, though, that the shapes of some of the Angus bulls had been getting a little bit less traditional, with more rounded buttocks, making us wonder whether a little bit of “improvement” was going on. (By which I mean a bit of Limi getting into the mix, to “improve” the conformation - ie., to have more meat in the buttocks.) We carefully selected very traditional shaped bulls, and only bought ones with rock solid temperaments.
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Ok so all of our Angus calves have limo mothers :roflanim: but I’ve also seen pure and ped herds which are equally as flighty. Yesterday one of our 4 month calves chased the dogs out of the yard >:( bolshy little things !
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We have been looking after next doors Lowline Angus herd for 6 weeks while they had a jaunt round the Antipodes. A quieter bunch of beasts would be hard to find.
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Hi there, did you get them to market safely? Can we all breathe again?
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I just realised I never came back on this post.
Yes...they safely went off to market. They were good as gold when it came to TB testing and loading them up but I must say I breathed a sigh of relief as they disappeared off down the track. :D
I'm still looking to try and get a couple of heifers in to replace them down the line. There are two Highlands which have pretty good temperaments and when I first joined the business, they had three other heifers (I can't remember the breeds but one was British Blue) and they were lovely girls.
Thank you for all your advice!