advice on young bull

[sporder]

could you give me your thoughts on this 9 month old bull. this is the first bull to be born and raised on the farm and have kept him in tact to see how he grows out and to gain experience on raising a bull. i dont intend to use him and if he does nt turn out good enough for the commercial market he will be in the freezer. his ebvs are ok but i have never seen the sire as i brought the cow in calf. to be honest he could have had a better start because i weaned him at about 5months which i now beleive to be a bit early and then went on poor grazing till he came in barn. he did get some beef grower nuts every few days. now feeding him silage free choice and a bucket of barley each day with energy and protein lick. will he fill out and get a rear end or has the slow start caused too many problems. i know genetics play a big part for which i have taken steps to put right with the new bull i have.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I usually don't comment on Bulls topics on here but I see nothing good about this bull and I would suggest that you cut him and be done with it

also if you wean early you need to supplement ANY calf so that it will grow to its potential grass won't do it

 

[3waycross]

I think you have already answered most of your own questions. You can probably feed him into something that looks better than he does right now but he still most likely be even a good commercial bull prospect. You should try breeding his dam to a bull you know is great and then not make the same mistakes with that offspring.

Feed him to eat him. He should make great freezer beef. You may or may not want to cut him.

 

[sporder]

does it effect the taste of the meat by not cutting. as i said i now have a good sire and will not make the same mistakes. i ve made many mistakes in the short time i ve had cattle but through forums talking to experienced breeders and the experience itself beleive i am now on the right track.

 

[3waycross]

does it effect the taste of the meat by not cutting. as i said i now have a good sire and will not make the same mistakes. i ve made many mistakes in the short time i ve had cattle but through forums talking to experienced breeders and the experience itself beleive i am now on the right track.

If he stays a virgin most likely, no. But there are no guarantees. Cutting him at that age has it's inherent risks. Not to mention he should grow and develope better with his nuts intact.

 

[Gelbvieh 5]

does it effect the taste of the meat by not cutting. as i said i now have a good sire and will not make the same mistakes. i ve made many mistakes in the short time i ve had cattle but through forums talking to experienced breeders and the experience itself beleive i am now on the right track.

No,

I sell 10-12 month old bulls all the time for freezer beef. People tells me it taste better than steer meat does. I wouldnt let him breed anything though cuz once those hormones kick in the meat will get gamey tastin.

Why don't you just ditto everything. at least it would keep you from paraphrasing others statements so blatantly.

 

[calbeef]

Keep a virgin and feed for eating, you might do well to sell 1/2 to pay for your time and feed and processing, and to fill your freezer.

 

[jerry27150]

early weaning & poor pasture really sets them back. but getting silage & a bucket of barley a day will change his looks a lot in a couple of months. did you worm him also? never heard or noticed any diff in a bull that hasn't bred anything or one that has. the meat of a bull will lack the marbling ( which makes it more tasty & tender) of a steer. had a friend that raised a few bulls for some guys that had heart trouble b/c the steers have too much fat which they claim cloggs peoples arteries.

 

[Australian]

You could do a lot better than that animal. He looks just like a heifer.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

As stated, an intact bull will be leaner - not everyone likes that. Also, research says a feeder bull should be harvested by 15 months of age - after that the texture of the meat changes (I believe).
Weaning at 5 months of age is not a problem - not feeding him is a problem - which I think you realize.

 

[sporder]

thank you for the advice. i have realised that this young bull is not to standard but wanted to use him to get used to raiseing and handling bulls. i beleive i am getting on the right track after these early set backs. as you can probably tell i m one of the annoying hobbie farmers that thinks he can walk straight into cattle breeding and pull it off. i beleive i have a fair bit of common sense and should not make the same mistake again. as some of you may have seen in one of my previous posts i have started with a new herd sire which should make a big difference.

15 month old

 

[novatech]

Your smarter than most hobby farmers. You got on here and got opinions and learned. Most would take pics just to go out and show their friends what a great bull they raised.

 

[Aero]

beef grower nuts...silage free choice ... a bucket of barley each day ...energy and protein lick.

if you do end up raising a bull or 2 like this, dont plan on making money at it.

raise animals for your environment. the environment you are creating (artificially) will only show you what fat cover and appetite look like. it wont change his semen one bit (unless it makes him unfertile... a possibility).

save your money: raise bulls slowly, feed steers.