Angus Bull

[Anonymous]

I have recently switched to an angus bull. I am keeping him on 2 acres at my house with the plan of putting him to work in the fall. He splits a bucket of feed every evening with a bred heifer along with the grass they graze everyday. He is a young bull, approx 16 mths old. I have noticed in the last few weeks that his shoulders and hips have decreased in size while his stomach continues to stay fat. Any suggestions or is this normal for this time of year? Also, he was certified to be ready to go to work by a vet when I bought him but was considering having him tested anyway before I put him to work. Do you think this is a good idea?

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[Anonymous]

Usually you think of a potty looking animal as getting poor quality forage, plenty of if but just not good enough. We had a heifer that was potty till she turned a yearling, now she is perfectly normal looking. Same nutrition as everybody else. So it may be a nutrition thing or it may be a worm thing, or it could be genetics. Lots of help huh? Wouldn't hurt to have him checked again month or so before you plan on starting to use him. Lots can happen in the summer months.

dunmovn farms

> I have recently switched to an
> angus bull. I am keeping him on 2
> acres at my house with the plan of
> putting him to work in the fall.
> He splits a bucket of feed every
> evening with a bred heifer along
> with the grass they graze
> everyday. He is a young bull,
> approx 16 mths old. I have noticed
> in the last few weeks that his
> shoulders and hips have decreased
> in size while his stomach
> continues to stay fat. Any
> suggestions or is this normal for
> this time of year? Also, he was
> certified to be ready to go to
> work by a vet when I bought him
> but was considering having him
> tested anyway before I put him to
> work. Do you think this is a good
> idea?

 

[Anonymous]

> Usually you think of a potty
> looking animal as getting poor
> quality forage, plenty of if but
> just not good enough. We had a
> heifer that was potty till she
> turned a yearling, now she is
> perfectly normal looking. Same
> nutrition as everybody else. So it
> may be a nutrition thing or it may
> be a worm thing, or it could be
> genetics. Lots of help huh?
> Wouldn't hurt to have him checked
> again month or so before you plan
> on starting to use him. Lots can
> happen in the summer months.

> dunmovn farms

Thanks for the info. I've got better grass at the farm. I may go ahead and move him out there early. My girls should start calving in August so maybe he can help with the coyotes along with getting better feed. Thanks again.

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[Anonymous]

Many bulls are fed a high grain diet to look good to sell. If he is just loosing excess fat, don't worry. A high fiber diet will have him ready to work without having to go through a two week adjustment changing his gut from starch digesting bugs to fiber digesting bugs at the same time as his work load is increasing. Bulls heading for pasture breeding should be conditioned on a high fiber diet.

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