Any good info on how to take a crazy steer???

[Ribelintomboy]

So I'm in a bit of trouble. I bought a steer from an Iowa cattle seller, the steer weighs around 600 lbs. He's as crazy as you can get. After about a week of having him we were going to put a halter on him so he could start dragging a rope. We got him in about a 10x4 area using panels. He stuck his head through and ended up breaking wire to get out. We got him back in and that probably took a clean 30 min to do. Thing is I bought a saler, their supposedly supposed to be calm but he's a crazy little thing. He came right of grass and the man said some stuff that I didn't believe this steer would do. A week after that we got a halter and rope on him. He will walk away from me which is better than what he used to do. He has no respect, he will charge at you if your on the opposite side of a fence or hop at you a little if your on the same side. The way he acts it's as if he has rabies or somethin which is very unlikely I know. :help: :help:
I need some advice on what I can do to tame him before he gets any bigger and hurt someone more than he has already. He rammed me once and I was lucky to only get hit on my leg as a fence was next to me I jumped up to. He really acts like he's all tuff, once again he has no respect. I haven't shown a pasture raised calf before but I had a Pinzgauer last year and he was incredible and a 10x Angus steer the year before which were both born on grass but weaned in a lot and fed daily.
I saw on someone else's post to get peppermint horse treats and feed them so they can associate you with something good. But I go out there and feed him every morning and night. Also to use a broom to touch them with, which would be nice because I can't touch him if he's not tied to a post all the way down to the chain. He's also jumpy around other people. He doesn't like my dad at all and even jumps at him aswell. I'm just not sure what to do with this one. Please help!!

 

[Ky hills]

I would not be trying to do anything further with that calf other than getting him on a trailer and gone before some one gets hurt. I would get him gone ASAP.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I would not be trying to do anything further with that calf other than getting him on a trailer and gone before some one gets hurt. I would get him gone ASAP.

I agree.

 

[ohiosteve]

You should add some CBD oil to his feed, that should calm him right down. Just kidding, I would send him to the sale barn. You can't fix crazy.

 

[TCRanch]

Agree with the above. I would love to tell you how to tame him but earning the trust of a shy, somewhat skittish calf does not negate the aggression that's in your steers DNA. I sincerely doubt he can't un-learn what's hard-wired in his brain. And do you really want to take the time to find out when you can sell him & get another? Not to mention the potential risk to your safety (including hospital bills)?

Once bought a yearling bull with awesome EPD's that seemed perfectly fine in the pen prior to the sale. Loaded hot into the trailer, definitely didn't simmer down on the ride home - or the subsequent 8 months we had him. Yes, he calmed down enough to even take cubes from my hand and was actually pretty easy to move/work but I never trusted him, always watched where he was & had an escape route. Sold him a couple days after he tried to take out my husband. Amazed another ranch wanted him but they do all their work on horses & with dogs. Even more amazed they still have him - and still can't get near him except with horses/dogs. That said, I kept 3 of his heifers (still have them) and they're the sweetest things.

 

[chaded]

I can't imagine trying to show something like that? I just do commercial cattle and wouldn't put up with that. If you can get it on the trailer without getting hurt then do it and get rid of it. If not, I reckon a bullet would tame it.

 

[Dave]

I see two options. One is to put him in a trailer and give him a one way trip to the sale yard. The second is to put him into a smallish stout pen that is designed so you can feed him without getting in with him. Full feed for 120 days or so and then put him in the freezer.
If you are looking for a show steer this ain't him. Cut your losses and get rid of him.

 

[Ky hills]

I see two options. One is to put him in a trailer and give him a one way trip to the sale yard. The second is to put him into a smallish stout pen that is designed so you can feed him without getting in with him. Full feed for 120 days or so and then put him in the freezer.
If you are looking for a show steer this ain't him. Cut your losses and get rid of him.

If a calf is that fired up like that one wouldn't he have a higher chance of being a dark cutter if he didn't settle down any?

 

[darcelina4]

I would tie him up for an hour. Then brush him and feed him cattle cubes from your hand. Then let him go. Do this everyday. In a week he should be leading. If he is still acting crazy then send him away. Cattle cubes are cattle crack. If he wont tame down with them and brushing then he never will. Way too many easy to handle calves out there to be risking injury with a bat s**t crazy one.

 

[Ky hills]

After rereading the original post and a post giving well intentioned advise on how to work with the calf. I would reiterate advise from others as well as myself, that calf needs to go and extreme caution exercised when loading it. It's just not worth getting hurt or killed over. It's likely not from the same breeders but I know of someone that was killed in that state in very recent years by a show steer that someone couldn't handle and they were just keeping it at their place until the breeders were supposed to pick it up. Cattle are too dangerous to take these kind of chances with.

 

[Redgully]

If something jumps at you unprovoked it needs to go, no ifs or buts. Sometimes if cornered they may jump at you when first breaking in but not like what you're explaining. Even if you managed to get it to play by your rules in your environment as soon as you take it to a different environment it will behave unpredictable.

 

[Buck Randall]

If something jumps at you unprovoked it needs to go, no ifs or buts. Sometimes if cornered they may jump at you when first breaking in but not like what you're explaining. Even if you managed to get it to play by your rules in your environment as soon as you take it to a different environment it will behave unpredictable.

Exactly. You can tame a crazy steer, but you can't stop him from reverting to his nature if something startles him while you're holding the halter.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I am a "show" person. We show every year. What you are describing is NOT something that you will ever be able to trust.
Having said that, IF you insisted on trying to tame him, I would never try to brush him unless he was in a work chute. Even tied, you are going to get hurt if you step into his "space". If you could daily run him into a chute, feed him in the chute and brush him, you MIGHT get him to trust YOU. But, IMO, he would NEVER be able to be trusted with others or trying to haul to another location and show. Let alone your CHILD for 4-H.
Not trying to bash breeds, but Salers have always been known for temperament problems - good at home - bad elsewhere. Maybe, they are supposed to better now a days.

 

[Davemk]

After rereading the original post and a post giving well intentioned advise on how to work with the calf. I would reiterate advise from others as well as myself, that calf needs to go and extreme caution exercised when loading it. It's just not worth getting hurt or killed over. It's likely not from the same breeders but I know of someone that was killed in that state in very recent years by a show steer that someone couldn't handle and they were just keeping it at their place until the breeders were supposed to pick it up. Cattle are too dangerous to take these kind of chances with.

Send to the sale barn now. BTDT. It is the reason I got to know a couple of guys on this website. Their cattle are not crazy, I don't have to worry about my kids or somebody else getting hurt.
,
When I hauled my crazy "show" steer to the salebarn in Mt. Sterling, I told the guy unloading cattle to be careful. He looked at me like I was stupid. When he opened the gate to my trailer that steer hit him so hard he landed on his ass and the steer wanting to stomp him in the ground. I won't say what I told the guy.

 

[Davemk]

I see two options. One is to put him in a trailer and give him a one way trip to the sale yard. The second is to put him into a smallish stout pen that is designed so you can feed him without getting in with him. Full feed for 120 days or so and then put him in the freezer.
If you are looking for a show steer this ain't him. Cut your losses and get rid of him.

If a calf is that fired up like that one wouldn't he have a higher chance of being a dark cutter if he didn't settle down any?

The odds are definitely higher of being a dark cutter. If he is fed in a large group most of the time they will calm down just enough to not be a dark cutter. The bigger problem is high headed cattle don't gain very well.

 

[Ky hills]

After rereading the original post and a post giving well intentioned advise on how to work with the calf. I would reiterate advise from others as well as myself, that calf needs to go and extreme caution exercised when loading it. It's just not worth getting hurt or killed over. It's likely not from the same breeders but I know of someone that was killed in that state in very recent years by a show steer that someone couldn't handle and they were just keeping it at their place until the breeders were supposed to pick it up. Cattle are too dangerous to take these kind of chances with.

Send to the sale barn now. BTDT. It is the reason I got to know a couple of guys on this website. Their cattle are not crazy, I don't have to worry about my kids or somebody else getting hurt.
,
When I hauled my crazy "show" steer to the salebarn in Mt. Sterling, I told the guy unloading cattle to be careful. He looked at me like I was stupid. When he opened the gate to my trailer that steer hit him so hard he landed on his be nice and the steer wanting to stomp him in the ground. I won't say what I told the guy.

Must have been somebody new to the job there at the stockyards to not take your warning seriously. When we take something very flighty we tell them like you did. They probably learn pretty fast to heed warnings. Stockyards are no place to be careless on the job for sure.

 

[Brute 23]

Just to clarify, he's not crazy and doesn't have rabies. That's how real, working cattle act when you try to put a rope on them. You want a show steer which he is not... sell him.

I'm no show person but #600 seems like you are starting behind the curve a little unless you have some really good genetics.

 

[Ky hills]

Just to clarify, he's not crazy and doesn't have rabies. That's how real, working cattle act when you try to put a rope on them. You want a show steer which he is not... sell him.

I'm no show person but #600 seems like you are starting behind the curve a little unless you have some really good genetics.

I agree that 600 lbs is getting pretty big to start working with a calf, but I would still say based on what was posted that the calf is crazy. There are lots of calves that come from real world I know that term is subjective but covers a broad spectrum of management practices and genetics, that don't react violently when being worked with. We have bought over the years hundreds of feeder calves 4-500 lbs and have raised and weaned several. Most are going to not want to bothered and will walk away when initially feeding, sorting or just walking through them. A rare few will be extremely flighty or aggressive, those calves can hurt you quick if cornered or maybe even without being. I believe that management and/or genetics plays a significant role.

 

[dieselbeef]

Just to clarify, he's not crazy and doesn't have rabies. That's how real, working cattle act when you try to put a rope on them. You want a show steer which he is not... sell him.

I'm no show person but #600 seems like you are starting behind the curve a little unless you have some really good genetics.

my thoughts also...hes already set in his ways and will never be trainable..why they start a lot of em at 2-3 mos

 

[Gators Rule]

There are so many different ways to halter break crazed cattle, but it's certainly not for the faint of heart, nor for someone who has any fear whatsoever. I halter broke an 1100 pound mean as a snake beefmaster bull, and would never try that endeavor today, but way back in the day, it was simply a challenge. Quite frankly, the trigger that stopped all the nonsense with that guy was a size 12 kick in the snout when he charged me. Before that, I was trying to do it the loving way, but it wasn't working at all....up until the kick. After that, he was a gentleman whom I showed for two years afterwards. When trying to halter break the bull, there were two of us, and I doubt we would have succeeded with just one person.

With that said, we can't actually see your steer, nor how you're training him, so it's impossible to say if he's just simply a regular commercial steer who is just being rude, not necessarily crazy mean. So I will just say everyone seems to have given you some worthy advice, and I wouldn't recommend doing what we did because it was a LOT more to breaking that bull than just that kick.

ds