Blinding Dairy Bulls ???

[dun]

"Easier said than done. Many people spend good money on bulls that have good breeding behind them. Dairy bulls just aren't the same as beef bulls in that they get mean a lot quicker than most beef bulls.

There are plenty of "good" bulls out there these days that there is no need to keep bulls that are going to kill or injure someone. Some people need to be taken out into the desert & tying over an ant's nest

I'm not suggesting that people keep a dangerous bull. What I am saying is that people spend good money to buy a bull that likely was not dangerous at the time. Take him home and use him for a few months and suddenly he isn't such a timid bull anymore. It's a bit difficult to simply ship him so suddenly and take a big loss when he goes for slaughter. I'm not advocating that anyone try to keep these bulls simply because they paid good money. I'm simply saying it isn't such an easy decision to make.

If the bull is so dangerous that blinding him is the only way they can think of to make me managable, it's an easy decision. Get rid of the bull. If they think so highly of his genetics, collect him and put it in the tank THEN get rid of the bull

 

[aussie_cowgirl]

Why are dairy bulls so aggressive anyway? All the dairy cows I have handled have been so docile.

 

[grannysoo]

If blinding is the solution that a person feels should be done, then I have no problem with it provided that they do themselves first...........

 

[FarmGirl10]

If blinding is the solution that a person feels should be done, then I have no problem with it provided that they do themselves first...........

:clap: Good thinking

Why are dairy bulls so aggressive anyway? All the dairy cows I have handled have been so docile.

I'm not really sure why. :dunce: But I've seen some pretty nasty Holstein cows. :shock: Ever watch a vet get chased through a milk house by a cow?

 

[regolith]

This is me trying to translate across borders...

When it was said 'put the bull in a tank' I just presumed it was a local term for a concrete pen.
So - that is what we did with ours (back in Scotland). It was a concrete pen with yard (thick steel bars) and door in between and at the entrance to the yard a little stall where the cow walked in and you opened the gate so he came out and served her. At no point did anyone have to get in the same area as him... I think his feed trough had a head lock too.
This bull was just starting to get nasty so after a few months he was in the pen full-time while we raised a calf to take his place.

But I don't understand why anyone would want heifers from a bull whose temperament deteriorated badly under good handling conditions.
Everyone says dairy bulls are worse than beef. I haven't observed it for myself. I'd be wary of raising any pet calf for a bull though.

 

[Tatertot]

Dairy bulls are bottle raised arn't they? I would attribute their reputations to that. :nod:

 

[FarmGirl10]

Why are dairy bulls so aggressive anyway? All the dairy cows I have handled have been so docile.

I think I got it! They probably get made because their women are cheating on him with the people that milk! :lol:

 

[aussie_cowgirl]

Of course!

Beef bulls are generally ok. I could move our mob of feedlot bulls that were only handled like 3-4 times a year, by myself on bike and then on foot in the yards. And they were placid. You would think in a herd of like 40 bulls there would be so much testosterone they'd be angry but fortunately they were so preoccupied with each other they left me alone. And man there were some big ones.

I'm only going by show dairy cattle I have to admit. People say they don't show dairy bulls because they're wild. But the cows just seem so docile.

Maybe being bottle fed is why they get angry. We raised ours in a fenced yard and when they got to a paddock they just went straight through them, because they were used to the asbestos fence. I used to be able to handle them but other than my mother and i, apparently no one could control them.

 

[dun]

This is me trying to translate across borders...

When it was said 'put the bull in a tank' I just presumed it was a local term for a concrete pen.
So - that is what we did with ours (back in Scotland). It was a concrete pen with yard (thick steel bars) and door in between and at the entrance to the yard a little stall where the cow walked in and you opened the gate so he came out and served her. At no point did anyone have to get in the same area as him... I think his feed trough had a head lock too.
This bull was just starting to get nasty so after a few months he was in the pen full-time while we raised a calf to take his place.

But I don't understand why anyone would want heifers from a bull whose temperament deteriorated badly under good handling conditions.
Everyone says dairy bulls are worse than beef. I haven't observed it for myself. I'd be wary of raising any pet calf for a bull though.

Tank = Nitrogen refigerator, nitrogen tank, semen tank, etc.

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

"aussie_cowgirl wrote:Why are dairy bulls so aggressive anyway? All the dairy cows I have handled have been so docile.

For some reason dairy bulls when raised the same way as the cows can be aggressive they have no "respect" for people, most beef bulls will maintain a distance he likes his own space a dairy bull if raised the same way as a daiy cow won't have that respect for space. We prefer to raise our replacement bulls with minimal contact so far the only trouble we have ever had is with a bull that I bred & was going to show, by the time he was 2yr old he was getting very snorty the final straw was when we rode into the same paddock as he was in & he charged the bike & lifted it onto its back wheels. Reggie was super quiet & had no respect for any boundary we tried to set with him.

"When it was said 'put the bull in a tank'

AI tank, the bull can be as agressive as he wants in there, still can't do any damage

 

[TexasBred]

If blinding is the solution that a person feels should be done, then I have no problem with it provided that they do themselves first...........

Granny you got that right...otherwise, anybody that would do this to a bull purposely should be neutered as well. This could be the one thing that would make me call for the authorities.

 

[Oldtimer]

Before we quit milking occasionaly we would put horse type blinkers on the bulls stall halter to cut down on his vision.

Yep-- been 50 years since I had much to do with dairy bulls--but I remember back then you could buy a halter with blinders that covered the eyes built into it so they couldn't see...We never used them when we had the dairy-- usually getting by with a ring in the nose with a chain that drug the ground...Bull soon learned to walk with his head held out to the side so he didn't step on it- and it kept him from getting a good run at someone.... That and a couple good dogs handled them pretty well....
I've also seen a hobble on the front leg with long chain used too to slow them down...

 

[hillsdown]

I have never heard of this before (thank God) because it is wrong wrong wrong....


I agree with what has been said about dairy bulls and no respect. However, it really is not their fault as they have been your baby from day one. All (majority) dairy bulls were bottle fed the day they were born and have had very close human contact every day of their lives so it is hard to differentiate amongst the pecking order and when the libido is active "you" are just an obstacle to overcome .The fact that they weigh a couple of thousand pounds you have gotten the short end of the stick.. ;-)

One thing that I do not understand with AI being so common is when a dairy runs a bull full time in with the milk herd and through the milking parlor. You are asking for nothing but trouble, if you have AI'd your gal a few times with no success the next time she is in heat move her to where the bull is and let him breed her then move her back with the milking herd..

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

"One thing that I do not understand with AI being so common is when a dairy runs a bull full time in with the milk herd and through the milking parlor. You are asking for nothing but trouble, if you have AI'd your gal a few times with no success the next time she is in heat move her to where the bull is and let him breed her then move her back with the milking herd..

Can't talk for anyone else... but we DO run a bull with the herd yes I ai & have just finished ai'ing about 50 cows we will let Trouble out with the herd in the next few weeks to catch what I couldn't breed he isn't a problem he will come through the dairy shed with the cows loves his pellets yet we never turn our back on him we don't have a 2nd bull in the herd as I think this doesn't help the situation at all. He is now coming up 4yr old & so far no problems. At least we know how his daughters should behave once they calve & come into the shed I am more worried about a young bull friends have been rearing for us, their daughter has made him extreemly quiet, way to quiet for what I want my bulls to be I have a buyer for this bull calf but no matter that I tell them a jersey bull can't be trusted they won't listen.

 

[redpoll52]

Can I please ask, What is blinding and what does it consist of ? Please PM me about this subject

 

[Lucky_P]

Oldtimer & Chi 496 had it right. Almost certain that the folks overheard by the original poster were not talking about actually 'blinding' the bull, but rather putting blinders on them. I've seen those 'bull blinders' - only a narrow slit for him to see out of- he can still graze, and see the cow to mount her, but his field of vision is so impaired that humans have at least a 'fighting chance' to get out of the way.

Hillsdown was right, too - dairy bulls are hand-raised, and as such have little or no fear of humans, and once they weigh 800-1000-2000+ pounds and decide to assert their dominance to be at the top of the sexual pecking order - and they will see any human as a potential rival - the strongest man in the world does not stand a chance against a rampaging bull. Far too many people have been killed by dairy bulls over the years - and often by one "who's never been a problem before"
I don't know many dairy producers who still breed with bulls(most use AI), but those who do either apply bull blinders, or have a sturdy breeding pen where the bull is kept, and they turn cows in heat in to the bull - he's never allowed out, and it's designed so that he can't get at the people.

We see a similar situation with hand-reared male llamas - they call it 'Berserk Male Syndrome'; also not unheard of with hand-reared orphan colts.

 

[Tatertot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFdcnzfPot0

 

[alftn]

Blinding a bull seams wrong to me but I do not really know. It also seamed wrong when I saw my frist bull cut, It seamed wrong when I saw my frist horns cut off,(sure was a lot of blood) right and wrong are in the cattle raising are determined by nessitity. sorry for spelling my grand dauther is not here to correct me.

 

[SBMF 2015]

So I stumbled on to this thread. I was searching for Bull Blinders. The type that fit on a halter or strap on the bulls head.
My son wants to learn how to A.I. I'm all for it. The biggest problem for me in time. No one is around the cow during the day. Morning chores at 6am, work, then evening chores. No one is around to heat check.
I talked to a dairy calf backgrounder and he is going to leave a couple jersey calves bulls for me. We'll grow them all summer then gomer them in the fall.
We'll probably ring them at that time also.
Hopefully for a while at least they will behave, but if the get to aggressive. I thought maybe blinders would get us through the rest of the breeding season, then they can be cull bulls.

Does any one know of a place to buy new blinders? Or used ones the only option?

 

[moses388]

No one is around the cow during the day. Morning chores at 6am, work, then evening chores. No one is around to heat check.

Estrotect sticker {click here} on the tailhead. When doing chores, glance and see the color of the sticker.
I've heard Jersey bulls are more aggressive than Holstein bulls. Some people say Jersey bulls are trying to compensate for their smaller size.