bull questions

[Judge Sharpe]

Hello the campfire
I have a couple of newby questions I should know the answer to, but i don't: :help:
1. How old is too old to put a bull in the freezer? My herd bull is causing a lot of problems such as going through the fence to get to the neighbors cows who are bulling. I want to either sell him or eat him, but want to know if he is too old for good steaks. He is three years old.
2. How old should a young bull be before he will satisfy the girls? I have a real nice purebred Angus bull who is just now a year old. Will he be able to service my five cows after claving over the next two moths, or is he still too young. I am asking because I read that a yearling bull could breed a small group of cows.Thanks for the help.
Bill Brower
Blount County, Alabama
PS I would like a little prayer if its not too much trouble. I am having a prostate biopsy Friday becasue my PSA was too high. Might be nothing, but then again the prayes could come in handy.
BB

 

[Gators Rule]

I will tackle the questions by priority! First, absolutely I will say a prayer for you and those who love you....and that the Dr's be granted wisdom and discernment!

second, while it may not be optimal, the bull can breed a small number of cows as long as he can reach them...

 

[kjonesel]

My prayers are with you, never hesitate to ask for prayer.
The bull isn't going to be steer quality meat and if that is what you want then I would sell him for slaughter, at that age it would have already started developing a little toughness and what I call a strong flavor. Now with that said it would still be a far cry better than the old dairy cows that I grew up eating.
When my wife (a city girl) first met my mother she couldn't believe she was preparing to fry a T-bone till she went to eat it. It had come from an old cow and was as tough as shoe leather so there wasn't much you could do with it.

 

[dun]

You can slaughter him and hang him then when it's cutting time have the butcher cut you a couple of steaks to try. If they're tough gtind hi if they aren;t, go ahead and cut him like usual. Any of the burger ca be donated to one of the myriad food distribution orgsnizations..You can write off some of it as a donation and you can know that you've helped out some people that are down on their luck. We donote our meat overages (burgers, stew meat and roasts to COPE House. It's a shelter kind of deal for women and children from abusive homes. So if you don;t like some of the charitable groups around you there are bound to be one or two that actually does some good.

 

[pdfangus]

best wishes for a good result with the biopsy....

my rule of thumb for a young bull that is well grown out after a year of age is
1 cow for every month of age. 15 mos...max fifteen cows.

I agree with dun on eating the bull.....will make excellent hamburger...
save the ribeye....it also will be good....

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Best of luck with you biopsy Judge. Prayers your way.

3 years old seem awfully young for the bull to be causing that many problems doesn't it? What's the "shelf life" if you will of an average bull?

 

[dun]

What's the "shelf life" if you will of an average bull?

Depends on the bull. I've seen 4 month olds act all bully and destructive that act like they have a chip on their shoulder. I've seen 10 year old bulls (maybe they're outgrown it) that are easy going and mellow to the point that you can hardly get a rise out of them. They seem to be like pubescent boys, some are holy terrors others are choir boys.

 

[Judge Sharpe]

Thanks for the prayers, and thanks for the information,
This bull an purebred longhorn I got for almost a gift last year, He fulfilled he's purpose, he has my 5 cows/heifers bred and due in September and October. He is laid back, does not mind being touched or fooled with, never made a threatning move to anyone but my neighbors balck bull. One problem is that my sister and sister in law, who live on the place are scared of horns. Another problem is that there is not a fence that will stop him if he smells cows in heat, and then he does not want to come home. The girls across the fence are sweeter or something. Between fixing fences and retrieving him i have had about all the fun i want out of him. So its the sale or the freezer. My neighbor has threatened to ask for child support if any of his calves look like Doc. Of course his cows look like they are about to starve on the lush grass we have now, and he does not believe in mineral or salt, but my bull is a BIG problem.
Sorry I got to ranting. I was out to midnight running his cows home when they came to visit through the fence and licked up two new salt mineral blocks. LOL
If it had not been 99 degrees Saturday it might not have been so bad.
Bill Brower

 

[pdfangus]

had a distant neighbor who had a big longhorn bull.
beautiful and impressive animal. probably had three feet of horn on a side .
they got rid of him because any fence he could not go over he would just go thru.
didn't appear to be mean but he thought it was great fun to go across the road and wrestle with the polled black bull over there. black bull did not back down from him but no way he could compete with the horns.
I came thru one day and they had been chasing him all afternoon. I helped them get him back and they drove him to the back of the place and moved the longhorn cows back there with him and I never saw any of them again. I think they were ready to shoot him that day.

 

[Judge Sharpe]

Thanks for the prayers guys, but the biopsy came back positive for prostate cancer, so I will ask for some further prayers. It is a scary thing but it has been caught early, an I will make a full recovery. The hard thing is to have to take it easy for about a month after surgery.
Fellows- get examined and insist that they do a DER and a PSA blood test. It is a life saver and the quicker you can catch it the better.
Wives, girl friends, mothers and significant others- If your cowboy is over 40, insist, nag, drag him, trick him, or withhold relations, but get your men into the Dr. for a DRE and a PSA blood test.
It is easy to say "I will do that later", "I don't want the test because it is uncomfortable, embarrassing, takes too much time, I dont want to know, etc." Horse Hocky- It is better that finding out too late and leaving you loved ones too early. Just my rant for the day.
Bill Brower

 

[Gale Seddon]

Bless you for your bravery in speaking up and all my good wishes for a speedy recovery to you!

 

[beefmasters]

Judge Sharpe,

I am glad they diagnosed you early.Sorry you will have to go thru this but you will be in my prayers for a speedy and complete recovery.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Judge Sharpe,

I am glad they diagnosed you early.Sorry you will have to go thru this but you will be in my prayers for a speedy and complete reco.

Like beefmaster said it is good that you got the diagnose early. You are in my prayers now, keep us updated after the hospital visit?

 

[highgrit]

Cancer is one of the only diseases that some people get cured and some don't. I believe they only cure the folks that were misdiagnosed. Its all about money they don't care about us any more. Look at all the cures and vaccines they discovered years ago when they were more concerned with helping folks out. Now a doctor needs the money, look at all the places selling prescription drugs, they don't want you to be healthy. People with the best insurance are usually sicker and have more health problems than the uninsured. Please get a 2nd and 3rd opinion, you and your family deserve to know the truth. Good Luck, and God bless you.

 

[Cattleman200]

From one Bill to another Bill best of luck with your recovery Judge. I am just on the other side of Cullman from you. My dad had both prostate and colon cancer. I am now 54 and I go for regular check ups for both. If the tests and prevention methods they have today would have been available 20 years ago my dad surely might still be here with us.



On the bull like some of the other posters have said if the bull is mature enough to reach the cows he should have no problem breeding 5 head. I have used several year old bulls to breed heifers. They can cover 10-15 or have ghere but I always had them in a place where I could feed them moderately during breeding mainly so the bull would keep growing. Best of luck..


Circle H Ranch

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Cancer is one of the only diseases that some people get cured and some don't. I believe they only cure the folks that were misdiagnosed. Its all about money they don't care about us any more. Look at all the cures and vaccines they discovered years ago when they were more concerned with helping folks out. Now a doctor needs the money, look at all the places selling prescription drugs, they don't want you to be healthy. People with the best insurance are usually sicker and have more health problems than the uninsured. Please get a 2nd and 3rd opinion, you and your family deserve to know the truth. Good Luck, and God bless you.

That is a rather jaded way to look at the medical profession highgrit.

Prostate cancer when detected early enough is highly responsive to treatment. Did they discuss radiation seed implants with you Judge? My dad had that a few years ago and he's in complete remission.

Good luck to you Sir.

 

[vclavin]

My momma died from stage 4 colon cancer... she suffered needlessly in her last 2 months. Those doc don't know everything and barely have time to keep up with what they are doing. Internet... use it to help with questins, answers latest technology and tell the Doc what you find. Momma trusted this Professional to know what he was doing since he "built a cancer clinic" ... I could build one too and it would not make me an expert. However much a Doc may believe he is help, you can help him , help you. Prayers for you for speedy recovery, smart Doc, and lasting remission.
Valerie

 

[Judge Sharpe]

Thanks for the encouragment. I have to wait a couple of more weeks before i can schedule the operation. I did get a second and third opinion and they all said the same thing, get it out. I will have the robotic surgery. It is the least invasive with the fastest recovery. i will be out of commision for about a week, then can return for light duty, but no straining horse back riding or 4 wheeling for four weeks. I quess that includes tractor driving and bush hoging. Thanks for the prayers and please keep them up for a while.
Bill Brower

 

[Cattleman200]

I forgot to add in my other post that I have a friend just down the road had that same surgery about three years ago and is doing great now.



Circle H Ranch

 

[djinwa]

Best wishes on your surgery. I believe I've read that most men will end up with prostate cancer, but even untreated, they die of other things before that gets them.

In dogs, the best treatment for prostate cancer is castration, but for some reason men don't go for that.

I was kind of thinking I ought to have that done as a preventive measure - would probably make the wife happier. :)