bull signs

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I have a black angus bull 16 months old that sometimes when you get in front of him he starts bobbing his head up and down. He does not seam to be aggressive. He has knocked grain bucket out of my hand once and kind of pushed me up against barn once. Whats he telling me? Don't get to close? Or just rough playing. He eats right out of your hand. Any ideas?
 
> I have a black angus bull 16
> months old that sometimes when you
> get in front of him he starts
> bobbing his head up and down. He
> does not seam to be aggressive. He
> has knocked grain bucket out of my
> hand once and kind of pushed me up
> against barn once. Whats he
> telling me? Don't get to close? Or
> just rough playing. He eats right
> out of your hand. Any ideas?

What is he telling you ??? he is letting you know that one day he is going to hurt you. A 1800 to 2000 Lb. bull can kill you with rough play.

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I've heard that if you keep a bucket calf for a bull you'd have to raise them different than other cattle I would guess it is a similiar case here. He probably recognizes you as a competiter for the girls. I would watch my back but he could just be overly friendly. Jake

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i agree. with a big bull, what can be intended by him as play may not be so fun for you. if he were to catch you off-guard, he could really hurt you. this is a habit that should be stopped while he's young.
 
What is he telling you? He's telling you he has reached puberty and is no longer a cute little bucket calf. He's testing you.

Soooo, just how fast can you run and how high can you hurdle? Not as fast as the bull! He doesn't just have to catch you in a lax moment, either. All he has to do is decide (and HE decides, not you) to take that test a tiny bit further and you are in a world of hurt.

If you don't know what this bull is trying to tell you, you shouldn't have a bull on the place.

> i agree. with a big bull, what can
> be intended by him as play may not
> be so fun for you. if he were to
> catch you off-guard, he could
> really hurt you. this is a habit
> that should be stopped while he's
> young.
 
He's telling you he wants to be put in your freezer! No matter how well you think you have a bull (or cow for matter) figured out as to if it's agressive, defensive or playing, it can get out of hand very quickly. Doesn't really matter, the results are usually the same. Eat him or ship him!

dun

> I have a black angus bull 16
> months old that sometimes when you
> get in front of him he starts
> bobbing his head up and down. He
> does not seam to be aggressive. He
> has knocked grain bucket out of my
> hand once and kind of pushed me up
> against barn once. Whats he
> telling me? Don't get to close? Or
> just rough playing. He eats right
> out of your hand. Any ideas?



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is this behavior limited to angus breeds, as I have heard they are overly aggressive! Or is this normal behavior that can be expected from any bull coming into puberty age?
 
Has nothing to do with breed. Bulls have different requirements for managment. Probably the worst are Jerseys followed by other dairy breeds. Likely it's because of the hand raised aspect of dairys.

dun

> is this behavior limited to angus
> breeds, as I have heard they are
> overly aggressive! Or is this
> normal behavior that can be
> expected from any bull coming into
> puberty age?



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I see no need to get rid of him just because of what you describe below. Is the behavior you describe at feeding time? If so, it is a little more understandable to me. I would just keep a close eye out when working around him, as with any livestock. I have been feeding some Longhorns for the ranch I work for and there are several of them that are 'in your face' when you pull out the feed bag. When they know it's feeding time, they'll run beside my truck when I pull into the pasture, bucking and kicking. A couple of times they have smacked my front grill guard pretty hard. When I get out the feed bag, they start milling around and pushing each other (and me if I'm not careful), trying to get to the first pile of cubes. There's been a few times I've had to knock them up side the head to get them to stand back until I get all the feed out.

This time of year, even my horse will give a few crow hops and run a few circles when it's time for her evening grain ration.

*******************

> I have a black angus bull 16
> months old that sometimes when you
> get in front of him he starts
> bobbing his head up and down. He
> does not seam to be aggressive. He
> has knocked grain bucket out of my
> hand once and kind of pushed me up
> against barn once. Whats he
> telling me? Don't get to close? Or
> just rough playing. He eats right
> out of your hand. Any ideas?
 
Any ideas?

yes... stop feeding him out of your hand and stop getting so close to him... he needs to stop associating feed in a close proximity with you... if i was going to keep him and if i had to feed him, i would put his feed out and open a gate so he can get to it or put it out before he gets too close...

i have a friend that learned this the hard way... he was lucky, but it could have been bad... the bull one day decided he wanted more than was brought and as the man walked away the bull nailed him from behind, just playing, but sprawled him out. and he is a big man, but still no match for even a yearling bull.

something worthwhile to always remember... a bull is not always predictable and is not a pet. always keep a watch out for them, especially when your cows come in heat.

be careful.

gene



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> Any ideas?

> yes... stop feeding him out of
> your hand and stop getting so
> close to him... he needs to stop
> associating feed in a close
> proximity with you... if i was
> going to keep him and if i had to
> feed him, i would put his feed out
> and open a gate so he can get to
> it or put it out before he gets
> too close...

> i have a friend that learned this
> the hard way... he was lucky, but
> it could have been bad... the bull
> one day decided he wanted more
> than was brought and as the man
> walked away the bull nailed him
> from behind, just playing, but
> sprawled him out. and he is a big
> man, but still no match for even a
> yearling bull.

> something worthwhile to always
> remember... a bull is not always
> predictable and is not a pet.
> always keep a watch out for them,
> especially when your cows come in
> heat.

> be careful.

> gene

Just my two cents - I've had "Bud", a registered black Angus, since he was 8 months old. I raised him as a pet, and have always maintained the proper respect for a bull. Bud is now 4 years old and still likes to be petted from time to time. The only difference now - I make sure one of us has a gate or a sturdy corrall fence between the other. Your bull may mean you no harm, but they can play rough! Be calm, be aware and be SAFE.

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> Just my two cents - I've had
> "Bud", a registered
> black Angus, since he was 8 months
> old. I raised him as a pet, and
> have always maintained the proper
> respect for a bull. Bud is now 4
> years old and still likes to be
> petted from time to time. The only
> difference now - I make sure one
> of us has a gate or a sturdy
> corrall fence between the other.
> Your bull may mean you no harm,
> but they can play rough! Be calm,
> be aware and be SAFE.

P.S. - If you are in safe conditions - when he is bobbing his head, start rubbing him between the eyes and forehead area. I do that for a while and when he decides it is enough he walks off. Just besure you have some protection between you and him.



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we have had bulls that are gentle & like to be scratched. we never scratch them on the head....this encourages the bobbing & butting. i will often scratch them by standing to the side (vs directly in front) & scratching above the shoulders or on the neck or on the tail or rump if he's not a kicker (from the side & not directly behind). this as well is done with caution. never drop your guard around a bull....while they may not mean to hurt you, 2000 lbs is a lot of weight to be tossing around.
 
> we have had bulls that are gentle
> & like to be scratched. we
> never scratch them on the
> head....this encourages the
> bobbing & butting. i will
> often scratch them by standing to
> the side (vs directly in front)
> & scratching above the
> shoulders or on the neck or on the
> tail or rump if he's not a kicker
> (from the side & not directly
> behind). this as well is done with
> caution. never drop your guard
> around a bull....while they may
> not mean to hurt you, 2000 lbs is
> a lot of weight to be tossing
> around. I have a young (9mth) Black Angus bull that did the same thing you are describing for a day or two after I let him out of the weaning pin. He was used to me feeding him in close quarters and giving him all his feed, hay, and water, so for those few days after I let him out he just hung around the barn and waited for me to feed. I'm new with the cows also so I'm not sure I did the right thing with him. But when he would charge at me shaking his head I would run at him and challenge him back. This would cause him to turn and run away bucking and bawling. I figured he was trying to bluff me so while he was small and I could, I would bluff him. This has worked so far, now he keeps his distance and does not shake his head at me. If this gets worse as he gets older I will put him in the freezer and find another bull. I would like to know wat ya'll think about what I did and do you think it will stick with him or will he try me again as he grows older.

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> What is he telling you? He's
> telling you he has reached puberty
> and is no longer a cute little
> bucket calf. He's testing you.

> Soooo, just how fast can you run
> and how high can you hurdle? Not
> as fast as the bull! He doesn't
> just have to catch you in a lax
> moment, either. All he has to do
> is decide (and HE decides, not
> you) to take that test a tiny bit
> further and you are in a world of
> hurt.

> If you don't know what this bull
> is trying to tell you, you
> shouldn't have a bull on the
> place.

Nice slam Linda. This is the "beginner" board. You should keep that crap to yourself! Your name should be "Black Power Linda" with remarks like that.
 
When I was a kid my grandpa had a bull that had started chalenging him. He took one of those small hot shots and the next time his bull went to push him he poked him with it. I know all animals react differently, but this bull decided that to push, was to get hurt. We kept him until he died and he never pushed or threatened any of us after that. He remembered his lesson. If he hadn't, well, there was always the BBQ. I have a beefmaster bull now that loves to be brushed and will stand for still hours. I grew up with clysdales and a stud behaves pretty much the same way a bull does. Just have to pay attention.

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> a boot in the nose will usually
> work, too That was my thinking too. But I have not had cows for long and have never been around a bull or stud enough to say i know anything about them. I have horses but only had the cows for abut a year and a half.

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> He's telling you he wants to be
> put in your freezer! No matter how
> well you think you have a bull (or
> cow for matter) figured out as to
> if it's agressive, defensive or
> playing, it can get out of hand
> very quickly. Doesn't really
> matter, the results are usually
> the same. Eat him or ship him!

> dun

This is very valuable information that I wish I would have receieved when I was getting started. I bought a beefmaster bull that had been hand raised and was extremely gentle. He liked to be scratched behind the ear. I learned the hard way one night that what I thought was an advantage was actually a very BIG NEGATIVE. When I failed to scratch his ears one night while feeding in a hurry he penned me up against the side of my truck with his head. Fortunately the bed side was very soft and it caved-in instead of my sternum. The loud sound of the metal bending caused him to back up long enough for me to climb over the bedside and out of his way. I had to wait an hr before I could hurry home, bruised ego, ribs and all.

The best thing you can do is haul a bull like this.



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