General Nutrition

[xoxobrahmousin]

I have just purchased a Brahmousin bull - long story, but he's our pet now. I have no intention of selling him. I do, however, want to make sure that I'm feeding him what he needs. I live near Houston, TX, on the coast, and he has about 2 1/2 acres on which to graze. He has a constant supply of hay and I feed him a 50/50 mixture of crimped oats and sweet feed daily (about 7 lbs). I introduced cotton seed into his diet and he went on a hunger strike; I gave in after two days. I planted rye grass in November and I have a beautiful green pasture but he won't eat the grass. I've never had cattle before although I raised and showed horses as an adolescent and young adult (20 yrs ago). My bull is about 2 years old and has a beautiful, shiny coat, bright eyes and I think he's a little on the heavy side. No bones show - his pelvis is barely visible. I think he even has fat on his forehead. I've tried the Pearson square but it is way over my understanding right now. I need a very basic breakdown of what his mineral and feed needs are and perhaps even suggestions on how best to feed to meet those needs. Does he need salt, minerals? How much? What kind? How many lbs of food should I even be feeding him daily? Obviously, I'm not trying to make a profit or break even, so cost is not much of a concern. The American Brahmousin Council has been extremely helpful but I need Pet Bull Nutrition 101. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dun]

First thing to do is to make him your pet "STEER"

 

[Howdyjabo]

Ditto on the steer thing- you are playing with fire
as far as feed- a full grown animal not in production should do fine on pasture/decent hay

 

[xoxobrahmousin]

Oh, I've tried the steer (and no horns) thing but to no avail. When I took the bull into the vet for shots, deworming, and a general check up, he said that my bull was "too developed" to castrate and that bleeding to death would be a probable outcome. Although the vet trimmed the bull's horns, he couldn't take them all the way off because of the probability of bleeding out. I failed to mention that my bull was bottle fed by his previous owners and is very gentle and patient. I am in no way pretending that he is a puppy but I do enjoy a level of interaction that allows me to brush him, scratch him and feed him by hand. What is "mineral"? Is it an additive to feed or is it a stand-alone item?

 

[AudieWyoming]

I have just purchased a Brahmousin bull - long story, but he's our pet now. I have no intention of selling him.

WHY?@

 

[ANAZAZI]

Get him off the feed and give him only minerals and grass. And buy a cow or two for company and profit. Feel free to post pictures of him; we will comment on them! And take care as you handle a big bull.

 

[xoxobrahmousin]

Our pasture backs up to my neighbor's pasture so we put in a gate to allow his two cows to run with my bull. Actually, my neighbor brought the bull in from a friend of his to breed his cows and I absolutely fell in love with the bull, bought him, and here we are. One cow is pregnant (that we know for sure) and due in late March. The other....well, we don't know yet. He has company, has two beach balls that he tosses around the pasture, a barn, fresh water in a trough and fresh water from a creek that runs through my land. My place isn't paradise but he's not doing much suffering. My hope, by joining this site, was to get help from more experienced cattle people. I have considered buying more land around me and perhaps starting a small business. I am in the process of registering my bull as a pure 3/8, 5/8 Brahmousin. I'm awaiting my herd prefix so that I can get his ear tattooed and then move on to the next step. Once I have accomplished that, I will look at my options for expansion. I know that I am grossly ignorant on the subject and looking for some help. Just knowing what some of the jargon means would be a start. I hope it's not the norm in this forum to belittle new people and portray a condescending attitude.

 

[Howdyjabo]

Geez I'm not being condescending-- you are playing with fire especially with a bottle fed BULL kept alone and treated like a pet. A breeding bull kept with cows to keep him content and acting normal is potentially dangerous- yours is a real risk.
Is it worth it?

 

[Lucky_P]

OMG. Find another vet. One who WILL castrate, or at least band that thing. It can be done with virtually no risk of bleeding.
I'd want the horns gone too, if it was a (non-Longhorn) steer that I was keeping for a pet, and I can guarantee you that millions of 2-yr old cattle have been dehorned over the years, and very few ever bleed to death. I never let 'em out of the headgate until I'd 'pulled' any spurting arteries.Yes, unless you have a 'cosmetic' dehorning done, there'll be some great big holes in his head for a while, and depending on where you are and time of year, you may have to deal with flies/maggots in the dehorning wounds, but they'll eventually close over.

You're playing with what is a potentially lethal ticking time bomb. A hand-reared bull has little or no fear of, and once he reaches sexual maturity, even less respect for, human beings. It's not so much a problem with calves reared on their dams, but a bull raised on bottle/bucket in close proximity to humans is a disaster waiting to happen. He may seem 'puppy-dog' tame right now, but at some point - and probably when you least expect it - he's gonna see you, or anyone else who happens to be within striking range - as a potential rival, and even the biggest, burliest guy is no match for 1800-2500 lbs of seething rage, bone, and muscle.
Back in the day, death from bull attacks was the leading cause of death for folks on a dairy farm - and it's not necessarily because dairy bulls are meaner than beef bulls, but because they're removed from their dam soon after birth and reared by humans. Fewer today, due to the predominance of AI in dairy herds, but they still happen every year. A big, mature bull can reduce you to a pile of mangled bloody meat scraps in the barnyard dirt or corner of the barn.
We see a similar situation in many species - hand-reared stallions are a threat, as are the 'berserk male' llamas, raised on a bottle.
Even hand-reared cows & steers can be a problem, but they don't have the testosterone-driven ferocity of bulls.

This is nothing to play around with.

 

[rockridgecattle]

The advice you have gotten has not been condescending or patronizing in anyway. What you have recieved is good advice from experience cattle people. Take it as you choose....and from me you will recieve...
...hand fed bull, any bulls infact are a danger and should not even be looked at as a pet of any sort. This is a tragedy waiting to happen...
take it for what it's worth

 

[dun]

OMG. Find another vet. One who WILL castrate, or at least band that thing. It can be done with virtually no risk of bleeding.
I'd want the horns gone too

Just a little emphasis.
Find an actual cow vet!

 

[Lucky_P]

There's been no condescension or belittling anywhere in this thread. Merely sound advice provided in an attempt to head off disaster or death. You came here professing your ignorance, asking for advice; just because you didn't like the advice you received doesn't mean it's not the truth, nor that there was any malicious intent from those of us offering it.
You've evidently got loads of experience with gentle, well-trained horses.
A hand-reared bull is nothing like the horses you've been around. Beware.

 

[redcowsrule33]

Just think of your bull like a spoiled horse that hasn't been taught about personal space. Then double the weight and add horns and testosterone. If you have been around horses you should know that bottle raised foals are a pain in the arse. He could kill you without meaning to, just getting sassy. Please don't get your nose out of joint, we're trying to keep you safe. Our neighbor that spent his whole life around cows just lost his under his bull. My bulls are calm and don't know cruelty but I never let myself get into a situation I can't get out of, even though they have never tried a thing. Steers are dangerous in their own right; if you don't want to steer him, let him be a bull but not a pet.

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Get a california bander & band him. No bleeding problem. With this one you can band any size. Also give him a tetanus toxoid vaccination at the same time. As others have mentioned, a bottle raised bull is a ticking time bomb. It's not if he will hurt someone, but when.

Here's a link to the bander page: http://www.inosol.com/

 

[grannysoo]

I have just purchased a Brahmousin bull - long story, but he's our pet now.

In the words of Forrest Gump:

Stupid is as stupid does.

Make sure that your life insurance is paid up to date and your health insurance plan is strong.