Gomer Bulls

[PINZ Farmer]

Hey
i got to thinking and i started wondering if gomer bulls are still something that is used today and people still like using them. i also wondered if there is much demand for them like if someone got started in selling and renting out gomer bulls if u would be successsful at it. just some questions for yah


joe

 

[Dee]

I had a guy this May ask to rent my pet steer to use as a gomer. He synchro- AI's and said something about having a bull in with the girls somehow produces stronger heats. (My steer is convinced he's a bull, and tries to do a bulls job, but when the real bull sees him he takes off to the other end of the pasture, he's been butted a few times before.)
I never charged the guy anything, mostly because I had no idea what to charge, and I knew Norman would have good care there. But to answer your question.... yes, I guess people use gomers. Ask an AI tech or some who do AI and see if there is an interest. I saw an old farmer a few years ago who bungeed a big mud flap thing on his bull to use him as a gomer. I think that would be hard on the bulls tool!?!

 

[dun]

It doesn't seem like ther is as much use of sidewinders as there used to be, but vasectomized bulls are still used. We just keep the horniest steer calf each year and use him for a gomer the enxt year then put him in the freezer after breeding season. I think the decline in AI use by the majority of beef producers has decreased the demand.

dun

 

[Ann Bledsoe]

Hey
i got to thinking and i started wondering if gomer bulls are still something that is used today and people still like using them. i also wondered if there is much demand for them like if someone got started in selling and renting out gomer bulls if u would be successsful at it. just some questions for yah


joe

It depends on where you're at and how much AI is done in your area.

Here in SE Nebraska, I raise several (8-12) young Jersey bulls every year that go on to be gomers (dehorned, vasectomized, AND penile deviation/sidewinder).
MY gomers are in big demand around here -- but then I don't just turn them out after weaning as most do, I spend a lot of time training them. By the time they start their "job", they have respect for humans and know basic voice commands. I've been told by my buyers that mine are the only Jersey gomers that they've ever purchased that can be retained from year to year without becoming aggressive -- the oldest are 4-1/2 now.

Ann B

 

[dun]

vasectomized, AND penile deviation/sidewinder
Ann B

Why both?

dun

 

[Ann Bledsoe]

vasectomized, AND penile deviation/sidewinder
Ann B

Why both?

dun

They want sidewinders so that the bulls can't "make contact" with the cow they're mounting.
They also want vasectomized because of the off chance that a bull mounts one cow but "makes contact" with another cow standing next to her.
Sounds impossible, but has been known to happen!

Ann B

 

[dun]

vasectomized, AND penile deviation/sidewinder
Ann B

Why both?

dun

They want sidewinders so that the bulls can't "make contact" with the cow they're mounting.
They also want vasectomized because of the off chance that a bull mounts one cow but "makes contact" with another cow standing next to her.
Sounds impossible, but has been known to happen!

Ann B

I guess it's a case of "the customer is alwasy right". I can see the vasectomized part, but the "makes contact" part really illudes me. If he's a virgin bull and is only used in one herd and all the cows are clean for STD's, what's the big deal?

Now for something in the same vein but different. Many years ago they used to talk about ringing a bull. Supposedly it kept him from being able to extend his penis but could be removed to use him as a breeding bull. Ever hear of that? Where the heck would the put the ring?

dun

 

[Ann Bledsoe]

Most of the bulls aren't just used in 1 herd -- they're sold to AI Reps and are moved from herd to herd.

I've never heard of "ringing" a bull, but I have heard of "ringing" a stallion. I was about 14 and in 4H at the time, in a class of all girls, so we didn't get much of an explanation -- things like that just weren't discussed!
For that matter, our instructor would only use mares in our classes -- males were too embarrassing for him, he was afraid he might have to answer questions about "body parts".

All we were told was that "ringing" made it impossible for the stallion to breed a mare.
Might just have to talk to the old retired vet down the road -- he might know something about them.

Ann B

 

[dun]

If they're moved around, that makes sense. Of course that big old snotty nose stuck into those areas would probably be just as nasty as the penis I would think.

dun