Holstein Bull Pet??

[Westabbey]

Hello, I just stumbled upon this sight while trying to research Holstein Bulls as pets. There seem to be some very informed folks here so maybe I can get good advice. I have 2 bottle-fed Holstein bulls. They were born Jan 14, 08. One is a beautiful specimen and one is a, let's say, runt but adorable. I will be de-horning both but was only thinking of castrating the small one. Both are pets that get (hope I don't embarrass myself here) hugged and kissed daily and are use to being handled daily. I read horrible things about Holstein bulls being killers - right now I can't imagine my boys would ever behave that way. Call me naive - I can take it! If this is true, will castrating help at all or am I fooling myself in keeping them as pets at all? Thank you for any help I can get!

Nicky & Grissom Holstein's Mom

 

[Central Fl Cracker]

Flaboy has Angus bulls that he raises for pets and sells them to Disney World Animal Kingdom.

 

[Green Creek]

This person cannot possibly be serious so all we can assume is that they are agitating for the sake of amusing themselves.

 

[backhoeboogie]

This person cannot possibly be serious so all we can assume is that they are agitating for the sake of amusing themselves.

Some folks try to take a snake in the grass and make it a pet as well. Hence, you just never know. In my opinion, they'd be better off with a boa. Cheaper to feed it anyway and it will probably snuggle much more when it grows up.

 

[milkmaid]

He won't be so cute when he's 2000lbs+ and 6' tall. Dairy bulls are some of the meanest out there... and the more you try to make them into pets the more dangerous they are.

 

[Txwalt]

Get a dog.

 

[Westabbey]

Ok, Ok, Ok I got it - not my best moment when acquiring Holstein Bulls! As I have had them since they were 2 weeks old, I do not see myself getting rid of them. Currently they have 5 goat buddies and 3 corgi mates. They all feed together and sleep together and graze together (corgi's don't graze). Will castrating do anything to curb the temperament problem? After castrating, would adding a couple girls to the mix help or just ramp things up?

thank you for your very candid thoughts ........ and I am not just trying to "agitate!:

 

[TexasBred]

Ok, Ok, Ok I got it - not my best moment when acquiring Holstein Bulls! As I have had them since they were 2 weeks old, I do not see myself getting rid of them. Currently they have 5 goat buddies and 3 corgi mates. They all feed together and sleep together and graze together (corgi's don't graze). Will castrating do anything to curb the temperament problem? After castrating, would adding a couple girls to the mix help or just ramp things up?

thank you for your very candid thoughts ........ and I am not just trying to "agitate!:

If you castrate them they won't have any interest in the girls :lol2: What are your long term plans for them?

 

[CattleHand]

Texasbred you just took my comment from me : )

Have you ever seen the movie Finding Nemo where the sharks say "Fish are friends not food." THe opposite holds true for cattle. "Cattle are food not friends." I'd suggest a dog or a cat : ). alot cheaper and they will care alot more.

 

[dun]

Castrate them and start doing some kind of meaningfull training with them. Train them as oxen, i.e. follow voice commands, pull somethign around etc. They will learn that you are the boss not their playmate.
Left as bulls and introducing females would be slightly more dangerous then throwing a lit match in a box of dynamite.

 

[Westabbey]

We just recently moved to the farm from the big city (Houston) and wanted to slowly take on a few animals as pets, for lack of a better word that will count for our ag exemption and would enjoy the beautiful land we have. These guys came from what I believe to be mass producer of cattle - all are taken directly from Mom - she never nurses and they sell only the boys...which they have year around. They were brought to us before I could do any real research about the breed and sexes. So now I am playing catch up. I just want them to live a docile, happy life grazing and getting petted and treats once in a while. I don't want to have to isolate them from us or my young nephew on visits. So I wonder if just having two gives me a better shot at dominating them or if I get a couple girls to help mellow them out after castrating will help me dominate? ( I know they won't be "interested" after castration but I am not looking to breed)

 

[dun]

One thing to learn and remember is that they are unpredicatable and even without intending to harm anyone, they can and will. Stick with goats, easier to handle and a lot more fun to "play" with.

 

[HOSS]

Ok......I am going to assume for the sake of safety that you are serious. Cattle in all breeds, genders or states of sexual alteration (steers) are inherently dangerous. Even when they don't intend to be. Grown bovines can weigh over 2,000 pounds. Just by swinging their heads to scare a fly off of their side will seriously injure a human or possibly kill them. Shifting their weight and accidently pinning you against a fence can do major internal damage to your organs and at the minimum break your ribs. Bulls are another matter. They can appear as docile as a puppy one minute and a shot of testosterone hits and they turn into killers. They are NOT pets. They are bigger than you, faster than you and meaner than you and they know it. Dairy bulls are the worst. When they hit that 2 year old age or thereabouts many change from sorta docile to mad dog mean. It is their way. You cannot change them. They are naturally big, mean and brutal. They need to be to function as the big man in a herd of 1200+ pound animals.

For the love of all things decent....do not hug and kiss your bulls. This is a death wish! Listen to what the folks on this board tell you. This much similar advice cannot be wrong! I have my doubts that any experienced cattleman or woman on this board will offer up the opposing opinion. Don't let the "cuteness" of those calves keep you from heeding this warning. If you ignore it you will be nothing but a blurb in the paper of a familiar story where pet bull kills or maims owner. You have been warned!

 

[hillsdown]

I would castrate them right away as well as dehorn. Start halter training them and getting used to being handled all over and never let them dominate you. There is nothing wrong with having them as lawn mowers and training them to do some work like Dun suggested. There is no reason why you should get females unless you want to raise little ones and Holstein is not a breed for the inexperienced.

Good luck, and do a lot of research on which is appropriate feed for a bovine ,feed ban restrictions etc.

All babies are adorable and cute but they do grow up.

 

[bigbull338]

i for 1 am not going to jump on you for buying holstein bulls.but id steer them.as hol bulls can an will get meaner than snott.in my life being round a dairy bull.theres none that id turn my back on.esp when im on foot round them.an had 1 or 2 that id never be on foot around.an i have raised a hol bull or 2 for breeding.an id never turn my back on them.get you some beef heifer calves to bottle.then you have your ag exemption an some spending money from their calves to boot.

 

[Westabbey]

Thank you for your words of experience, warnings and alternatives. A few of you have mentioned training them. I have started putting halters on them but am curious as to how to train a cow. I know how to train a dog ( have 3 brilliant corgis) but am at a loss when it comes to cows. The "runt" is so small that the smallest halter is too big so I can't leave it on him. He will still try to nurse my hand if given the chance. The larger bull (120lbs) can wear his halter. I will get started this evening if someone can help me with a plan.
They are both being de-horned and castrated next month.

 

[wstevenl]

This looks like a situation where a small (smaller than Dexters) miniature steer would be the answer to your desires. A small Dexter is still pretty scary when they are going after each other, much less going after you. A Holstein on the other hand is a HUGE animal that will be way too much for a beginner to handle pretty soon.

 

[milkmaid]

To add to what Hoss said about cows inadvertantly hurting you by throwing their head around... not only is that true, but you might not realize just how BIG a holstein cow's head is. Take a peek at my avatar to the right. The holstein cow standing next to me really has a head that big. I'm 5'4" and her head alone is about half my size. If she had a bad attitude I'd be in some serious trouble.

OK, so as far as how to train a cow... as yours are 2 weeks old, for right now think of them like puppies. You're going to have to ignore those idiotic moments when they decide to bounce around and forget they're on the other end of the rope. They won't want to lead right away and you'll have to gently but firmly talk them into following, little steps at a time. (I'd note here -- no treats! you cannot treat-train cows like you train dogs.) As they get older, there is one rule that sets the foundation for everything else and takes prescedence over everything else: the bovine must stay out of your space. It's no fun to have a 1600lb animal step on your foot... so when they're on the lead rope, you must decide when they're going to walk, where they're going to walk, etc. They stop when you stop. If you want to walk into their space and brush, scratch, etc them -- that's fine. They are not permitted to enter your "space" for any reason. They may not rub their head against you for any reason (going back to that picture you may understand why!).

I would second the others' comments to consider goats or something smaller if you want a pet. A mature holstein is a massive animal, and I tend to be under the impression that they never quite stop growing. This also equals large feed bills!

 

[dun]

For training this is one place to start:
http://www.iscowp.org/Ox%20Power/Workin ... 20Oxen.htm

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Another source of info for 'working' your (soon-to-be-steers) is Rural Heritage.
Go to ruralheritage.com Go to the home page,you'll find lots of info there. I don't remember off-hand the page with the books and other articles, but you'll find it pretty easily.

Katherine