"nasty" bulls

Help Support CattleToday:

A

Anonymous

I have read that dairy breed bulls are often "nastier" or "meaner" than beef breed bulls. Can anyone tell me if this is true and if it is, why? Just curious ...

Our Limousin bull, Louis, is placid but not to the point of being a pet ... because we DON'T want him following us around, begging for apples.



[email protected]
 
Many of the Holstein bulls I've been around latley seem to be getting meaner at around 5 or 6 years of age. The worst bulls I've seen have been Jerseys. I used to think it was because most dairy bulls are just used for clean-up and tended to be kept till older then beef bulls. Yet, the pleasentest bull I've been around was a seven year old Red Angus.

dunmovin farms

> I have read that dairy breed bulls
> are often "nastier" or
> "meaner" than beef breed
> bulls. Can anyone tell me if this
> is true and if it is, why? Just
> curious ...

> Our Limousin bull, Louis, is
> placid but not to the point of
> being a pet ... because we DON'T
> want him following us around,
> begging for apples.
 
I think that the temperment of a bull is somewhat related to the amount of handling the bull receives. I currently have a 7 year old jersey bull that I raised from the bottle, and he has never shown any agression towards me or anyone. I think that the reason dairy bulls are regarded as meaner is the fact that they aren't really handled much, so in comparison to the cows, which get handled many times daily, of course they are gonna be meaner.
 
Last spring a dairyman down the road got severely injured by his pet bottle raised bull, when he turned 5 he turned mean as a snake. The deal is, there are always going to be mean bulls and gentle bulls in every breed.

dunmovin farms

> I think that the temperment of a
> bull is somewhat related to the
> amount of handling the bull
> receives. I currently have a 7
> year old jersey bull that I raised
> from the bottle, and he has never
> shown any agression towards me or
> anyone. I think that the reason
> dairy bulls are regarded as meaner
> is the fact that they aren't
> really handled much, so in
> comparison to the cows, which get
> handled many times daily, of
> course they are gonna be meaner.
 
Most goat breeders will tell you straight up that the most dangerous goat is a bottlefed billy. Bottleraising seems to cause some animals to become too close to humans and lose their fear and/or respect.

This little Jersey bull I have is already showing that he's going to be a real handful, good thing he's headed for the table.

The gentlest bull that I can recall was a Hereford, ol' Woodrow. He lived to be 15 and was the biggest baby. We used to ride him all over.

Ann

> Last spring a dairyman down the
> road got severely injured by his
> pet bottle raised bull, when he
> turned 5 he turned mean as a
> snake. The deal is, there are
> always going to be mean bulls and
> gentle bulls in every breed.

> dunmovin farms
 
I am currently working at a dairy farm right now, and I have to agree that dairy bulls are a lot meanier than beef breeds. I don't know why that is. But the dairy won't raise any bulls any more because of the dangers. All the cows are 90% AI'ed and if they don't catch they are either bred Angus or Limo. Any male calves are casterated at 3 days of age. Maybe they are meanier cause they are handled from day one from the handler and not the cow, and don't learn the passive behavior (if thats what you want to call it) from there mothers.
 
> I have read that dairy breed bulls
> are often "nastier" or
> "meaner" than beef breed
> bulls. Can anyone tell me if this
> is true and if it is, why? Just
> curious ...

> Our Limousin bull, Louis, is
> placid but not to the point of
> being a pet ... because we DON'T
> want him following us around,
> begging for apples. Not sure why most dairy bulls are meaner than Beef, but have found this to mostly be true. Disposition is very important because bad ones tend to breed on for several generations.

[email protected]
 
I just finished reading a study that claims that one of the resons bulls get mean is because they are not socialized with cattle. This would particularly apply to dairy bulls that are bottle fed and typically not raised in an environement where they realize they are cattle and can get the crap knocked out of them if they get out of line. They assume that the human is just part of the herd and can be a threat to his girls or is someone to dominate. Interesting.

dunmovin farms

> I have read that dairy breed bulls
> are often "nastier" or
> "meaner" than beef breed
> bulls. Can anyone tell me if this
> is true and if it is, why? Just
> curious ...

> Our Limousin bull, Louis, is
> placid but not to the point of
> being a pet ... because we DON'T
> want him following us around,
> begging for apples.
 

Latest posts

Top