Need help with a frisky young Bull

[ddg1263]

I need some help with a young Reg angus bull 8 months old. I am hand feeding him with a bucket with bull developer and at the end of my feeding he wants to charge me. I back him down, and I am able to walk out of the pin, but it still gets my blood up facing him down each time. I am scared that I will have a mean bull in my herd when he grows up not to mention that he will hurt really bad when he gets to 2k lbs. I am sure he would hurt now! Is there any thing I can do to stop this behavior other than selling him. I paid 1800 and I have 2 months of feed in him with a bull developer. I have had two cows with him to calm him down for the past two month when weening him, but now I have him in his own special pen! I can afford to continue paying the feed bill on those cows!!!! I really want to keep him because he looks great and would really improve my heard. Plus he is registered, and would wok well with my other cows when he is of age to take over as main bull. Has anyone else had any experience with breaking a bad behavior baby bull? Does his wanting to charge get worked out or is it a lost cause?

Many thanks!

PS. I feed him by hand about 2 to 3 times a week. I thought of feeding him more by hand and that will get him more use to me???? the other times I just put the food in his normal feed bucket and leave.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

your feeding him got no effect, he would still kill you and not think a thing about it. though he might miss the feeding the next go round . folks are gonna advise you to sell him. but you gonna have to show him your the ramrod of the outfit pronto.

 

[ddg1263]

your feeding him got no effect, he would still kill you and not think a thing about it.

I am afraid he will do just this. It has me worried.

 

[grannysoo]

That bull has got to go! Quick.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

That bull has got to go! Quick.

see what i mean good luck with your next puchase. ;-)

 

[spinandslide]

This sounds like something similar a horse I used to have would do...hes square up and back up towards me after I fed him, like he wanted to kick me. I brought a dressage whip in with me the next time and when he pinned his ears and went to back up and threaten to kick, I beat his rump like there was no tomorrow. I think he tried it one other time, and got the same treatment. He never did it again.

I know horses and cattle are different animals, but it sure sounds like some sort of feed aggression.

I dont know...I imagine this would have to beyour call on what youre going to do...Good Bull or not..is he worth getting plowed over for? At the least, I sure as heck would carry a stock pole with me when I fed and would use it with all the gumption I could muster should the situation arise.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

This sounds like something similar a horse I used to have would do...hes square up and back up towards me after I fed him, like he wanted to kick me. I brought a dressage whip in with me the next time and when he pinned his ears and went to back up and threaten to kick, I beat his rump like there was no tomorrow. I think he tried it one other time, and got the same treatment. He never did it again.

I know horses and cattle are different animals, but it sure sounds like some sort of feed aggression.

I dont know...I imagine this would have to beyour call on what youre going to do...Good Bull or not..is he worth getting plowed over for? At the least, I sure as heck would carry a stock pole with me when I fed and would use it with all the gumption I could muster should the situation arise.

a pitchfork works wonders ..you juke him in the ass with one, a couple times he will hunt new ground :nod: bulls too

 

[bandit80]

Sometimes we buy animals and they die.

Sometimes we buy animals and we lose money.

Sometimes we buy mean animals.

Sometimes we buy bad animals without knowing it.

Sounds as if you did three of the four above, better sell before he hurts you or someone else. He's probably not liable to get any better. It's been two months, should have seen some improvement by now. Yes, you will lose money on him big time. But that is the cattle business, not everything you do will make you money.

You could try to teach him who is boss, but I would be close to a gate to jump over if I did. Be careful.....

 

[KNERSIE]

He must have been some calf if you had to pay $1800 for a 6 month old calf!

Regardless of how much he will improve other traits in your herd, he is also very likely to "improve" the temperament of your herd to be more like him, I'm afraid thats the call only you can make.

For what its woth, you can halterbreak him and hopefully he'll accept you and the halter as his master and submit to you as the alpha animal. I have seen lively calves calm down completely after being halterbroken, I have also seen a few never improve. If that doesn't work you won't have many options left.

 

[dun]

What is is manner when he charges you? Is it because he wants more feed or because he really wants to attack you? Doesn;t make much difference if he gets to you, but knowing why he's doing it may help to figure out how to stop the behaviour. When the term hand feeding is used, it generally means you car carrying feed to him and putting it out for him versus letting him forage for his groceries. Other people mean actually "hand feeding", i.e. feeding from the hand. Which is it?

 

[spinandslide]

This sounds like something similar a horse I used to have would do...hes square up and back up towards me after I fed him, like he wanted to kick me. I brought a dressage whip in with me the next time and when he pinned his ears and went to back up and threaten to kick, I beat his rump like there was no tomorrow. I think he tried it one other time, and got the same treatment. He never did it again.

I know horses and cattle are different animals, but it sure sounds like some sort of feed aggression.

I dont know...I imagine this would have to beyour call on what youre going to do...Good Bull or not..is he worth getting plowed over for? At the least, I sure as heck would carry a stock pole with me when I fed and would use it with all the gumption I could muster should the situation arise.

a pitchfork works wonders ..you juke him in the ass with one, a couple times he will hunt new ground :nod: bulls too

exactly...I think some animals are more aggressive or dominant..but I know with the above referenced horse, he was prob similar, mentaly, in age to the bull in question. They get like teenagers, testing the limits. Ive never met a young horse who didnt test and see what he could get away with. Nip it in the bud and it usually goes away. Above horse turned into one of the best horses Ive owned. Hes winning alot of WPRA money up north with his owners.

I wont say thats the REASON this bull may be acting like this, he may be an innately aggressive animal who needs to be hamburger...I dont know...hard to diagnose stuff like this.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

you can go through a box car load of bull's,there still animals they are capable of flippin' a car on its side. heck when i was a kid, we watched a " high dollar" gert bull, Tbone a school bus and knock it up on two wheels. putting myself in your shoes i wouldnt let this bull intimadate me..how much time and money will you spend looking for the one, that really aint there, when with a little tweakin' up you already got

 

[flaboy]

SHIP HIM!

Now that I have said that and got that out of the way. Now, is the best chance you will ever have at changing this bulls attitude. If he is confined in a pen he will get aggressive. Got a bigger are you can put him in? Now back to the problem. I use a bull whip to gain respect but in a small pen that might be difficult. If the bull still comes at me after he has had a taste of the bullwhip then he goes. Usually, once bitten by the whip they will walk away from me but I still keep one eye on them at all times. Sounds like you will need a big stick with this guy but you had better do it sooner than later (500 pounds versus 1400). When you finally do decide to bust him, BUST HIM LIKE YOU MEAN IT! Little taps will just pi$$ him off more. If you can't get him to walk away from you using the big stick method when you approach, ship him.

 

[Brandonm22]

I would go off on him across the face with an aluminum baseball bat every time he charged me; BUT you are still taking big chances with your health and safety with that kind of approach. Maybe we were just lucky but I just can't recall many (make that ANY) grain fed, barned bulls less than a year old that were THAT aggressive......though I can think of several that became dangerous over time. A lot of animals freak out the first time they are penned; but even wild burros typically settle down after two weeks of grain ration in a corrall. You have been working with him for TWO months and he still is a freakl. I "probably" could beat him some sense into him; but I suspect that his calves and his daughters will ALSO be a load to deal with. I might take a chance on a high headed heifer; but a typical bull has two dozen progeny a year. If just half of them turned out like their old man (or worse) you would be taking your life into your own hands every time you wanted to give a shot or sell a truckload of calves. Oh I hate to say this, but I think the best course of action is to sell and eat the difference.

 

[Busterz]

I'd probably whack him across the face with the feed bucket a few times and see if it changes anything before I sold him.

Anybody have any experience with nose rings on bulls? When do they typically put those in? I've noticed Express Ranches uses them on lots of their bulls, but you don't see them around much anymore.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I'd probably whack him across the face with the feed bucket a few times and see if it changes anything before I sold him.

Anybody have any experience with nose rings on bulls? When do they typically put those in? I've noticed Express Ranches uses them on lots of their bulls, but you don't see them around much anymore.

ive used nose rings with log chain run through the it> works < still have them, but certain situation you can avoid em. ive whacked them with buckets but just makes em mad, and ruins the bucket. that just it when you make a impression on him make it count the first time, cause each additional confrontation will be more intense

 

[grannysoo]

he wants to charge me.

This is where he gets the .45 between the eyes.

I am scared that I will have a mean bull in my herd when he grows up

You already have a mean bull.

he looks great and would really improve my heard

That temperment is not an improvement regardless of how he looks.


If you keep him, make sure your major medical insurance is paid up. Life's too short to deal with this...

 

[3waycross]

Sounds like he needs 2 things in no particular order.

He needs his a$$ whipped like there is no tomorrow, and maybe more than once. He should look at you for the rest of his life and know you're the guy that did him good. Did that to my buddies Gelbvieh bull 2 yrs ago for jumping fences and when he squared up on me I beat the livin crap out of him. After that he would jump the nearest fence when he saw my truck coming, just in case, and never tried me again.

The other thing he probably needs is some company. I'd be willing to bet he was better or actually Ok when he had some company. I have seen recently just how crazy some cattle get when kept alone. Especially Bulls. Even if it's just a steer get him a friend, at least the steer will benefit from the high growth diet and you can eat him when you're done raisin the bull.

 

[Horticattleman]

Regardless you need to make a decision now. Either bow up and show him that YOU are the boss. If not he will run over you, and that's not just figuratively. Whack him good and not a love tap, because that will only pi$$ him off. Whack him good with a wooden handle or something across the ears or on the head. If you are nervous to do it, then do it standing on the fence (other side). If you don't want to be the boss, sell him ..... plain and simple. He is not going to "gentle-up" by him self when he knows he can get away with being the boss.

 

[ddg1263]

I think you are right.. I just need to sell him and take the loss. But the bad problem is I really can't afford the loss. It will set me back a bunch. As for all the comments, I want to thank each of you for taking the time to respond. I am new to cattle so I really can't tell when I am in trouble for my life or just some sparing going on. This baby calf was as calm as a new born baby when I bought him but when I got him to my corral I put him by himself to feed him out. One day I went into the pen to feed him and he was sitting in a straw bed in the corner of the barn and I approached him and he got up and charged me hard (he was cornered).. It ran me out of the pen and fast. That was on his second day on my farm, and I guess he has never forgotten it. The next day I got two cows and put them in with him and I stated feeding them in individual barrels on the ground everyday, and it calmed him down A LOT. I did this for 2 months, and from time to time I would bring in a bucket of feed and hand feed him and he would eat the entire bucket with me standing there holding the bucket hip high. He has calmed down a lot as I can just stand there and feed him those buckets of food, but at the end sometimes he wants to approach me aggressively and when he does I approach him back with the bucket in his face. He will back up and turn away most of the time. Sometimes he will stand there, and I will exit. The other cows fighting for the food helped him understand that this food was good to eat. Now after 2 months he is growing and he is calmer but he has made a couple of aggressive steps towards me and I have a pipe in my hand to beat him if he really comes after me. I am sure he would win but I have had that pipe just in case. Most of the time he will blow and turn his head and walk away several feet away. I think one time someone was feeding him and he bumped them on his behind (not hard but not playful either), it did not hurt them but it defiantly scared them (this was when we first got him.) Also know that I can enter the pen and put the feed in and leave with NO incident at all. I am not sure how he will grow up, but I sure do not need to take the loss on him but my life is way more important than dealing with him hurting me. Thanks for the advice, and everything that you have all said is valuable to me as I have thought the same many times. I just do not know if I am over reacting to an incident or if I have a real problem on my hands. I do think I need to stop hand feeding him with a bucket and just put the feed in his pen and leave. Also He has a big pen now with plenty of ranging room for him to graze.

God Bless all!