Separating the Bull

[AldacoCattle]

Quick question, I tried looking for info in other threads and I couldn't find any.

So we would usually have our bull year round and this year we will separate him from the cows to tighten up our calving schedule. My question is does the bull just go to a different pasture by itself? We have a small operation so we just need one bull. Any information about this would be great. Thank you!

 

[kenny thomas]

I like keeping 2 or more bulls together but a steer is just fine also. He is happier with a buddy.

 

[Warren Allison]

Quick question, I tried looking for info in other threads and I couldn't find any.

So we would usually have our bull year round and this year we will separate him from the cows to tighten up our calving schedule. My question is does the bull just go to a different pasture by itself? We have a small operation so we just need one bull. Any information about this would be great. Thank you!

How many cows do you have? What is your current calving period? And what do you want it to go to? Yes,. removing him from the cows will tighten it up, but that also means some of your cows will skip a calf this year.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Yes. My bull is staying with a friend's 5 bred cows for now.
They get bored without company.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I haven't had good luck keeping them alone. Another bull, steer, donkey, horse, sheep, practically anything is better than alone.

 

[coachg]

Hard to keep one by himself unless you have a real good fence / electric fence or a small paddock away from the cows . 2 together will fight till they get the pecking order worked out . I've had luck with putting a cow or 2 with him to keep him company.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Yes. My bull is staying with a friend's 5 bred cows for now.
They get bored without company.

That's my MO, as well. Helps me, helps them, helps the bull... WIN-WIN.

 

[Brute 23]

How many cows do you have? What is your current calving period? And what do you want it to go to? Yes,. removing him from the cows will tighten it up, but that also means some of your cows will skip a calf this year.

That is not necessarily true.

 

[Brute 23]

Quick question, I tried looking for info in other threads and I couldn't find any.

So we would usually have our bull year round and this year we will separate him from the cows to tighten up our calving schedule. My question is does the bull just go to a different pasture by itself? We have a small operation so we just need one bull. Any information about this would be great. Thank you!

It's pretty tough to separate a bull out and keep him entertained. The odds are he will be a pia in one way or another and likely tear some thing up.

You might look at leasing a bull. I am about to lease one this year and see how it goes. It's $1200 for 90 days and then he is out of you hair.

 

[Travlr]

How many cows do you have? What is your current calving period? And what do you want it to go to? Yes,. removing him from the cows will tighten it up, but that also means some of your cows will skip a calf this year.

Looked at the title and I immediately thought of you Warren. I hope you have a sense of humor, Hoss... because it really is kinda funny.
"If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'." cracked me up too. I had to think where I would send the flowers and the condolence card...

 

[AldacoCattle]

How many cows do you have? What is your current calving period? And what do you want it to go to? Yes,. removing him from the cows will tighten it up, but that also means some of your cows will skip a calf this year.

We have 30 cows and calving just started last week of march. I want to start at the beginning of march.

 

[AldacoCattle]

Yes. My bull is staying with a friend's 5 bred cows for now.
They get bored without company.

That's a good idea. Our neighbor has about 5 or cows I'll ask him to see if he'll want to use him for a bit

 

[AldacoCattle]

It's pretty tough to separate a bull out and keep him entertained. The odds are he will be a pia in one way or another and likely tear some thing up.

You might look at leasing a bull. I am about to lease one this year and see how it goes. It's $1200 for 90 days and then he is out of you hair.

We leased a bull 2 years ago and it was great. Couldn't convince my dad to keep going the leasing route

 

[backhoeboogie]

My neighbor's bull would jump the fence and get in with the cows. It just didn't work for me. Too many neighbors with cattle.

 

[MurraysMutts]

That's a good idea. Our neighbor has about 5 or cows I'll ask him to see if he'll want to use him for a bit

My buddy is planning on buying a few pairs this week. So it helps him out as well. I don't need my bull til end of May. That'll give his pairs almost 2 months to breed.
I gave him 5 bags of cubes to help.

We leased a bull 2 years ago and it was great. Couldn't convince my dad to keep going the leasing route

I'm "kinda" leasing this young bull. I got him bought cheap enough, and I'll sell him this fall after I'm done with him. Last one I bought like this bred all my cows and I sold him for more than I gave for him. He had about 6 months or so to grow and looked much better than when I bought him. He was definitely not overworked. This one is honestly a better bull than my last one I think.

 

[Brute 23]

We leased a bull 2 years ago and it was great. Couldn't convince my dad to keep going the leasing route

What was his reasoning on that? Who did yall lease from.

I ask because this will be my first experience and I'm curious the pros and cons from people who have done it.

You won't lose calves this year do what you are wanting to do. What you are wanting to do is exactly why I responded... "not necessarily". Unless you have cows that won't breed back consistently then those will drop out of the window and they will need to be sold.

I'm in the process of trying to get in to a calving season also. That's why test driving the leasing deal. The logistics of housing bulls just didnt make sense for us. It's also tough to decide when to calve. We came up with putting bulls in April, May, June before it gets too hot. That let's us do the 3 month work on calves in the spring before it's hot, and we will sell in to early fall before the big runs. I'm convincing myself logistically it will be best for breading and working calves and keeping costs to feed low.

 

[TCRanch]

Agree with keeping him with a buddy and some good fence(s). And separating my bulls in a timely manner is how I ended up with a shorter calving period. Bulls are in 60 days but 90% of my cows calve within 45 days.

As far as leasing, I'd make sure both parties are fully vaccinated. A trich test may be requested as well as a BSE. And have everything in writing!!!! Who is responsible if your bull is injured or injures another cow? Lightning? What if he busts through fence and gets out? I'm just saying, think of everything that could go wrong and make sure you're covered.

 

[AldacoCattle]

What was his reasoning on that? Who did yall lease from.

I ask because this will be my first experience and I'm curious the pros and cons from people who have done it.

I think he was worried about something happening to the bull (like the bull getting out) and then we would be responsible for it and he was more calm by the fact that if we owned a bull then it's on us. We rented a nice Charolais bull from J&J Cattle in Bryan TX we got it for 60 days and they charged $600. Not too bad of a deal. I really liked the fact that once the lease is over you really don't have to worry about the bull.

 

[farmerjan]

Your farm liability insurance should cover the bull and it could be an added clause... or could maybe get an insurance policy on the one animal for a certain amount of time... like they do when they transport bulls from bull sales... I don't know all the ins and outs... but there ought to be a way... Yeah... if it got out it would be on you... but you would not have the initial investment, and he went home like the one you had leased... and then you didn't have to feed it 10 months of the year to laze around and do nothing except look for ways to get out and cause trouble...

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Pull the bull, wait a month and preg check and then the bull can go back with the cows until calving. That way he's occupied with the herd for a good bit of time.