Show bull question ?

[hillsdown]

This will be the first of at least a thousand questions ;-)

When should we put the nose ring in the bull , he is almost 3 months old now ?

Thank you :tiphat:

 

[sim.-ang.king]

I usually do it about 2 months before they show, and only if they are over a year old.

 

[branguscowgirl]

If he is only going to be 4-5 months old when you show, he won't need one yet......I agree with sim. We are required to show at 1 yr or older with a nose ring. I have put them in as late as a month before showing, but ideally 2 months. They need time to heal, and then time to learn how they work.
A lot of people do just use the kind that you clip in. Either way, they get real fussy about them, or snapping your lead to them.
Have you learned how to lead and handle the nose lead yet?

 

[hillsdown]

Thank you !!!

The show is in Dec. so he will be around 9 months old and it is mandatory that they all have a ring . Some of the bulls are already 12-1300 lbs at that age , crazy .

 

[branguscowgirl]

Yes, it is crazy how big they can get um at that age! I will be getting a yearling weight on my show bull at the end of the month, but I don't think he will be that heavy. Anxious to see though!
I don't feed mine a lot of grain. My bull that sold in January was 18 months and weighed in at 1,410.
So he was not huge.

 

[hillsdown]

I am hoping to bring him and his mom in the middle of July and start pushing him and working with him. Wish I was brave enough to put them in a show together, she is one heck of a heifer . Will get pics of them together and post them up . Weather here sucks , rain and cold and just too much to do, we still have to finish seeding .

I have never shown a bull before let alone led one with a nose ring but I do have some great friends in the association that show so I am hoping they will help me out a bit. BUT I did warn you that I will be asking a ton of questions in the upcoming months . :tiphat:

 

[shortybreeder]

I will definitely be watching hillsdown's threads very closely... I am setting up some embryo's for next year calving and I am excited for my first show bull project... We haven't even started seeding yet

 

[branguscowgirl]

Bulls are a lot of fun to show. (Lately I have had more bulls than heifers to show!) They really are easier than heifers. You will have lot's of fun! Make sure that your friends teach you all the tricks to make them hold their backs straight and such ahead of time. I am still learning, and I had 5 friends standing next to the ring all telling me to "flank my bull." I had no clue what they wanted me to do! :shock: So I just smiled and nodded. It all went well none the less. :lol:
This year I will have 3. A cow/calf pair and the bull.

 

[shortybreeder]

I had one calf last year that would have made an AMAZING show bull... Unfortunately he was born in July, so instead he got cut and now he's my show steer for the year I'd rather have shown him as a bull, but July bulls rarely can compete with the Jan-Mar born bulls... He's turned into a really nice calf, and I have a full sibling due I think in early July... Hoping for a heifer this time

 

[Nesikep]

I just finished seeding (a whole 8 acres) into alfalfa.

I'll be watching this thread, even though I'll probably never use the knowledge, I would love to know a little of how to do it, if it's just so I can get a good picture!