- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Agreed. I didn’t find it funny either
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Badly behaved Dairy bull?
- Thread starter Richy12
- Start date
Agreed. I didn’t find it funny either
If as in perfect you are referring to people I quite agree. If you are referring to bulls then I have to disagree. Our last bull was a perfect gentleman, he was so laid back he was horizontal, he never knew what a stick was, all he ever needed was time to figure out what was required of him, it might take a few minutes to get him on a trailer or through a gate, but it was just a few minutes, don't get me wrong we were never complacent with him, but the truth is he really was " Ferdinand " and he left excellent calves, it was an awful day to load him on his last voyage and I must confess to a few tears. He was the biggest Angus bull I have ever seen weighing 1400kgs and standing in horse terms at around 16/17hh at the withers.
Even If he hadn't shown signs beforehand it's fairly obvious he wasnt comfortable in the ring so why not let him go or put a cow in there with him.
Muppets
Double like!
- Location
- somerset
few comments have made me think, which is a hard job, I have always liked to rear bulls from calves, but we do buy adult as well, the thinking being, it will be used to us, and therefore quieter, perhaps this might need rethinking, at the moment we have 2 jersey bull, 5 months old, and one of them is getting to big for his boots ! I have thought about buying a pure cont cow, with a bull calf at foot, any AI to keep calves pure is not a problem, never got around to it, might get on and do it now.
Cows 'n grass
Member
- Location
- Modbury, South Devon
Absolutely right. We've run lots of dairy bulls over the years and the ones reared on nurse cows in a herd that hardly ever saw a human were generally quiet as a whistle but the bucket reared ones were real killers. My final jersey bull went last week and I was very glad to see the back of him, he had some serious anger issues.
Shavings man
Member
Just reading with interest you guys on about these bulls that's a handful , how do the guys at the abattoir go on with them ? Must give them some grief!
Most I’ve seen are well set up so the lairage man doesn’t need to go in with them much and plenty of gaps to pop through out of the way
- Location
- somerset
they have penning that keeps them from charging at you, and, of course, they have the ultimate quieter.
Breakthru
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders
long chain in the nose, head down has to watch his feet head up doesn't affect his work. Also easy to get hold of with a crook
Shavings man
Member
O right , got a good friend that was a slauter man many many years ago he said one particular guy had is own method of getting them in the stun box when they wouldn't budge , really cruel guy according to mate he used to give them a does of boiling water from kettle on there backside ! Ps I ain't a farmer so no experience of em.
- Location
- Worcestershire
Time is long but life is short, dont become another number to an industry that has enough accident and death rates as it is.
I think that a lot of folk underestimate the intelligence of a bull and crucially the memory of a bull. We had an Angus bull get his fat head stuck in the feed barrier, neighbour thought it was a good idea to try and force the bull back with a swift kick to the nose ( he was immediately stopped ) but that bull hated him for the rest of his days ( the bulls ), even though we had buggered about with him for an hour trying everything from cooking oil to a jack. He always was the type of bull that was happier being left alone, don't invade his space and he wouldn't invade yours. Some bulls I am happy to come up to me for a scratch etc, some I know are arrogant and need telling to back off. I am always reluctant to lift a stick particularly to an older bull as they seem to me to hold a grudge. I also think that you can see a bulls character in it's eyes, some just have a really cold eye.
Shavings man
Member
Yes your right he sounded a right one , he used to kill sheep with a spike welded on a bar thought it was quicker than using bolt gun it was time I believe when they had to load a cap in each time , ended up doing time cut some of bosses fingers off with clever ! Mate said he was awfull it's about 35 year ago since mate did that job . Ps he's the nicest guy you'd ever meet .
- Location
- southern riverina Australia
Worst bull we ever had was out of the queiest cow we ever had and raised on another cow.
M-J-G
Member
Was it run in a Suckler herd?
thats very interesting.... I wonder if thats behind the whole 'dairy bull' thing. It certainly makes sense that a bulls character is naturally geared toward being raised amongst cows.
Hire bulls nearly jump up the ramp I find!
We occasionally get a Galloway discover he can loiter by a path gate, and find himself miraculously through into the next enclosure - and in one case, this is a 1500 acre one.
But, having done whatever it is they think they should do next door, you've generally no bother to walk them home again.
One dun bull was so quiet and biddable about coming back you barely needed to drive him...he'd almost be ready to check on what needed his attentions at home by the time you found him.
Mind, in his last season with us, it turned out he'd been jumping a gate between 2 of our own enclosures daily, tending to 2 different groups of cows he thought needed his attention. We didn't realise at first, but as he was getting on, and as the energy levels dropped the evidence soon started to show...the gate started to sag.