# I'm New Here



## Holsteno (Jan 31, 2010)

i just want ti say hello,i joined this place couse i want to learn more about cows,i bought a calf back in september along with a young boy calf,i don't know if that is even how u say it,anyway they are a bit smaller than my great dane,my first question is when the time comes can i breed them?? no they are not related,but i heard that i should wait on breeding the male,after the first heat of the female,something about the sperm not been strong enough,i don't know.Please feel free on giving me any advice that might help me thank you in advance.


p.s. here they are back in sep-09 black and white female,chocolate color and white male,and my dog tiny.


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## ksalvagno (Jan 31, 2010)




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## jhm47 (Jan 31, 2010)

Welcome to our group!  I hope you will enjoy learning all about cattle from the extremely knowledgeable people who post here.

The calves in your picture appear to be Holsteins.  It would be correct to call the male a bull, and the female a heifer.  Heifers become cows after they have their first calf.  Neutered bulls are called steers.  

As to breeding them?  Most definitely, no!  Here are the reasons that you should not do this:  

1.  A Holstein bull is very dangerous when he reaches puberty.  By far the majority of fatal accidents have been caused by Holstein bulls, and from your post, I assume that you are not very well acquainted with cattle.  If I were you, I would have a veterinarian neuter this bull as soon as possible.  While you're at it, I'd also have both of the calves dehorned.  This is for the safety of you and your family.

2.  Holsteins are notorious for siring large calves.  This contributes to calving problems, especially with a first time heifer.  You should breed your heifer to a much easier-calving bull, such as a Jersey (if you want a dairy breed), Angus (for beef), or even one of the mini breeds.  This will be much safer for your heifer.  This can be done by artificial insemination for a very reasonable cost.

3.  Keeping your heifer and un-neutered bull together will ensure that she will be bred at a very early age.  You should be certain that she is not bred until she is at least 900 lbs or even larger.  She likely will be 14 - 15 months old at this time.  If she is bred earlier, this will increase the chances of a difficult birth, and could cause her death.  Even if you are lucky enough to get a live and healthy calf, your heifer will not grow to her potential if bred too early.

Another thing that I would strongly recommend is that you have them both dehorned.  Horns are totally not necessary, and are a huge safety hazard.  Cattle with horns can easily cause serious injury or even death (believe me, I've seen several nasty injuries in my role as an EMT).  Sometimes these cattle don't even mean to hurt people, but they are so incredibly strong that they can hurt you without even trying.  Dehorning is relatively painless at an early age, so get it done ASAP.

Hope this helps you to be successful with your new cattle.  Good luck!


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## hooligan (Jan 31, 2010)




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## aggieterpkatie (Feb 1, 2010)

jhm47 said:
			
		

> Welcome to our group!  I hope you will enjoy learning all about cattle from the extremely knowledgeable people who post here.
> 
> The calves in your picture appear to be Holsteins.  It would be correct to call the male a bull, and the female a heifer.  Heifers become cows after they have their first calf.  Neutered bulls are called steers.
> 
> ...


I agree with everything here, but just wanted to add in that you can AI your heifer when it's time. There are TONS of nice genetics available and AI will let you pick the bull you want with a fraction of the cost of keeping a bull (and none of the danger!).  You can pick a holstein bull and select for a calving ease bull (a bull that has EPDs that show he sires low birth-weight calves).


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## jhm47 (Feb 1, 2010)

Aggieterpkatie is correct on this, there are a few "calving ease" Holstein bulls on the market.  They would be fairly safe for you to use on your heifer if she is sufficiently mature to be bred.


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## Holsteno (Feb 4, 2010)

if i get a vet to neuter my bull,will he still be mean?


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## jhm47 (Feb 4, 2010)

I'd say that his tendency to be mean will be reduced by about 80 - 90%.  Still, you need to dehorn him.  A steer or heifer can very seriously injure you by accident, or just playing around.  Do not EVER start to pet cattle on their heads.  This encourages them to begin pushing their heads on you.  It's cute when they enjoy head petting, but when they reach maturity, they aren't so cute when they knock you down


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## alyssa (Feb 8, 2010)

Hello all. I am also new here and would also love to learn about cows from the knowledgeable people here.
 I have an angus heifer, she was born on the 19th of january and was 4 weeks premature. She had some problems at the beginning but I think she is doing good now. Very frisky.
 I would love to know everything!  How much do I feed? What is best for milk? I know I am very late now (I didnt know they were supposed to start eating starter feed at a few days) so what kind of starter do I feed? Did I damage her by not starting earlier? And, my most un-answered question, what are her patties supposed to look like? I am sorry for all the dumb questions, I really like to know what I am doing with stuff before I get into it, it was a " Do you want a calf?" " Yes!" " Well here we come" kind of deal and I cant seem to find many answeres to my questions online. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## lilhill (Feb 8, 2010)




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