# Jersey bull question



## farmerlor (Jul 26, 2011)

So we have this little Jersey bullock that we're bottle raising and I LOVE this cow.  He was sick when we got him and we've nursed him through that and he's become this wonderful pet who loves scritches and rubbing and his food of course.  I work with him everyday handling him, lifting his feet, rubbing my hands all over him and I'm going to start halter training him as soon as he grows into his halter.  Now someone needs to pat me on the head and tell me some stories about gentle Jersey bulls because we all know that Jersey bulls are responsible for more injuries at meat processing plants than all the other breeds put together.  Even my cow mentor who only raises Jerseys tells me I'm living in a fantasy world if I think this cow will ever be anything more than hamburger though I want him for breeding purposes. Can someone tell me it's possible to raise a bull who isn't a danger to my children or give me tips on how to teach him now while he's small how to be a gentle boy when he grows up?


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 26, 2011)

Sorry, wish I could but I can't.  Jerseys are known for being huge jerks.  :/  I would say especially because he's going to be so tame he'll be an even bigger danger.  

Do you have a Jersey cow herd?  Is that why you want him for breeding?


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## farmerlor (Jul 26, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Sorry, wish I could but I can't.  Jerseys are known for being huge jerks.  :/  I would say especially because he's going to be so tame he'll be an even bigger danger.
> 
> Do you have a Jersey cow herd?  Is that why you want him for breeding?


A herd?  No.  We're just starting out with one Jersey/Holstein cross.  She's currently being bred by my mentor's mini Jersey and will calve next year.  We'll probably get another Jersey cow next year as well as offer our bull to breed other small homesteader dairy cows in the area.  He was orphaned and very cheap so we got him because there just aren't any other dairy operations close to us so getting our cow freshened every year was going to be a challenge.  Hoping to end up with three milk cows and a bull unless the whole bull thing just isn't going to work out at all.


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## WildRoseBeef (Jul 26, 2011)

farmerlor said:
			
		

> So we have this little Jersey bullock that we're bottle raising and I LOVE this cow.  He was sick when we got him and we've nursed him through that and he's become this wonderful pet who loves scritches and rubbing and his food of course.  I work with him everyday handling him, lifting his feet, rubbing my hands all over him and I'm going to start halter training him as soon as he grows into his halter.  Now someone needs to pat me on the head and tell me some stories about gentle Jersey bulls because we all know that Jersey bulls are responsible for more injuries at meat processing plants than all the other breeds put together.  Even my cow mentor who only raises Jerseys tells me I'm living in a fantasy world if I think this cow will ever be anything more than hamburger though I want him for breeding purposes. *Can someone tell me it's possible to raise a bull who isn't a danger to my children or give me tips on how to teach him now while he's small how to be a gentle boy when he grows up?*


Nope.  When a bull starts reaching puberty, his hormones start getting up to the point where he gets very dangerous and unpredictable. There was an episode on Animal Planet's Fatal Attractions that I seen that had people that had been raising a pet bull exactly the way you have described.  These people became so complacent with their pet bull that they began to believe that they can do anything with him because he was their so-called "pet," even if he's out with the cows.  Well, the one fella that went out on his quad to get his pet bull back in got severely injured by that bull when he turned on him suddenly.  Another man was killed by his pet bull when he turned his back on the bull for just a moment.

I hate to be blunt here, but you're playing with lit matches and a few kegs of TNT if you keep the belief that he's going to be a gentle bull when he's grown up.   Pet bulls are the most dangerous bulls because of the fact that their human caretaker has become very complacent and has put too much trust into him to see the obvious. And it doesn't matter if he's halter trained or not, he's still going to be a bit of a firecracker when he gets older, bigger and much stronger than you.

I honestly have NEVER heard of a story of any gentle pet bull, let alone a pet Jersey bull.  

The farmer who is renting our land has a few cows with a dozen bull calves in the corrals this year.  There's a really sweet-looking Jersey bull calf in there, but I have never attempted to make a pet out of any of them because I know full well what they're going to grow up to be.  I respect the fact that they are bulls, and I don't trust them because they are bulls.  It's easy to forget, at the age when they're just babies, that they're going to grow up to be monsters, but once you've had the experience handling some ornery bulls like I have, you don't forget at all. 

Oh, and btw, according to the dictionary, the term "bullock" is a European term for a castrated male bovine, which we North Americans call a steer.    And, a cow is a mature female bovine that has had at least two calves.  So "bull calf" or calf is the more proper term to use in reference to the little Jersey.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 26, 2011)

Yep, I agree.  Heck, when we had 60 milkers we didn't even keep a bull.  There's just no need for the risk when you only have a few cows. You'd have to have a really sturdy fence for him, and you'd constantly have to watch him. There are lots of stories of guys around here who have had run ins with their bulls.  Most farmers don't keep bulls around any longer, and if they do they keep yearling bulls for clean-up and then send them when they show the slightest aggression.  

Do yourself and your family a favor and castrate him and have a pet!  Even then you'll have to keep an eye on him because they are still strong animals.


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## farmerlor (Jul 26, 2011)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> farmerlor said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice.  I guess I really knew when we got him that he should be considered beef and not get attached but then I started thinking what a great breeder he would be and allowed myself to hope.  I grew up on a beef cattle farm so we knew that you never, ever turned your back on a bull but those big Angus boys were sort of slow and stupid and while we respected them no one was ever even really threatened by one.  I used to play at the neighbor's dairy farm and they had Swiss and Jerseys and the bull just ran the pasture and was never really handled at all but we weren't allowed out there either so I guess he may have been mean.   Well, I guess we'll go back to play A.  I'm hoping to get a breeding out of him next May after my cow freshens and then we'll take him in.  In the meantime we'll work on making less of a pet of him mostly so we won't be quite so sad when he goes.  I never knew that about the word Bullock.  Grandpa (who ran our farm) always called the baby boys bullocks.  Of course I knew that a cow was a female who'd had a baby but I tend to use it as a diminutive for all the calves.    
Sad-I'd hoped to keep him just running the pasture like the old Angus bulls I grew up with.


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## farmerlor (Jul 26, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Yep, I agree.  Heck, when we had 60 milkers we didn't even keep a bull.  There's just no need for the risk when you only have a few cows. You'd have to have a really sturdy fence for him, and you'd constantly have to watch him. There are lots of stories of guys around here who have had run ins with their bulls.  Most farmers don't keep bulls around any longer, and if they do they keep yearling bulls for clean-up and then send them when they show the slightest aggression.
> 
> Do yourself and your family a favor and castrate him and have a pet!  Even then you'll have to keep an eye on him because they are still strong animals.


He'll be almost year old just about the time Star has her calf next May.  If we get a breeding out of him right after she freshens that would be optimum and we can take him in right after.  I'll be watching in the meantime and keep the kids out of the pasture and at the first sign of aggression he's gone.  We'll just do AI after this and that way I can concentrate more on the mini Jerseys.


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## goodhors (Jul 26, 2011)

I would strongly suggest that you just plan to use the neighbor's bull again next season or go AI, and castrate the calf.  Waiting for a first sign of agression, may be the point where he hurts someone!  Then it is too late to be sorry.  Jersey's are quick, have very short fuses, are nothing like modern, well-bred Angus bulls.  Angus are hamburger if they get tempermental, with their calves being culled out of breeding herds for possible future poor temperment.  Beef breeds have done enormous work in producing much quieter bulls, mostly easier to handle than in the past.  My rancher friends want to be able to work with their cows doctoring if needed, without having to worry about the bull going berserk while they are on the ground.  They pay HUGE amounts for quality beef bull calves that are rated for quiet tempers.  Have to say it was nice the last time I rode with them to have bulls that were fairly cooperative!  I still watched carefully, but that is always how we dealt with bulls, so it is habit.  The couple of bulls that needed doctoring were managed between a couple horses with ropes, problems taken care of.  Bulls were not happy, but did not go crazy either.  Have to say I was impressed!!

One of my friends said he has only had one bad bull in the last 15 years.  When it went bad, he went back and removed EVERYTHING he owned by that bull.  Said it wasn't worth the chance of someone getting hurt, later down the line.  Blood breeds true, and temper is in the blood.  So he shipped the bull, all his female offspring, along with everything those females had produced.  Everything by that bull went.  This rancher was older, had come up thru times with bad handling cattle, wanted everything he owned to be workable on foot when needed.  A real cowman, he KNEW his animals and their histories.  Was not interested in going back to "the good old days" when cows would charge a person on foot, bulls regularly chased horseback riders.  Took two riders with good horses to go out in the herds to do herd health, fix injuries.  He likes the modern cattle a lot! 

Dairy bulls have always had a worse reputation for danger than beef breeds, which is WHY AI breeding was hailed as such a benefit to modern farmers, ranchers!!  No one NEEDED to own a dairy bull anymore!  Lot of good people hurt with dairy bulls in past times, but they were required to keep the milking cows going.

Not any more!  AI is the way to go with a small herd of cows, safer for everyone.  No danger of "accidents" with bull loose, kids ignoring you to play in the field, sudden unexpected reaction of bull to any different thing around him.

Do you know anything of this calf's breeding background?  Is he any special lines or quality blood that will be a benefit to you?  Unknown bloodlines is working backwards in your cattle program, not improving anything.  

With the AI, you will have ALL the information at your fingertips, milk production, butterfat numbers, calf sizes, strong features of bulls that will improve your cows' weak points.  Calves should be better than the cows in a good breeding program.  You want to be improving the animals you produce.  

Using the calf without that information is a guessing game.  Yeah, you get a calf, just could be a real poorly built one, large to give the cow problems delivering it or other issues.  And you have to deal with owning the bull year around as well.  Not every animal should be reproducing just because he is a bull.

Castrate the calf, remove the danger factor, and just enjoy him as a friendly pet steer until his time ends.


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## jhm47 (Jul 26, 2011)

No matter what, don't forget to dehorn him.  Steer or bull---they can injure or worse without even meaning to.


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## OtterCreekRanch (Jul 26, 2011)

As someone who has shown a lot of bulls who had to be made gentle at the young age and worked with on a daily basis to be calm, gentle, and halter broke, I can tell you that once they reach maturity they are not going to be a pet. I have had many bulls in the past that were my babies while showing them (up until 2-3 years old), but as soon as they had started being used for breeding they became very unpredictable. Even while still being shown a 2 year old bull can be very difficult to handle. These bulls we worked with so much also became some of the hardest to deal with bulls once they were turned out to pasture because they knew humans brought them their feed, and they had absolutely no fear of people what so ever. Even if the bull is not aggressive, they can easily hurt (or kill) you without even meaning to. The last bull I raised up and shown was a sweet boy, but he wanted to play and to bulls, playing is a shoving contest. It got to where we could not go out into the pasture with him, not because he was aggressive, but because he was so friendly and was BIG. He ended up having to be sold because we just could not trust him with even my husband and I, much less kids.

If you want to keep your calf as a pet, castrating him is really your best option (only option really, if you want to be somewhat safe). If you got him and he was sickly, he probably is not a good herd sire prospect anyway. If you are only going to be keeping a few head, AIing is really the way to go. I will always show bulls, but we probably won't ever keep another bull as a herd sire again. They are a headache to deal with.


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## farmerlor (Jul 27, 2011)

goodhors said:
			
		

> I would strongly suggest that you just plan to use the neighbor's bull again next season or go AI, and castrate the calf.  Waiting for a first sign of agression, may be the point where he hurts someone!  Then it is too late to be sorry.  Jersey's are quick, have very short fuses, are nothing like modern, well-bred Angus bulls.  Angus are hamburger if they get tempermental, with their calves being culled out of breeding herds for possible future poor temperment.  Beef breeds have done enormous work in producing much quieter bulls, mostly easier to handle than in the past.  My rancher friends want to be able to work with their cows doctoring if needed, without having to worry about the bull going berserk while they are on the ground.  They pay HUGE amounts for quality beef bull calves that are rated for quiet tempers.  Have to say it was nice the last time I rode with them to have bulls that were fairly cooperative!  I still watched carefully, but that is always how we dealt with bulls, so it is habit.  The couple of bulls that needed doctoring were managed between a couple horses with ropes, problems taken care of.  Bulls were not happy, but did not go crazy either.  Have to say I was impressed!!
> 
> One of my friends said he has only had one bad bull in the last 15 years.  When it went bad, he went back and removed EVERYTHING he owned by that bull.  Said it wasn't worth the chance of someone getting hurt, later down the line.  Blood breeds true, and temper is in the blood.  So he shipped the bull, all his female offspring, along with everything those females had produced.  Everything by that bull went.  This rancher was older, had come up thru times with bad handling cattle, wanted everything he owned to be workable on foot when needed.  A real cowman, he KNEW his animals and their histories.  Was not interested in going back to "the good old days" when cows would charge a person on foot, bulls regularly chased horseback riders.  Took two riders with good horses to go out in the herds to do herd health, fix injuries.  He likes the modern cattle a lot!
> 
> ...


We actually do know a little bit about his background which was why I was so hyped on keeping him as a bull.  He comes from the only large dairy around here which is about a hundred miles away and his sire is from show stock and the mother was one of the farmer's best milkers which was why the farmer was so upset when she died after the birth.  I don't know what size calves the bull averages but THIS calf was not quite 70 pounds at a week old.  He was sick because the dairy farmer didn't have time to bottle feed him or bother with trying to sell him so he gave him to the angus farmer next door who threw him in with a bunch of much bigger angus calves in a dirty pen and the little boy got a respiratory infection.   Y'all have convinced me.  I still think I'm going to try to get one breeding out of him next year while he's still young but then I'll revert to AI and concentrate on getting a nice herd of mini Jerseys.  I think the Mini's are going to be where it's at for the small homesteader who wants a dairy cow anyway.  These bigger cows who give five and six gallons of milk per day are just too much work for your average homesteader.  I want a bigger cow for us simply because I want to really work on cheese making.


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## jhm47 (Jul 28, 2011)

Make sure you are up to date on your estate planning.

I work for a very large AI firm.  Their employees routinely collect semen from all breeds of bulls.  The Holsteins are bad, but the Jerseys (while much smaller) are much quicker, totally unpredictable, and will turn on you in an instant.  Of course, they are still incredibly strong, and all it takes is one split second to take out a human.

As long as you're going to live life on the "edge", you might as well quit buckling your seatbelts.  Own a motorcycle?  Go helmetless! And go fast!  Heck, you might as well go to Sturgis and throw fake blood on the Hells Angels while you protest their wearing of leather clothing.  And don't forget---smoking is cool!

Seriously, I wish you the best, but I strongly encourage you to reconsider your decision.


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## Royd Wood (Jul 30, 2011)

Good luck with your plans and take care with your bull 
We have a huge Galloway bull here who was halter trained and shown for 2 years. He's a great fella but I know he could turn nasty in a blink 
keep us posted on what goes on


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## freemotion (Jul 30, 2011)

This is my fourth year with a buck and the current one is the oldest I've kept....he is 15 months now.  I see the handwriting on the wall.  He is a sweetheart and calls to me for affection and quick as a blink he will swipe at me.  He'll take a bite or two of his hay and then ram his hay feeder, even when no one is around.  He stands at the fence and rams the fence.  He gets worse and worse as he goes into rut....and no doe has come into heat yet.  His sexual tension will build.  Having few does to breed, that tension is expressed as rage.  Last winter, at less than a year old, he became a sweetheart when he had access to four does and all the breeding he could handle and then some.

I don't know bulls, but I'd think the sexual tension would be a huge problem with only one cow to breed to release that tension.  Also, the problem of that tension building into rage while you wait for the heat that YOU want to breed on so the cow freshens when YOU want her to.

What if he gets out?  I recently had to  have my dh help catch my buck after he rammed the corner of the fence so much he loosened the post it was attached to and slipped out.  I worked with colts and stallions for over a decade and had lots of respect for them.....very different behavior from altered males.  Quick as lightening, too.  And just as dangerous.

My father told me that, growing up on the farm, they would hang a large log from a chain in the bull's pasture so he could ram it all day and express his frustration.  I'll be putting one up in the buck's pen this weekend.  When dh is home to keep me safe from the buck.  Used to affectionately call him Bambi.  Not anymore!

If AI were available at anything approaching reasonable here, I wouldn't keep a buck.  When I was a kid and we kept one milk cow, my dad used an AI tech to breed her.  You can get semen from good lines and from many breeds and it is very successful in the cattle industry, unlike the difficulties and challenges with horses and goats.


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## farmerlor (Jul 31, 2011)

freemotion said:
			
		

> This is my fourth year with a buck and the current one is the oldest I've kept....he is 15 months now.  I see the handwriting on the wall.  He is a sweetheart and calls to me for affection and quick as a blink he will swipe at me.  He'll take a bite or two of his hay and then ram his hay feeder, even when no one is around.  He stands at the fence and rams the fence.  He gets worse and worse as he goes into rut....and no doe has come into heat yet.  His sexual tension will build.  Having few does to breed, that tension is expressed as rage.  Last winter, at less than a year old, he became a sweetheart when he had access to four does and all the breeding he could handle and then some.
> 
> I don't know bulls, but I'd think the sexual tension would be a huge problem with only one cow to breed to release that tension.  Also, the problem of that tension building into rage while you wait for the heat that YOU want to breed on so the cow freshens when YOU want her to.
> 
> ...


Thanks Free.  The fencing will not be a problem as a I have a very secure pen that we used to keep our Belgian stallion in.  If our 2000 pound stud couldn't get to the mares in heat through that fence I'm not worried about a bull that's half that size.  I'm hoping to get another Jersey or Swiss heifer this winter so he can breed two cows in the spring but then he's going to go to the butcher.   I think we can handle him that long even if we have to put him in the stud pen to breed the cows.   We also don't need to enter the stud pen to feed or water.


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## 5Jerseygirls (Oct 5, 2011)

farmerlor, I am going through the same thing. I love my boy dearly. My vet said after I breed the cow, he could then castrate him if I want to keep him as a pet. A calistrate or california type bander can be used on mature bulls. They are much different than the bander with the little green bands.


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## Hickoryneck (Oct 5, 2011)

freemotion said:
			
		

> This is my fourth year with a buck and the current one is the oldest I've kept....he is 15 months now.  I see the handwriting on the wall.  He is a sweetheart and calls to me for affection and quick as a blink he will swipe at me.  He'll take a bite or two of his hay and then ram his hay feeder, even when no one is around.  He stands at the fence and rams the fence.  He gets worse and worse as he goes into rut....and no doe has come into heat yet.  His sexual tension will build.  Having few does to breed, that tension is expressed as rage.  Last winter, at less than a year old, he became a sweetheart when he had access to four does and all the breeding he could handle and then some.
> 
> I don't know bulls, but I'd think the sexual tension would be a huge problem with only one cow to breed to release that tension.  Also, the problem of that tension building into rage while you wait for the heat that YOU want to breed on so the cow freshens when YOU want her to.
> 
> ...


I have had Bucks since I was 9 years old and I have only ever had one pain he was a 3 yo pygmy my dad got and he was so mean we used a baseball bat to feed him he was a holy terror until the day the boer showed him who was the boss then he turned angel . All my other bucks in many breeds were all great boys they were raised with love but also knew who was the boss I never allow them to for one second think they are in charge and have not had any issues what so ever if a buck is properly raised he is a wonderful creature no matter how horny . 


I have never dealt with cattle so have no idea how they are but the huge size is enough to make me not want one I can knock a buck down if he turned on me but a bull would be a challenge :bun so I guess I will stick to the goats!


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## Bossroo (Oct 5, 2011)

While you are still in the planning stages of breeding one or two cows, then butchering this bull instead of using the much safer AI... I would heartily recomend you to have your Chiropractor, Orthopedic Surgeon, Emergency Ambulance and Hospital, Mental Health Provider, Life insurance Agent, Estate Planner, Liability Insurance Agent, Lawyer, State Prison,  Funeral Director, and Barial Plot all at the speed dial ready  for you ,family, friends, and/or visitor as the inevitable will happen. I wish you luck !!!


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## herfrds (Oct 5, 2011)

Like it has already been said, no bull is a pet. PERIOD!

I was chased out of a corral, chased on a 4 wheeler and stalked around our corral by a bull we had. He earned himself a one way ticket down the road.

Does not matter how cute he is or how tame he is always remember this will be a large animal that can kill you.


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## jhm47 (Oct 5, 2011)

Was at a livestock sale barn several years ago.  They brought in a large Holstein bull that walked and acted funny.  Seemed to be in a daze.  The auctioneer said that the bull had been darted and drugged after he had hit a 4020 John Deere tractor and turned it over.  The owner was feeding cows in the lot, and the bull attacked the tractor (with a loader on it), and upset it with the farmer inside.  They had to get a vet out to dart the bull so the farmer could get safely out of the tractor.  They decided to sell him while he was still under the influence of the drug.  Wonder what that meat would have been like.  

Just remember, these animals can run faster than any olympic sprinter, are more powerful than 20 - 30 men, and are totally unpredictable.  PLEASE be careful!!!


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## redtailgal (Oct 5, 2011)

That holstein would have never made it to the sale barn.  

The neighbors had a holstein bull that was crazy or posessed or SOMETHING.  He would bellow at cars going down the road, the honk of a horn would put him into a fury, and Heaven help any person who dared walk in (Or even near) the pasture.  

That particular bull died suddenly one evening. 

We had a block party to celebrate.


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## 77Herford (Oct 5, 2011)

Bulls can be dangerous and must know who's the boss but to assume all are dangerous, I believe is false.  3 of my 4 bulls I wouldn't play around with but the one I have is much more gentle than the others.  He is a great sire and puts the other bulls or rowdy cows in their place but has never hurt me intentionally.
My Great Grandpa had a similar bull that was a Simmental but I'm not saying by any means a bull should be a pet.


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## herfrds (Oct 6, 2011)

77 I can scratch one of our bulls on the back, butt and head, but I always leave an escape area open. Do I trust him 100%? Nope.
Too many people get used to "tame" animals and that is what gets them in the end.

Nothing will get you moving faster then a 1200# plus bull with his head down picking up speed heading straight for you. If I had had a gun he would have been stopped there.


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## 77Herford (Oct 6, 2011)

herfrds said:
			
		

> 77 I can scratch one of our bulls on the back, butt and head, but I always leave an escape area open. Do I trust him 100%? Nope.
> Too many people get used to "tame" animals and that is what gets them in the end.
> 
> Nothing will get you moving faster then a 1200# plus bull with his head down picking up speed heading straight for you. If I had had a gun he would have been stopped there.


Never said I trusted him 100% and if he decided to charge me I would become the FLASH, lol.  I have run from previous bulls.  Thats why farming is an adventure.

Now when a Goat charges me I just stand firm and present the shock cane, but that goat is gone now.


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## Papa Bear (Jan 10, 2012)

I have been to three funerals in 30 years from bad bulls. These were experienced dairy families that grew up milking cows. I have worked on many, many dairies over the years and far and away the worst bull stories were from the Jersey dairies. PLEASE consider making your bull into a steer before he reaches puberty. AI is the safest way to go. Best of luck....


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## lilcritters (Jan 10, 2012)

Sorry Jerseys are the worst for attitude when left as bulls.... We just took one to the big house. We had to keep him in a metal corral cause he tore EVERYTHING up with his horns.... One thing you DONT DO is pet them on the head. I worked at a dairy and we had a show bull and he got mean cause the kids would rough house and shove him around at his head... soon he took a kid down....I remember one bull at the dairy (holsteins) that got the old man down that worked there. he was immediatley taken to the barn. Bulls just do not make good "pets"



April


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## Mike Fronczak (Jan 10, 2012)

Our first two cattle were a Jersey & a Jersey/Holstein steers.  Even though they were steers the Jersey had a look in his eye, I never turned my back to him.  I figured it was just normal with cattle. They are both in the freezer.  I now have Highlands none have that wild look in their eyes, doesn't mean I don't use caution around them, but they seem more calm.  The two steers got out a few times, the highlands have yet to, they came off the trailer straight to pasture with only a 3 month old steer sliding under the fence, then right back next to mom.


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## Icp7147 (Apr 28, 2012)

farmerlor said:
			
		

> So we have this little Jersey bullock that we're bottle raising and I LOVE this cow.  He was sick when we got him and we've nursed him through that and he's become this wonderful pet who loves scritches and rubbing and his food of course.  I work with him everyday handling him, lifting his feet, rubbing my hands all over him and I'm going to start halter training him as soon as he grows into his halter.  Now someone needs to pat me on the head and tell me some stories about gentle Jersey bulls because we all know that Jersey bulls are responsible for more injuries at meat processing plants than all the other breeds put together.  Even my cow mentor who only raises Jerseys tells me I'm living in a fantasy world if I think this cow will ever be anything more than hamburger though I want him for breeding purposes. Can someone tell me it's possible to raise a bull who isn't a danger to my children or give me tips on how to teach him now while he's small how to be a gentle boy when he grows up?


I work on a dairy farm. we milk over 225 cows mostly holstiens, I have a few jerseys. about 5 years ago we had alot of calving trouble. we breed all are heifers to holstein bulls. we tried a jersey bull. I bought him from a Uncle a retired jersey breeder. He was a little over a year old when I bought him. my two little cousins haltered him from when he was a baby. The only reason we got rid of him was because his daughters became breeding age. The cattle dealer was shocked when he came to pick him up and i went and got a halter and led this 3 and a half year old Jersey bull onto the trailer.  How ever a few weeks later i asked the cattle dealer how the bull was doing and he told me he had to pick him up because the farmer he sold him to called him. The Bull turned Ugly. No reason why. Dairy bulls always turn mean. It is not are they going to turn mean? Its when are they going to turn mean? My Advice Steer him


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## Sonia Quijada-Ramberger (Mar 30, 2017)

That's interesting...I read a book about raising calves and it instructed to halter the little ones to train them not to head-butt when drinking milk. I am still in the training process. My observation so far is that they're very stubborn animals. Once you do physically what they (head-bump) they become indignant, stare into space and stop eating.


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## Latestarter (Mar 30, 2017)

Greetings and welcome to BYH @Sonia Quijada-Ramberger  The thread you posted to was a "dead" thread having last seen a post almost 5 years ago. Several of the folks who posted here are still active members though. I hope you'll take a moment and do a brief introduction in the new member section so we can give you a proper welcome! We do have some good, active, cow/cattle people here on the site and can always use more. Please make yourself at home and browse around the threads. I look forward to reading your posts.


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