Hereford/ angus mix....

[porkchop48]

Is my new steer going to be a nutcase?

Being that he will be the only one on my mini farm will I be able to tame him enough to safely feed/ clean stalls etc? Also how should I go about making him a semi friendly calf?


We are going to be raising him up to butcher once he gets to a good weight.

 

[Cricket]

I usually keep mine in the barn at first and give them a grain that's really tasty and use the same bucket. Then in the future they're easy to catch, esp. if you get them in the habit of being caught and a rope put on them. I also have a hook in their pen so that I can hook them before I go in. It's not so much that they're nasty, they just play really rough! That's probably as friendly as you need them--it's wicked easy to get attached!

I haven't had an angus in 15 years--my bull was a sweetheart until he reached about 4 years. I had Hereford cows he bred. I only had one heifer that I would have considered crazy, as she tried to kill her calves 2 years in a row. (She went in the freezer). But genetics change a lot in a very short time and I now raise dairy steers, as it's cheaper for me to do it that way than keep a beef cow.
Cricket

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Halter-break him, and don't treat him like some pet. Also, avoid scratching his head as this (scratching his head) will encourage him to butt and want to rough-house with you.

Be around him, get him feeding out of your hand and be calm around him (but also be firm and dominant if he tries to play the dominance game with you), and he will be calm and quiet. At first he'll just want to wander around or avoid you, so don't go chasing after him otherwise you will end up with a bit of a nut-case. Just simply be around and let him come up to you when he's ready.

Also do these things a little at a time, because it quite often will take a few days (sometimes a few weeks) for him to finally get over his anxiety about being away from his mother and being around you.

Calves and cattle are always a little jittery and nutty when they first come home, and that's totally normal. They're in a new environment, new surroundings with new people and have new routines to get used to. And if he's just been weaned, he will be a bit vocal and that's normal too. Just let him do his thing, but keep him in a secure pen where he can't escape for the first few weeks to let him settle down and adjust to his new home. I've been around new calves that just come off a ranch and just been weaned and they're a bit nervous and jittery around me for the first few days or so. But I never chase them, I just calmly walk or stand around the pen, keeping very relaxed and calm, and sure enough the calves themselves calm down too. A few days to a week (or a few weeks) of that and soon I get a couple of calves that will come up within a couple of feet of me. A few weeks after that (sooner when I'm around all the time) I get a couple that will eat from my hand.

And get 80 to 90 calves to background every year. Well, we did, before Dad passed on...but that's in the past.