Bull Calf Behavior

[waddles99]

I personally would get myself a cattle prod. Being an ex dairy farmer I know how dangerous cows can be even if they aren't trying. If you live alone I wouldn't be going in the pasture with him. I was gored in the back by a steer when I was a teenager, and my brother was run over by a young bull. Never trust them. Definitely get him castrated asap.

The good thing is I think I can still go about what I need to do without going into the pen.

 

[cassie]

Yes, I know that it is silly of me to keep him but I really just wouldn't like to sell him to a sale barn where he would be killed. I know it is idealistic but I am really trying to make things work with him. I am going to try and tie him to the fence post to have him get used to a halter, and then have him walk the fence line maybe on the halter with me on the other side. He is always at the fence. I will also maybe try going in there with a stick or something and poke him on the chest to get him to back away if he gets too close? If it gets worse I will try and get him out of there ASAP, but I am really just trying to make it work, if you can understand. Especially since I remember when he was just a baby and liked to suck on my fingers(I know, bad for aggression, I had no idea) and was just a really sweet calf.

They all start out as sweet calves. But then they grow up. What he was and what he is are not the same thing. As I said before, if he were mine I would fatten him up, put him in the freezer, and start over with another calf. You can make sure he is treated well, and when the time comes, butchered humanely. As it is, you are not just asking for trouble. You are begging for it. Doctor bills, hospital stays, and physical therapy are all very expensive.

You can bottle feed and calf, play with it, and still have a gentle steer/ox/pasture pet. Castrate it early and you do have to work with it to teach it manners, if nothing else. By work with it I mean halter break it, tie it up, groom it, lead it around, etc. By doing this you can teach him what is and is not acceptable behavior and the grooming and handling will cause him to bond with you. I have done this with my own animals.

 

[Folly's place]

Waddles, how are things going with your calf? Mary

 

[waddles99]

Thanks for asking. He's being taken away hopefully this next weekend. My 4h leader is going to (hopefully)cut him and put him in with a couple other steers at their farm. He wasn't too bad recently but I haven't gone in the pen since before I posted this thread so I really cant know for sure....I just didn't want to go in there with him. This whole matter really piqued my interest on bull handling and management. I have been doing a bit of reading about it. So at least something good came out of it.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds like a good decision. They aren't nothing to mess with.

 

[Folly's place]

Glad to hear that he's moving on, better for everyone! Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks for asking. He's being taken away hopefully this next weekend. My 4h leader is going to (hopefully)cut him and put him in with a couple other steers at their farm. He wasn't too bad recently but I haven't gone in the pen since before I posted this thread so I really cant know for sure....I just didn't want to go in there with him. This whole matter really piqued my interest on bull handling and management. I have been doing a bit of reading about it. So at least something good came out of it.

It's refreshing to see someone studying up on such things and also making wise choices about it all. I'm betting some of the others who posted on this thread was thinking the same thing I was....all I could think of was you all alone in that pen getting bulled by that big calf and no one there to help you.

A fella up the road from me had a pet bull for years that he raised from a calf and really adored and everyone just couldn't imagine anything bad happening, as they were so close. One day he went out in the field to feed him and that bull got that old fella down and "bulled" him with his head, pinning him to the ground and butting him hard enough that it gave him severe internal injuries, almost killing him. I've heard similar stories of old farmers and their pet bulls that DID get killed by them in just that way. They are so very strong.

 

[waddles99]

I am glad I made the right choice too. For the sake of me, the calf, and the other animals in the pen. It really was interesting to me how the best thing to do is NOT make a pet out of these animals. It makes sense, definitely, after all the reading I have done. But I have thought for a while, that socializing with them to make them a human friendly pet is the best way to not get attacked. I guess that way of thinking could not be more wrong. Better to be feared than loved I guess.

 

[Beekissed]

I am glad I made the right choice too. For the sake of me, the calf, and the other animals in the pen. It really was interesting to me how the best thing to do is NOT make a pet out of these animals. It makes sense, definitely, after all the reading I have done. But I have thought for a while, that socializing with them to make them a human friendly pet is the best way to not get attacked. I guess that way of thinking could not be more wrong. Better to be feared than loved I guess.

A lot of people feel like it has to be ALL one way or the other....either you are loving all over an animal or they are afraid of you, but it doesn't have to be that extreme. Prey animals have an instinctive fear of predators....humans are predators and you'll note that most predators have eyes on the front of their skulls, while prey animals have them more located on the sides of their skulls. That instinctive fear is not a bad thing....it keeps them safe and it also keeps the human safe in a lot of ways.

Affection between the two species doesn't always have to be physical...affection can be shown in mutual respect of personal space, of caring for and feeding them and by behaving in a calm manner around them. A lot of people would get the feeling, after reading some of my posts about roosters, that all my roosters run in fear of me....but it's just the opposite. We have established our respective roles and what I find is that the roosters seem comforted by that in some way....they will often hang around with me as I do chores, settling down on the ground as if on a nest and making purring noises while they preen. They are so comfortable and at peace here that they barely will get out of the way of our riding mower or out of the way as one walks. I don't try to pet them or gain affection from them as I respect their personal space and need to feel safe. In return, they don't try to fight me or mate with my leg.

I get that same reaction when talking to people about roosters that are attacking them....they don't want the rooster to fear them and they don't want to scare the rooster in any way to get him to realize his place in the farmyard, but it's essential that all creatures realize their place in the broad scheme of things in order to live more peaceably with one another. It's a type of language, not just based in an instinctive fear, but also based in mutual respect of our differences.

Socializing a domesticated predator can render them more human friendly because we are fellow predators and have nothing to fear from one another, but a domesticated prey animal has to always have some measure of fear of the predators, even if it's low level due to familiarity over time. It's healthy for them and healthy for you for them to have that natural fear and not necessarily a bad thing. It's just the way it is and trying to change it can lead to dangerous situations for the human, depending upon the animal one is trying to humanize.