Thread: a bull that never got weaned one year on

Dropped an 18 month old heifer still suckling her mum for the neighbours. Gut cavity had at least 15kgs of pearly white fat in it. Was bloody everywhere. Kidneys were buried inside at least 6 inches of fat. But tasted pretty bloody nice anyway.

Bulls, don't leave them too long (as has already been pointed out).

Originally Posted by XR500

Dropped an 18 month old heifer still suckling her mum for the neighbours. Gut cavity had at least 15kgs of pearly white fat in it. Was bloody everywhere. Kidneys were buried inside at least 6 inches of fat. But tasted pretty bloody nice anyway.

Bulls, don't leave them too long (as has already been pointed out).

Looks like I’ll grow on my steer and eat the two bulls first

It will be good for me to get rid of them before they start to cause issues


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Originally Posted by Bill999

Looks like I’ll grow on my steer and eat the two bulls first

It will be good for me to get rid of them before they start to cause issues


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Steer will be fine till 2 or 3 year old other option for the bulls is to put them into the works get a bit of pocket monies for new toys

yes definately put them in freezer ASAP...... if one turns nasty,it could do serious damage in a hurry....and the eating wont get better as it gets older.... they plenty big enough already....poor mums need a break....

The bulls are big enough but they are not 'prime' and not a good beef type cross shape, not like say a Speckled Park cross would look like. What I would do is wean them now and 'grain' finish them. Start 500grms Barley a day and build up to 2kg in addition to all the grass they can eat. Kill in two to three months. That will turn them into spectacular eating for steaks and roasts. Young bulls are good eating

Make them all steers

Originally Posted by DavidGunn

Make them all steers

Attachment 184709

I was thinking I could do that to take the time pressure off things but iv picked up on that I probably shouldn’t as they are too old now to steer?

I was sort of planning to do that once next years calves were set (which now they are) but have been told that isn’t a good idea now that they are this big

Is that true or am I getting the wrong end of the stick/bad advise?


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Waaay too big to steer now. Would cost quite a bit for the vet to do it.

Can't send to the works. Trucks won't take them with those horns. At that age its an expensive exercise to get the horns removed by a vet.

And you would need a crush to put them in to do those jobs. A strong crush I suggest.

Much easier to shoot them in the paddock and have them home killed.

A back of the fag packet calculation: I would reckon you would be up for at least $500 to get a vet to come out and do all that.

That’s what iv been told, so that’s good

It’s meat for my crew and they are awesome so I’ll stick to the plan

Looks like I’ll eat one shortly and the other (probably weaned) in 4-6 months


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It’s a vet job to castrate them at that age, legally pain relief (e.g. local anaesthetic) must be used over 6 months of age. Some vets recommend doing them before 3 weeks old, but most farmers would probably be 2-3 months.

And just so I know what do you mean by waaay to big to steer

Does it cause problems or become ineffective (rubber banding) after they get too big?


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Originally Posted by Cigar

It’s a vet job to castrate them at that age, legally pain relief (e.g. local anaesthetic) must be used over 6 months of age. Some vets recommend doing them before 3 weeks old, but most farmers would probably be 2-3 months.

Beat me to the answer before I even asked the question


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Originally Posted by Bill999

And just so I know what do you mean by waaay to big to steer

Does it cause problems or become ineffective (rubber banding) after they get too big?


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The pain is real serious and can knock them around. Also the 'purse' is so leathery that it doesnt dry out but will rot off ( unless the balls are cut out so you need the vet) and likely there will be infection at the ring without surgery to remove balls.
Dehorning is very simple if you Tee the vet up for when they have been velveting stags. A jab of Xylazine drops them and the vet will do a ring block with local anesthetic and saw them off

I dehorned my original steers/mothercows years back and decided then and there it would be the last time I go down that track

the ones Ill keep longterm are my two mother cows and new(last years replacment calf thats now an heifer)

the rest are just walking meat storage for my crew/family

its just a shame its so damn expensive to chop them up at the butchers

Originally Posted by Bill999

I dehorned my original steers/mothercows years back and decided then and there it would be the last time I go down that track

the ones Ill keep longterm are my two mother cows and new(last years replacment calf thats now an heifer)

the rest are just walking meat storage for my crew/family

its just a shame its so damn expensive to chop them up at the butchers

If you kill them at home and cut them into quarters to hang and handle there is probably a retired butcher around or an apprentice who would cut them up for you on an hourly rate.