Our Bull has Arrived!

[christy461]

He was delivered this afternoon, and the heifers are overjoyed. He is not registered, but I have the information of the grandparents.

Grandparent Sire: ADCA 12981
Grandparent Dam : 12982

The only name I recognize is Woodmagic. I looked it up online, but realized I know nothing about the "ancestors", so it didn't do me much good.

This little bull is exceptionally calm and curious. He seems very small for 9 months, but I really like his personality. Our Rottie is about 80lbs. so you can kind of tell how small the bull is. Any pointers or information anyone can send my way? He is separated from the heifers, but they share a fence line and my plan was to get him used to people, and then put him in with the two heifers. They all seem to like each other lot through the fence. I don't know if the heifers are both in heat, but they are mounting each other like crazy. I take it this may be a good sign.

         

*the fence is temporary -not our usual.

[Pinevalleydexters]

Congrats on your new bull, he looks dun color to me. You will have to determine when you want your calves born, you can figure about 283 from when they are bred. I bet you are excited to get things going.

[zephyrhillsusan]

Congratulations! It's exciting when a new animal arrives. And it definitely sounds like your heifers are eager to meet him. Stick around long enough and you'll be surprised how you'll pick up herd names and recognize them. It's like hearing an actor's or actress' name and knowing right off the bat what movies they were in.

[christy461]

It finally feels like a farm here, now that we have a bull. The heifers are really big compared to him. If they are mounting each other, will they mount him and squish him? I was planning to put him in with them in a couple of weeks, but I don't want him to get hurt. They seriously are HUGE. On the upper end of Dexters, and I can't imagine how he is going to do anything now, unless they lay down.

[zephyrhillsusan]

How about some photos with bull and heifers on either side of the fence?

[christy461]

OK, here they are:





I made so many mistakes with the heifers, I want to do this bull thing right.

[zephyrhillsusan]

Last year we put our almost-yearling bull in with one cow to breed, which he did with no problem. However, she's not as big as your girls, and he was quite solid at a year old. Plus I like to space calving out, so he was only in with one cow, not two, so it was a calmer situation. My inclination, based on the photo, would be to let him fill out and grow up some more. However, that's just my personal opinion, and not a particularly educated one, at that. Sorry I can't be more help.

[Pinevalleydexters]

They are pretty sturdy, when we were raising a crossbred herd of cattle we had a younger, smaller bull. He bred cows that were a lot bigger than he was and they didn't smash him. That's why they call them jumper Bulls. You could let him grow more, but if you get a heifer in heat he may not respect the fence. Although our Dexter's do respect a hot wire. It's up to you to decide what works best on your farm.

[christy461]

Thank you so much for the insights.

I like that- "sturdy"! It's a perfect description. As far as I know, they both were just in heat, so that will give him roughly another month. Maybe he will grow really fast. My gut feeling is we won't be able to keep anyone away from anyone when the heifers cycle next. They LOVE him. Guess I revisit his size in another month. I really don't think they would hurt him, and I think he can get away fast if he needed to, but they sure are scary when they mount each other.