Post by kozzy on Feb 17, 2015 16:24:52 GMT -5
The sum total of my herd is one nice gentle bull (Steve) and one nice gentle cow (Buttons)...who is likely preggers for the first time. I wasn't all that worried about being "green" on the subject of calving as I've done some reading and have several experienced people to call in for help on this first one when needed.
But....one of those experienced people decided to throw a wrench in the works so I wanted to check and see how it actually fit with Dexters. This family runs a "wild" beef herd of the big ones on rangeland and in many ways that's a whole lot different than "pasture pets".
Right now Steve and Buttons share a pasture. When she gets a little closer, I'll move her to better digs for the event. However, this rancher warned me of a couple of problems related to bull aggression that got me a bit worried. I'll do this as a list so I don't get lost. Any input you might have would be helpful in sorting out my ignorance.
1) Ms. Tex said that if Steve was around when the birth happened, there was a high likelihood that he would aggressively harm the calf. I hadn't intended him to be able to access but wanted to know the reality of this for future reference. I understand the possibility but is this a likely problem or a "potential" problem?
2) Ms. Tex said that the smells of birth would turn on Steve's hormones in a way that would likely make him aggressively horny--and he'd do his durndesst to (push fence, jump) to get a piece of the "action". I can only separate Steve and the birthing from each other by a couple of hundred feet so this had me pondering whether I needed to take some serious precautions. The implication was that he'd be so aggressive in trying to jump Button's bones that he might harm her if he was able to break free of his pasture.
3) Ms. Tex implied that Buttons, if she didn't happen to like birth location options, would aggressively seek a better hotel room for the birth even if that meant jumping fence or pushing through so I better make sure she's penned VERY well when her time gets close.
Most of this didn't make a lot of sense to me in the course of reality--if the aggression aspect was as bad as implied, there would be nary a calf in all those ranging herds with constant bull access (like most of them around here). I can understand # 3 in theory but not as likely in practice. Of course she's going to seek a good private place to have the calf...but aggressively to the extent of busting fence?
I trust this person's advice but it just doesn't seem to fit with the cows I know..and may just be over-the-top worst-case kind of warnings.
Or am I deluding myself?
Comments/Ideas?
But....one of those experienced people decided to throw a wrench in the works so I wanted to check and see how it actually fit with Dexters. This family runs a "wild" beef herd of the big ones on rangeland and in many ways that's a whole lot different than "pasture pets".
Right now Steve and Buttons share a pasture. When she gets a little closer, I'll move her to better digs for the event. However, this rancher warned me of a couple of problems related to bull aggression that got me a bit worried. I'll do this as a list so I don't get lost. Any input you might have would be helpful in sorting out my ignorance.
1) Ms. Tex said that if Steve was around when the birth happened, there was a high likelihood that he would aggressively harm the calf. I hadn't intended him to be able to access but wanted to know the reality of this for future reference. I understand the possibility but is this a likely problem or a "potential" problem?
2) Ms. Tex said that the smells of birth would turn on Steve's hormones in a way that would likely make him aggressively horny--and he'd do his durndesst to (push fence, jump) to get a piece of the "action". I can only separate Steve and the birthing from each other by a couple of hundred feet so this had me pondering whether I needed to take some serious precautions. The implication was that he'd be so aggressive in trying to jump Button's bones that he might harm her if he was able to break free of his pasture.
3) Ms. Tex implied that Buttons, if she didn't happen to like birth location options, would aggressively seek a better hotel room for the birth even if that meant jumping fence or pushing through so I better make sure she's penned VERY well when her time gets close.
Most of this didn't make a lot of sense to me in the course of reality--if the aggression aspect was as bad as implied, there would be nary a calf in all those ranging herds with constant bull access (like most of them around here). I can understand # 3 in theory but not as likely in practice. Of course she's going to seek a good private place to have the calf...but aggressively to the extent of busting fence?
I trust this person's advice but it just doesn't seem to fit with the cows I know..and may just be over-the-top worst-case kind of warnings.
Or am I deluding myself?
Comments/Ideas?
. I personally don't like the bull in with my girls when they calve. We had a girl calve before her due date and I had not moved the bull. He was not aggressive, but he is young and I do think that the hormones confused him. He was trying to mount the mother cow and was just being bothersome. Like Fran said, my preference is to put mom and calf up for a few days so that the rest of the herd doesn't bother them, and it gives them a chance to bond. Just my personal preference. 
