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Mixing bulls

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Big Muddy rancher

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My big bulls run in a big pasture for the winter and stay pretty settled,my yearling have been together since weaning.
What's the trick to introduce new bulls coming in from bull sales?
Come calving time pen space can be short to keep them separate.
 
It's kind of like going swimming. The water is super cold when you first dive in, but if you stay there long enough you get used to it. There's going to be a fight, no matter how diplomatic you try to be. Turn them together and drive away until things settle down. If they are all used to eating grain from a bunk, sometimes it helps to turn them together at feeding time. Then you hope their hunger overpowers their emotions.
 
I dropped some bulls off in a pasture in western S.D. a few years ago The guy who bought them wasn't there and when I pulled up I called him there must have been 40 bulls in that pasture spread out all over he said just dump them off there's so many they won't notice 2 more. The pasture was at least a 1/4 section and the bulls dotted the whole area so I did as told and stayed for a bit none noticed while I was there.
 
Bulls are like cowboys in a bar. A bunch will puff up and roar at each other but not many serious fights will start with the younger ones until you introduce a female or two. :wink: :D :D
 
A BIG fencer and room to get away with limited corners to get trapped in. I like turning littler bulls into the big boys. Not many fights as they seem to realize it is pretty obvious who is going to win. Once the pecking order is sorted out, things are relatively smooth. For confined operations (shots) we will sometimes cut just a few at a time in with the horse to keep fighting minimized and corral damage reduced.
 
Biggest problem is dropping one new bull in a pen of 14 yearlings that have spent the minter together and they seem to tag team him riding and fighting.
 
Bad weather is best. Wet hair coat seems they don't pick on new guy as much. Bulls are the biggest pain in this business it seems here about time they all are healed up a new issue comes along.
 
Bulls are a pain in the hindquarters for sure. I agree with Gcreek, which really hurts to admit I might add. :D The fights are usually pretty tame until the cows show up.

Reminds me of a good joke you may of heard.....
Three bulls were out in the pasture with a bunch of cows, a big bull, a medium bull and a yearling. They watched as the rancher headed out the driveway pulling a stock trailer. The big bull says that the rancher was headed for a bull sale and he'd not be willing to share even one, of his harem of 50 cows with the new bull, when he arrived. Medium bull says that even though he only had 20 cows, there was no way he would let the new bull have any either. And the yearling says he only had one homely heifer but he'd fight to the death before some new bull stole her away. Later that afternoon, the rancher returns and unloads his new bull. He is a huge longhorn with 9 foot horns and weighs in at around 2200, all rippling muscles. The old big bull says that he sure is getting tired of breeding so many cows and it wouldn't bother him a bit if the new bull took over 2/3rds of his work. The medium bull says that he felt a slight pull in his back and it would be fine if the new bull took all of his cows. The yearling starts pawing the dirt and slinging snot around while bellaring his head off. The 2 old bulls ask him, "Are you crazy? The new bull will kill you! And you only have that one ugly heifer!" The yearling says, "I just want him to know I am a bull!" :D
 
Like someone said... I've taken advantage of a cold windy rain. Seems like they could care less then and learned it by accident. We merged 2 groups of old bulls right before dark to get them outa the way for calving. Seems to help if you can do it on neutral ground or different pasture.
 
If their is a good way to do it, let me know. We summer around 150 bulls on grass that we will make 2 year olds out of that sell in our sale, and then we also winter another 150 bulls we sell as yearlings. Nothing worse than a group of bulls. I always say, every rancher should have to summer 150 coming 2 year old bulls at least once in his life. :)

Once the bulls decide to pick on one, I know of only 2 things you can do, walk away and hope for the best, or pull him, but once you pull him, you can't ever put him back in the group as they will start all over again.
 
BRG said:
If their is a good way to do it, let me know. We summer around 150 bulls on grass that we will make 2 year olds out of that sell in our sale, and then we also winter another 150 bulls we sell as yearlings. Nothing worse than a group of bulls. I always say, every rancher should have to summer 150 coming 2 year old bulls at least once in his life. :)

Once the bulls decide to pick on one, I know of only 2 things you can do, walk away and hope for the best, or pull him, but once you pull him, you can't ever put him back in the group as they will start all over again.
Click to expand...

Have you ever seen a cage? My feed guy says some of his bull customers set up a cage which looks like a piece of alley that they can stand in when the rideing gets more than they can handle. I guess they learn it's use quickly.

A 150 bulls would be destructive 30 are bad enough.
 
This is kind of on the same subject......or not. You all will probably laugh but I'm going to post it anyway. :D

One of our customers swears that feeding a high-mag mineral two-weeks to a month before calving his heifers,
really settles them down. He maintains that bulls on high-mag before a sale when they have been handled so much is a great
thing. Sometimes the most gentle ones can get on the fight at that time and the magnesium has a calming effect.

So, maybe, feeding your bulls hi-mag mineral or a hi-mag product would cut down on the fighting.
Just a thought....... :D :help:

Do remember that bulls need mineral too. :D
 
Faster horses said:
This is kind of on the same subject......or not. You all will probably laugh but I'm going to post it anyway. :D

One of our customers swears that feeding a high-mag mineral two-weeks to a month before calving his heifers,
really settles them down. He maintains that bulls on high-mag before a sale when they have been handled so much is a great
thing. Sometimes the most gentle ones can get on the fight at that time and the magnesium has a calming effect.

So, maybe, feeding your bulls hi-mag mineral or a hi-mag product would cut down on the fighting.
Just a thought....... :D :help:

Do remember that bulls need mineral too. :D
Click to expand...

I actually use a Magnesium supplement on myself called "Calm". It really helps me sleep, feel less stressed and makes me much less moody according to my wife. So, maybe your customer has validity in this?
 
I use an imported one. Can get it in most towns. Named after a fabric: 'black velvet'. Comes in flavors, evidently to get past the medicine taste---'toasted caramel' is popular. Tried another import 'Crown Royal' maple, but it was kinda nasty, and more expensive. This last one surprised me--guess I thought the 'crown royal ' guys were associated with the 'RC cola' guys who used to make pretty good soda?
 
Had a discussion in regards to this thread with our friend who uses high-mag on his heifers.
He says he has the perfect solution to the problems with bulls.
"Feed them saltpeter when you take them out of the cows and Spanish fly when you put them in with the cows."

(He dared me to post his advice.) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Denny, Ya, we built one. Problem is, most of the time the one getting rode is dumber than the rest and keeps going back for more. No one ever said, cattle are smart :)
 
Faster horses said:
Had a discussion in regards to this thread with our friend who uses high-mag on his heifers.
He says he has the perfect solution to the problems with bulls.
"Feed them saltpeter when you take them out of the cows and Spanish fly when you put them in with the cows."

(He dared me to post his advice.) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

Can you get saltpeter and Spanish fly mixed in Vigortone mineral? :wink: :lol: :lol:
 

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