Angus Bull over Dexter cow. UPDATE She had a Bull calf

[Bossroo]

I would highly recomend that you 1) Halter break him , but do NOT make him a pet. 2) castrate him as soon as possible. My across the street neighbor got a free bull Hereford calf that was abandoned by it's mother at birth. He castrated him but made him into a pet. A year later this calf is just too big and really has no respect for it's owners. He throws his weight around and/or butts everyone. Now, he has to bulldog him down a couple times a week to show him who is really the boss of the barnyard. The neighbor can't wait for processing day come Jan.

 

[john in wa]

I did the same thing your across the street neighbor did. a year later i had a 1000lbs of Holstein steer who wanted petted and liked to rub his head on ya and make you pet him. i was sad to see him go to slaughter but i was also glad to see him go. If any one has good methods to tame and gentle a calf with out making him a pet i would sure take the advice.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

John do you know what breed of bull he is by? What was his birth weight out of curiosity?

Dexters interest me and I hear two things about them that always conflict. They are really easy to tame and they are wild in nature. More people I talk to the wider the spread on this it seems.

 

[john in wa]

I have no clue what mother was bred too. It is my guess by looking at the calf and comparing him to the description of Dexter calves he would be pure Dexter. But that is just a guess. I have usually found that when small farmers take a cow to the sale they are proud of they will stand up and give some info on the cow. like what she is bred to and if she is gentle ect. No one wanted to claim this cow lol. His birth weight was about 38 pounds, that was on a house scale with me holding him. I went to band him about a day after birth but could only feel one seed, so i will wait a couple weeks till i can feel both and then band him. i already gave him his first tetanus and will give his second in 10 days.

 

[john in wa]

we got a call from the cut and wrap man today and the cow dressed out at 340lbs. That's a little better than i thought he said the beef looks good now we just got to wait and see how it tastes.

 

[boothcreek]

We have had dexters for 8 years now, and to strangers they are very wild and unpredictable. Our butcher hates dealing with dexters, cause as tame as they are with the owners, they see a stranger and they are feral! They know their people they love and trust. Unlike most beef our butcher deals with which love any person that offers them food.....

I can sit on 2 of our 4 dexters and cuddle them to death. Get one visitor who wants to see our mini cows and they run away.

 

[john in wa]

We got the meat back from cut and wrap, It is a nice dark beef and i can tell a little taste difference. I have never had dexter beef before now so i guess i have nothing to compare it to. I do know it taste different from the 3 dairy steers i have butchered in the last 2 years. The hamburger has lots of fat and really shrinks when cooked, not like the dairy steers who had just enough fat in the burger to keep it from falling apart and sticking to the pan. i also tried some rib steaks and they went down good, nice and tender yum yum. and we tried some short ribs and they were great. I really just think it is the hamburger i don't care for. i will also add that my wife loves the flavor, she said the steaks were small but she thinks they were some of the best tasting steaks she has had. so i guess it all boils down to who eats it.