testicle development on bull calf

[Valley Ranch]

WE are picking up a mini jersey bull calf who is only 2mo. I am wondering what to look for with his teste development. Our goats develop very quickly and it is easy to see everything is in tact and ok. But our mini stallion took a while to develop. But I don't know about cows so I don't know what to look for. Our plan is to breed him so he needs to be a bull
thanks

 

[jhm47]

I'm not an expert on minis at all, but most bulls aren't fertile till 10 - 14 months. Their testes will develop slowly, but they won't produce viable sperm till 10 - 14 months.

 

[Valley Ranch]

thanks, I just needed to know how developed he should look at 2mo so if they aren't mature until 10-14 then I am assuming the growth will be similar to a horse and slower than a goat. So at 2mo normal would be 'still developing"

 

[goodhors]

Is this calf for future use as a bull, or aimed at being freezer beef?
At two months, you should be able to find both testes pretty easily,
cattle are not like equines. Minis especially, seem to be "shy" about
finally descending enough to be seen or felt. Does make for harder
time getting them gelded young.

If the calf is going to be freezer meat, I would band him immediately,
get any testosterone out of the picture when handling him. A steer
will grow better, get larger, better meat distribution, without being left
a bull. AND far less issues in dealing with him for the safety of everyone
on the farm. Just no reason to leave him a bull, if he has no breeding future.

If he is to be a future bull, make sure his horns are completely removed,
and handle him DAILY. He needs to be lead around, put in and out of places
that YOU DECIDE, so he is learning to be obedient when told. He gets
no options about choices of behaving or not. Load him in the trailer often,
let him stand tied at a post or wall, in the trailer, starting with short time
periods. You want him to be a WELL-BEHAVED bull as he ages so you
can manage him as needed. Jersey bulls are often tempermental, so
keep an eye on him when dealing with him, have an escape route!!
You NEVER know when he could go bad. Happened before, probably
will again, because he is a bull. Dairy breed bulls are more "touchy" than
beef breed bulls, so they can be very hard to deal with even if well
handled young. This feature is what made AI breeding such a success!!
Not much reasoning with them.

 

[Valley Ranch]

thanks for that great info!!
We are planning on breeding him, hence me wanting to be as certain as I can about his capabilities in that arena. I also wanted to get him young to train him up as best we could recognising he is a bull. Another reason why we wanted a NOT full sized.
He is polled.

 

[OneFineAcre]

thanks for that great info!!
We are planning on breeding him, hence me wanting to be as certain as I can about his capabilities in that arena. I also wanted to get him young to train him up as best we could recognising he is a bull. Another reason why we wanted a NOT full sized.
He is polled.

Good luck with that. I don't know about the "mini's" but Jersey Bulls are pretty notorious for their bad temperament. Hopefully it will make a difference you getting him so young

 

[goodhors]

Sorry, I meant mini horses being slow developers, not talking about mini Jerseys.

I would think Jersey calf, normal or mini sized, would have both testes down at two
months for examination. If not, he may not be bull quality. Only one down, or
none, is a genetic factor, NOT good breeding quality. Even if he dropped both of them
later, I don't think I would want him for that reason.

You could use him breeding as a young animal, then send him on before he gets much age
on him or more difficult to manage.

 

[Valley Ranch]

we have had bucks and stallions and understand the dynamic of male animals. We have never hesitated to put the obnoxious ones in the freezer or sell them so a bull would be no different. We live in the middle of nowhere so AI is not easy for us. We may end up having to learn it ourselves and go that route but we'd like to try a bull. It is all a learning curve.

 

[california cowgirl]

We band our bull calves and sometimes you have to squeeze them gently to come down at that age. So if you can play around down that way with his scrotum you might be able to feel them. Probably the size of a large thumb at this point. I have seen bulls breed at a year old or so. But yes pet bulls can be brats so beware. make him gentle but that is not guarantee.