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Rob R
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
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 Posted: Wed Oct 07, 15 2:14 pm Post subject: |
 
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| NorthernMonkeyGirl wrote: |
| Rob R wrote: |
| Piggyphile wrote: |
| Surely people have been keeping one or two cows for home and draft use for centuries? |
The EU has since outlawed keeping single animals, but plenty of people still do it with disasterous results. The behaviour tends to be worse (from the human's point of view) where they are kept alone.
The main issue with an underworked bull is that he might have urges on the 364 days of the year that he hasn't got a job for, particularly if he must be kept on his own to avoid serving his daughter. We prefer to keep the daughters and the bulls on different farms if at all possible, as they can detect an on-heat female from quite a distance.
These are all practical problems that can be overcome, with a beef steer to keep the bull company and well fenced fields with some distance between them, or a secure building to house the bull and his buddy during the off season. The animals can be rotated between the grazing & the building if grazing is limited. |
If the first calf is a male, that could become the companion beef steer until it reaches edible weight, which would take a couple of years at least? |
Yes, but if you're depending on it being a bull, you can guarantee that it'll be a heifer. |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46244
Location: yes
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