# Keeping a miniature jersey bull



## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

how would you recommend that one contain a mini jersey bull. he is 3 yrs old and 40" at the hip. He's not real heavy yet  Will cattle panels.. 5x16ft .... 5 or 6 of them, keep him contained? if we tpost every 4 ft?

We have four Dexters and one midsize jersey *his mom* and then him and a banded bull calf..... 

well, we have the Dexters so far, we are going friday to pick up the bull and jersey cow and calf and bring them home.

I need to have a pen or area to contain him set up by then so that he doesn't get to his mom and breed her  She just calved a week ago and will be coming into heat again soon I am sure.

another question. I know that breeding a goat back to his mother is called line breeding, IF it works  and if it doesn't its called inbreeding *lol* Is it the same thing in cows?


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

nobody has any ideas here?


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

Same thing with cows, if it works it is line breeding, if the results are bad it is inbreeding. I would suggest a strong hog wire fence or a pen built with cattle panels. I would also run a hot wire on the inside of either fence. I don't know about mini Jerseys, but our Angus bulls are just like a bulldozer. They will go under, over or through a fence to get to a cow in heat. A hot wire is the only thing they learn to respect.


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## dairymon (Jan 30, 2010)

You can also ring him and put a chain on the ring. The chain should be long enough so he can not lower his head and run. He may be small but treat him like any other bull.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

i would recomend NOONE keep a jersey bull after 18 months, def not a 3 year old, they are plain wicked when they turn, and they will, they always do.


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

well, obviously SOMEBODY has to keep them! right? or we wouldn't have bulls to breed with... don't worry, we'll be careful!


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I would AI my cows to a mini jersery rather than feeding one year in and out for a few minutes' work a year. Just my opinion. Unless, of course, you plan to sell his services to others that want mini jersery ancestry.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

darbyfamily said:


> well, obviously SOMEBODY has to keep them! right? or we wouldn't have bulls to breed with... don't worry, we'll be careful!


To be fair to jurzeygurl, you came here asking about how to contain a 3 y/o bull and she just pointed out that they are dangerous. 
Have you seen the facilities they keep bulls in at Select Sires or anything like that?
If you haven't been around a full-grown mature bull when there are cows in heat, 
just saying "dont worry, we'll be careful" while asking how to contain this animal is ALARMING to folks who have.

You need really serious stout fencing. 
It is not like keeping a steer.
Not. At. All. 
If you have little kids, you SPANK them for going anywhere near the bull. 
That is how careful you have to be.

I am just saying.


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

really guys.. I GET IT.. really! I don't say we'll be careful lightly.. I SERIOUSLY get it! I was asking advice on fencing and we plan to do everything we can to contain him AND protect our children...

sheesh, ya'll get a bit uptight sometimes.. besides, I wasn't giving Jerzeygurl a hard time.. so there wasn't any reason to 'be fair' to her.. I was just commenting that some people do obviously keep them around, right?


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Not for long, they dont get to stick around. Seriously. This bull you are buying and bringing home this weekend, how are they currently containing him?


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

I'll make sure to take notes... he's 40" tall though, so I cant imagine it would be too hard to keep him behind fences??? a 5 ft cattle panel with enough tposts to keep it strong should be plenty...

I'll see what they're using.

I appreciate your concern. You may be right, we may find that once he's done his job this summer, we're ready to move him along... time will tell I suppose.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I am not trying to be hard on you.  

Keep in mind that any cows this bull can smell will be fair game to this guy.
Keeping your bull off of your neighbors cows is also your responsibility. 
I know that most beef cattle breeders dont appreciate Jersey genetics hopping the fence.

I grew up with Jerseys and we never kept a bull past 2 y/o. Never.
Our clean-up bulls were usually gone by 2 and a half, and they were Angus. 

You are taking on a whole new thing, keeping a bull.
If he can go under, over, or through the fence, he will.
He will keep on trying any percieved weak spot in the fence, day and night.
If he decides in his small hormone addled brain that you are a threat, 
or your dog, children, truck, tractor is, you will see serious damage done.
It is not like a dog on a chain, where they give up and quit pulling against it.

They keep bashing relentlessly until they get out.

I have watched Jersey bulls beat themselves bloody climbing cattle panels.
Anything for love, I guess.

Good luck. It CAN be done. Just not easily. and WHY?


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

Jennifer, 
If you're asking about facilities to contain him, I'll add my two cents. 

I sold a jersey bull to a dairyman last year to use on his heifers. I agreed to deliver the bull and showed up to a pen that looked like Ft. Knox. It was 6' high with 2-7/8 steel posts every 6' with a top rail and two horizontal middle rails. It had 7/8" sucker rod in between that every 8". 

I asked the dairyman if thought his pen was strong enough to contain him in a joking kind of way and he said, "not really, a bull can smell a cow in heat for miles and will do whatever it takes to get to her." He said he has to have a pen that's stouter than the bull's head's ability to push. 

With Jerseys, the problem is that they do have a natural mean streak that cause people to be more leery of pasturing them. (which is a good practice to keep them out of open range.) If you put them in what looks like something that's strong enough to contain them they always test it. It's not the feed and hay that keeps them in the pen. It's the non-existant smell of a cow in heat for miles. As soon as the aroma of a cow in heat comes knocking, they bull turns into another critter. ...............Just my two cents......


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## DJ in WA (Jan 28, 2005)

Yeah, he's going to go crazy with a cow in heat just across the fence. Poor guy.

Fortunately, I've got no other cows within miles. Had a bull a couple of times and could leave them with the cows. Even then they like to beat everything up they can see. Forgot and left a wheelbarrow in the field and found it bent in two. Boys will be boys. Just got tired of them, and AI is the only way to go for me now. Less feed and better quality of bulls. Not to mention less risk of getting killed, as a yearling Jersey bull I sold almost did to the buyer's dad.

But then, maybe this guy you're getting is just a lap dog, who knows.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

Our mild mannered Dexter bull can jump 6 foot corral panels if he gets a mind to. He's a little shorter than your Jersey. Only difference is he's not shown himself to be dangerous, Dexters very rarely are. OTOH Jerseys very rarely aren't dangerous at some point.


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## MARYDVM (Jun 7, 2004)

I had a 3 yr old mid-mini Jersey bull that I was able to contain with field fencing with two strands of hot wire on the inside. He learned what hot wire was as a calf, and respected it. He did continuously trash whatever watering system I tried, and even tried pushing down the 3 sided shelter they had. 2 weeks ago the fence was off and he managed to get out into a larger fenced area around the house. After destroying fruit trees, grain storage, and other equipment he went for me in a serious way as I was herding him back to his 2 cows in their paddock. He was scheduled to go that weekend to breed a friends cow, but went straight into the freezer instead.


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

Well, to be honest, the deal I got on this cow/banded bull calf/bull trio is such a deal that if I were to just keep him long enough to breed the five girls, well, four, since one is already pg.... I could send him to the freezer and still have an amazing deal on the cow (even if I gave all the meat away  ) so maybe we'll try out his temprament, let him breed the girls and then make our long term choices then.

For now, he's coming home with us and we'll figure out what his fate is over time. 

is the meat still any good if he's been a bull vs a steer?

here is a picture of him...


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## glenn amolenaar (Mar 3, 2007)

Darbyfamily,
DO NOT be fooled a Jersey bull is not to be trusted as well as any other bull in this area over the years the jersey bull has hurt/killed many people. Remember all bulls only have one job. Dairy breeds tend to do more harm to people because the people forget the bulls main/only job. We stopped pasture breeding our dairy cows after a handfed Brown Swiss bull put me in a tree. AI is best way to go.
Glenn


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## MARYDVM (Jun 7, 2004)

We've tried a package of steaks from the bull so far, and they were very flavorful, lean and tender. We did have the rounds made into hamburger since those cuts tend to be tougher anyway. We really didn't need the beef right now, but he'll keep better in the freezer than he would've on the homestead.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

darbyfamily said:


> well, obviously SOMEBODY has to keep them! right? or we wouldn't have bulls to breed with... don't worry, we'll be careful!


we raise jerseys, we eat the males at 18 months, never keep past 2 years, they turn mean usually at 18months


deadly mean, and they are small and fast


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

we were lucky that my son and i were close when my husband slipped in front of one of ours, it tossed him like a rag doll.

i have spent 2 hours in the rain cornered on tractor from one of the little fellas...

i know of which i speak


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

I am sorry you've had such bad experiences... I've had others who have pm'ed me privately to say that they have had a jersey bull up to 8 yrs old and never had a bit of a problem with him.

I had a first husband who was a mean and abusive man... and I have one now, had him just as long as my first marriage lasted, and he's showing no signs of being mean... go figure. There is no way to predict which ones will turn mean. 

That said, I'll be careful, but I've heard stories both ways now. I am sorry that some have had to see the bad side of a bull.... I cant say that I WONT see that same side, but for now, for our family at this point in time, its a chance we're going to face with caution and preparation.

Thanks for your help ya'll. 

(never really did find out what the best fences were, since the post turned off topic *shrug* )


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

Jennifer, you sounds like you know what you might have to deal with. I also have heard quite a few old cattle men give both sides to bulls, even Jersey bulls.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

We've always had Jersey bulls(up to six years old), and with proper understanding and respect given to what they are capable of, have never had any serious issues. It is understood by all that as soon as the bull shows any indications of pushing the line, they are freezer beef(and yes, Jersey bull meat is very good, ground beef, a few roasts, yum).
And a bull is NEVER, EVER trusted, no matter history or age.
The thing to remember is to never get in a situation that will allow him to be the boss. Avoid confrontations, but never be subservient. Respect him, yet demand respect from him. A lot of it is your attitude. Its a fine line to walk and never easy.
I think the hardest thing a small-time cow owner has problems with is a bored bull. Unless a bull has cows to cover at all times, he *will* become bored and that is when he will start pushing his boundaries. 
We have very little problem with that most of the year because for 9 months out of 12, the bull is running with a herd of 65-75 milk cows that need bred. 

For us, the best bull fencing has been strong, high barbed wire with two strands of very hot electric running along the inside. The bulls will go through anything else to get to a cow in heat, but they will not cross our *very* hot electric.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

my point was, despite best laid plans, accidents can happen.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I think a few of us did give you our opinion on what the* best fencing options *were. It is up to you to decide which advice suits your needs.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

The conversation on this thread reminds me of when I took a class on dairy cattle at Cal Poly. The school kids did the hands-on work.

Somebody asked about the often nasty temperament of dairy bulls, and asked if the students had ever gotten hurt.

"Nope", was the reply. The bulls were handled- ESPECIALLY the gently, friendly ones- in such a manner that they never got a chance to hurt somebody. It was up to the teacher to make sure the kids followed the proper procedures.

We were told that gentle bulls were more dangerous because a person might absent-mindedly do something careless, and no bull was absolutely safe.

I do not know how the bulls were handled: my class was not on bulls. I only know that nobody had gotten hurt because the bulls were not given the chance.

Oh, yes. Edited to add. They used cattle panels that were taller than I was (I am short) and very heavy. It was 30 years ago and I do not remember how they were fastened together but I THINK the posts were set in concrete. Fort Knox IS a good description! These were for Holstein bulls and I had never seen any bull so large. 

The bulls could be moved by opening some gates and closing others.


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

Based on what they have him in - could you invest in horse corral panels for a round pen type set up? I know our stallion, though he is a sweety, could NEVER get through those. Bull and a stallion - two total different deals, I know, but maybe do that with electric inside?


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## glenn amolenaar (Mar 3, 2007)

Darby,
Have you ever tried/had to hold a young calf down to tag /band or just check something out on it ? I'm talking 150 pounder a few weeks old it takes a lot of strength and you are working that little calf, now that bull looks to be a little over 150 pounds when he comes unglued for lack of a better word how can you predict a child will be able to get out of his way? Horse panels will not hold him if he wants out. I know this post was about fencing but there are other issues here that are in my opinion more important to consider first. Not to scare you but a lot of commonsense not emotions (how cute he is) need to be checked. Yeah I'm worried for children first then the big kids.
Glenn


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## darbyfamily (Mar 16, 2005)

We will take precautions... but I almost had to laugh at myself for worrying so much when I actually saw him today.

NO, I am not taking for granted that he's so small... and he is! or that he's so laid back, though he seems to be. But he is here and running with the cows quite nicely. We likely won't pen him up separately after all. He was used to being with all of the other animals, cows and horses alike, at his old home.

he and the Dexter girls are fast friends and ran off to the back trees to lay down and plot their escape probably 

The reason for the huge cattle panels and such... he was in a pen with a Perchon (sp?) horse that was easily 17 hands tall! I have never in my life seen such a huge animal! Insane!

Thanks for all the input.


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