# Age when taint starts in bulls?



## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

Some friends butcher uncastrated dexter bulls up to 18 months of age, with supposedly no taint issues. They tell me they've stopped castrating as they butcher early enought plus castrating sets the calves back, so not worth it to them.
Anyone do the same?

And is it at all true that no matter how young, if a young bull manages to breed he becomes tainted?

I've got a 6 month bull calf I was planning to sell for butcher but now wondering if he should be sold for breeding. Thanks.


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Unless he's exceptional, no, he shouldn't be sold specifically for breeding, though the buyer certainly can do that if that''s what they wish.

As for the age, I don't know. I had nine-year-old bull, whole roasted, that was just fine. A bit tough in some places, but otherwise quite good.


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## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

eat 6 year old bulls all the time never taint to me... might be to somebody else...bulls are not like boars......


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

I was told (much to my surprise)that as a child I ate plenty of bull meat. I agree that bulls don't seem to taint like a boar


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Never heard of bull taint, just boar taint.


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## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

Interesting, thank you.
Besides aggression issues, would there be other reasons to castrate if it doesn't affect the final product? I gather weight gain is a benefit after they settle after procedure.


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## Menglish (May 7, 2009)

I see only one major reason to castrate...to keep them from breeding. For a couple of years we did not castrate and had no problems. However pasture room and the pain of keeping the extra bulls seperated has changed our plan. We now band all young bull calves we don't intend to use for breeders.


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## opportunity (Mar 31, 2012)

You can eat bulls we always eat ours after they have done their job for a few years 5-6 year olds taste fine but can be a big chewie. The only reason to make them steers is so they don't go breeding the heifers and cows you only want the best breeding.


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## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

another reason I do it is because after a cow is bred by the big bull in the field the small bulls take over and run /follow her around in the field a few days trying to bred...So none of them are eating.....I had a 300 pounder once lose weight like crazy...and his number would stay with a cow for 3 days after she was bred trying every few minutes to bred her

another reason steers gain more weight


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

_"And is it at all true that no matter how young, if a young bull manages to breed he becomes tainted?"_

This is an old wives tale. Bulls have testosterone in their system whether they are actively breeding or not. By castrating, you prevent unwanted matings and improve behavior/safety.


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## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

"And is it at all true that no matter how young, if a young bull manages to breed he becomes tainted?"

this is a cow board so i think i can say this....I have seen a young bull just stand up and stretch and ejaculate so I know thats wrong I made him a steer soon after that....but I bet he tatsed good later


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Same here, we eat our bulls, no taint. Why don`t you band your calves when they are small, that way it isn`t such a job to castrate them. And banding or cutting when young is not as hard on them as you think. > Thanks Marc


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

The place we bought was part of a larger beef operation and part of it was still in operation for a couple of years after we moved in. The guy running it kept the animals intact till around 600 pounds or so. He claimed that the bull builds a bigger frame and the steer fills it out.
We don't have the facilities he did so we band as calves...


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

myersfarm said:


> another reason steers gain more weight


As the old timers say, get their minds off of a-- and on to grass..............


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Narshalla said:


> Unless he's exceptional, no, he shouldn't be sold specifically for breeding, though the buyer certainly can do that if that''s what they wish.
> 
> As for the age, I don't know. I had nine-year-old bull, whole roasted, that was just fine. A bit tough in some places, but otherwise quite good.


Tell me - How did you roast that sucker? I been wanting to hear from someone that has done that. How big a grill do you need? Or, did you use a spit?

Believe it or not - I cannot find roasting a beef on YouTube. That must be the only thing in the world not on YouTube.


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

HDRider said:


> Tell me - How did you roast that sucker? I been wanting to hear from someone that has done that. How big a grill do you need? Or, did you use a spit?
> 
> Believe it or not - I cannot find roasting a beef on YouTube. That must be the only thing in the world not on YouTube.


My friends' neighbors did. They have a huge pit that they roasted him in, with a winch and everything to get the animal in and out of the pit. They packed his abdominal cavity with whole corn, potatoes, and onions -- and garlic. They also had him wrapped in something, though I don't know what, because that was already taken care of when we showed up.

Usually they used it to roast huge hogs -- +800 pounds, sometimes -- so they already had the setup for it.

They would have kept him for breeding still, but he broke his shoulder and there was no way that it was going to heal properly.

More than that I don't know. I do know, however, that the pit was big enough that they probably could have roasted a Mini in it with room to spare.


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