Читать книгу Hobby Farm Animals - Chris McLaughlin - Страница 32

New calves are left with the cows throughout the breeding season (they don’t seem to notice their parents’ amorous activities). Many producers leave the bull with the cows year-round because it results in a much happier bull, and cows generally begin cycling again about the time you’d turn a bull out anyway. Next year’s calves may be a little earlier, but you can correct this when you change bulls by not having the new bull delivered until it’s a little later in breeding season. If you’re using AI, then the timing of the breeding is at your discretion, not the bull’s.

As mentioned earlier, a bull that has bred your cows for two years should be sold to prevent him from breeding with its daughters. If you really like a bull, you may be able to board and breed the heifers at someone else’s farm, perhaps in exchange for doing the same for their heifers, in order to keep the bull for one more year.

When it’s time to sell the bull, you can look for a private buyer, ship him to an auction, or eat him. Bull meat is prized by some, although others think it’s a little too flavorful.

Warm-Weather Weaning I try to wean during the first cold snap in fall, when everyone’s windows are closed, but it isn’t always possible. If you wean in warm weather, when everyone’s windows are open, you may not get a lot of sleep that first night, and you risk complaints from nearby neighbors. At any rate, the noise tapers off after a few days, and the cows and calves settle into the new routine within a couple of weeks.