We raise our calves from late winter/early spring until late fall of the same year so they are not even a year old when they are taken in to the butcher. We had intended to leave the boys with all original parts and pieces since the likelihood of them becoming sexually mature or agressive in that short time frame was debatable.Holstein bulls are apparently the most dangerous of cattle breeds thanks to a territorial nature. Hank the Holstein was getting to be a big boy already, in stature and ... (ahem...) size. Those two heifers out on the field are already HIS, and he's still just a baby.
A trip out to the field to drop the coughing heifer calf to the ground for her antibiotic shot was met with an upset Hank who did his best rodeo performance for us in protest. Any thoughts we had that he'd be a docile little groundskeeper for the rest of the year were gone in that instant, and his date with the elastic bander was set. JimBob, the red angus bull calf was scheduled for the same fate, thanks to Hank so you can bet he wasn't pleased with Hank's behaviour!
