Boys will be Boys

 

         On Monday when my husband went out to do chores he was checking over the animals and found some blood on the ground. He looked through the herd and found the source was one of the bulls with an injured hind leg. During this time of year the bulls are reestablishing dominance. Like in nature shows the male animals feel a need to prove themselves prior to breeding. Their hormones are raging and they go out looking for someone to challenge to a fight. We know that this is going to happen so we make every effort to keep them, and the rest of the herd, as safe as possible. Some might ask why we don't just keep them away from each other? We have had bulls break down fences to get to each other, and we just don't have enough space on the farm yard to keep them all separated. We do choose our bulls looking for animals that are calm and not aggressive for two reasons. One, for our safety while working with these huge animals, and two, to hopefully avoid injuries during this time of year.

         An injury to a bulls hind leg can be very serious. The bulls purpose on the farm is to breed and to do this he must be able to jump on the back of the cows, putting all his weight on his hind legs.  When a full grown bull weights 1800 lbs that is a lot of weight. The bull also needs to breed sometimes 40-50 cows within a few month time period. He needs to be on the top of his game.We did have the vet come to the farm and evaluate the injury and we are making every effort to heal the animal. We have separated him from the herd and will continue to treat his leg. It is unknown at this time if he will be able to breed again, and if he is not he will be sent to market and we will be looking for a replacement for him.