We hire in an Aberdeen Angus bull for 6 weeks every autumn. Lovely docile brutes. But last year I upset a new one! 20 minutes dancing round a barn pole till someone arrived to distract him and I could escape. Frightened the crap out of me. Afraid he went for the chop.
Years ago I worked as a large animal vet in a Plain community, where bulls are still kept on small dairy farms. My impression from that experience is that bulls are not so much protective of their cows, but possessive of them. A subtle word difference, but maybe helps explain why keeping a bull as part of a beef herd is different from keeping one as part of a milking herd where humans have to handle the cow's every day. Serms like most bulls don't like humans messing with their cows? I'd be interested to hear what others think about it.
Some may be surprised to hear that bulls may be less aggressive than rams. At least, my acquaintances with cattle don't usually have all that much trouble with bulls. There are always some bad actors, of course. And I agree about word choice. Aggressive rams, like the bull described above, will try to dominate the ewes--in rams' case by butting into them with their heads. So, they're not so much protective as controlling. When it comes to people my rams are VERY possessive of their ewes, so much so that I usually don't get into a pen during the breeding season unless the ram is distracted (usually with his nose in a tub of grain) and I have an exit plan. While I might anthropomorphize rams sometimes, I struggle to see in them any example for men at all.
Rams during breeding season are a totally different beast. I have had some decent rams back when we had sheep, but I would never turn my back to a ram.
We have an interesting mix of dairy and beef in the herd. I always need a well behaved bull because of how much contact we have with the cows. Dairy bulls are also more notorious. 😁💚🐮🐮💚
Great message, I've had very similar thoughts about the roosters in my flock. The good ones posses all the same qualities as your good bulls. And boy, do they have presence!
All such great info, thank you! We are researching and looking into getting a bull calf this year to raise up. Do you feel like a nose ring is a must and do you halter train them? If you were going to breed jerseys for meat what bull would you choose? We have raised jersey/ Wagyu, Jersey/ angus crosses.
Fair warning. I have had trouble with every bull I’ve tried to hand raise. They almost always turn out to be jerks. I certainly wouldn’t ever keep a jersey bull. The best case scenario is having an older dairy cow raise one for you. We have used Dexters, American Milking Devons, and Fleckveih in our crosses.
Loved it!! Toxic masculinity is caustic term and many contemporary feminists have ditched it too. The concept originated from a study of mens behavior in prison!. You might like reading Richard Reeves' research concerning boys and men. Anathema to Andrew Tate or anything recently coughed out of the 'manospherer'
I love Richard Reeves work he has a solid take on the topic. It is very level headed and actionable. Thanks for pointing me towards his Substack. I’ve heard him on several podcasts and I really like his take on masculinity.
By an amazing coincidence, I've got an article on toxic masculinity among rams coming at the end of the week! Mine's less poetic and much less applicable to people, but I can't avoid some anthropomorphizing, either.
We hire in an Aberdeen Angus bull for 6 weeks every autumn. Lovely docile brutes. But last year I upset a new one! 20 minutes dancing round a barn pole till someone arrived to distract him and I could escape. Frightened the crap out of me. Afraid he went for the chop.
If a bull get even a little bit aggressive here he is off to the freezer. Most of them are perfect gentlemen but there’s always one that is not.
Very interesting topic!
Years ago I worked as a large animal vet in a Plain community, where bulls are still kept on small dairy farms. My impression from that experience is that bulls are not so much protective of their cows, but possessive of them. A subtle word difference, but maybe helps explain why keeping a bull as part of a beef herd is different from keeping one as part of a milking herd where humans have to handle the cow's every day. Serms like most bulls don't like humans messing with their cows? I'd be interested to hear what others think about it.
Some may be surprised to hear that bulls may be less aggressive than rams. At least, my acquaintances with cattle don't usually have all that much trouble with bulls. There are always some bad actors, of course. And I agree about word choice. Aggressive rams, like the bull described above, will try to dominate the ewes--in rams' case by butting into them with their heads. So, they're not so much protective as controlling. When it comes to people my rams are VERY possessive of their ewes, so much so that I usually don't get into a pen during the breeding season unless the ram is distracted (usually with his nose in a tub of grain) and I have an exit plan. While I might anthropomorphize rams sometimes, I struggle to see in them any example for men at all.
Rams during breeding season are a totally different beast. I have had some decent rams back when we had sheep, but I would never turn my back to a ram.
We have an interesting mix of dairy and beef in the herd. I always need a well behaved bull because of how much contact we have with the cows. Dairy bulls are also more notorious. 😁💚🐮🐮💚
Great message, I've had very similar thoughts about the roosters in my flock. The good ones posses all the same qualities as your good bulls. And boy, do they have presence!
Totally they also play an important role in the flock. 😁💚🐔💚👍🏽
All such great info, thank you! We are researching and looking into getting a bull calf this year to raise up. Do you feel like a nose ring is a must and do you halter train them? If you were going to breed jerseys for meat what bull would you choose? We have raised jersey/ Wagyu, Jersey/ angus crosses.
Fair warning. I have had trouble with every bull I’ve tried to hand raise. They almost always turn out to be jerks. I certainly wouldn’t ever keep a jersey bull. The best case scenario is having an older dairy cow raise one for you. We have used Dexters, American Milking Devons, and Fleckveih in our crosses.
Loved it!! Toxic masculinity is caustic term and many contemporary feminists have ditched it too. The concept originated from a study of mens behavior in prison!. You might like reading Richard Reeves' research concerning boys and men. Anathema to Andrew Tate or anything recently coughed out of the 'manospherer'
https://ofboysandmen.substack.com/
I love Richard Reeves work he has a solid take on the topic. It is very level headed and actionable. Thanks for pointing me towards his Substack. I’ve heard him on several podcasts and I really like his take on masculinity.
Writing without bad language really emphasizes the message of this article. Admirable!
Thank you 😁💚🐮🐮💚🙏🏽
By an amazing coincidence, I've got an article on toxic masculinity among rams coming at the end of the week! Mine's less poetic and much less applicable to people, but I can't avoid some anthropomorphizing, either.