We moved six long yearling bulls from the Mulberry Creek pasture to house for two weeks of "Summer School".
First, we decided to tip a small amount off their dagger sharp horns. Not too much cut back because it's fly season. They bleed, so you cauterize with a hot iron to seal it off. We also gave them a booster vaccination for blackleg. Then we hauled them to town in the trailer to have them weighed. They average 900 lbs. -- the heaviest weight ever for any year-old bulls we have raised. All were born early - Jan/ Feb. 2009 - so they are 1.5 years old. They are now penned together near the arena. Keeping them together is one less stress for them to deal with. [Cattle are herd animals and being alone is not comfortable for them. One of the things they have to learn in order to be good bucking bulls is to be alone in pens.]
Summer School has two main goals: to learn to stand in chutes quietly and patiently, and to learn the center exit gate out of the bull pen. They are rewarded with a "snack" in the back pens when they leave the bull pen correctly. They have their herd dynamics and the alpha bull, Red Neck Dancer, usually leads them out.
Postscript from Muriel: This makes me laugh as it took 2 days to accomplish the FIRST day of "Summer School" and it reads in one short story.
The good news is that they can easily be divided up into 2 groups of 3 bulls. They are sorted into right hand delivery chute, left hand delivery chute, and a single lane pen. We brush, rub, and talk to them while they stand in the chute to desensitize them to humans. One must desensitize all outside perimeters: both sides plus above. Take note of all the people that are around/above a bull at an event and they are expected to stand quietly in a chute. That calmness does not happen automatically.
[Note: All bulls born in the year 2009 are considered yearling bulls. A "long yearling" bull is one that was born early in 2009.]
Photo: Red Neck Dancer
Photo Credit: Muriel Bonsall
Bonsall Bucking Bulls
Photo Credit: Muriel Bonsall
Bonsall Bucking Bulls
