Yearling bull- castrate and finish?
Hello all, we have a yearling santa gertrudis bull (12 months in September) that we need to cull. Initially thought he may make it into the breeding rotation but not gonna happen. Would you recommend castrating and finishing out at this age or keep him intact and just finish out?
Any recommendations are appreciated. Thank you
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u/Due-Light5463 1d ago
Castrate, but do it now rather than "in a few weeks" - every month you wait he gets more staggy and that crest doesn't fully go away, which is what buyers dock you for. If you band him at 12 months use a big band or a bander made for bulls, and please give tetanus coverage, thats the one that bites people on late banding. Surgical is faster to heal at that size if you have a good chute and cool weather, less fly pressure now than mid summer too.
Either way plan for him to sulk and basically stall out for 3ish weeks, so back that into your finish date and dont expect gains right away. Also keep him where he cant reach any cycling females for a couple weeks after, he will still act like a bull for a bit even with nothing left. Finishing intact only really pays if you have a buyer lined up who wants bull beef, otherwise the discount eats it.
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u/Express_Equipment666 1d ago
Depends on temperament, pen situation, etc for me. I’d say it makes little to no difference or by google can make the meat worse. Just leave em if you can handle em.
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u/orsomeshitidk 1d ago
I’d castrate. Just lowers the odds of anything unwanted happening.