Lose A Bull, Gain A Bull

One of our long time bull buyers from Clatskanie called the other day. He needed a new bull for his herd.

In the bull pen we had two bulls that were a year and a half old and three bulls that we had weaned last month that were 9-10 months old. We also had the herd sire that is nearly four years old and weighs well over a ton. Since we have used our herd sire for two years already, we need to switch out to a different herd sire for a new bloodline. The critters in the bull pen are all his offspring so are all half-brothers to each other.

Our buyer could not use the herd sire because he has some heifers that need to be bred and the big boy is heavy enough to break bones if he were to jump on the young females. The newly weaned bulls were too young, so he chose one of the long-yearling bulls to take to his farm.

Lou showed up at the farm to load his chosen bull into his trailer and all went smoothly, if felt good to have one bull gone.

Coincidentally, within days of one departure, the bull that we had picked to replace our herd sire had been weaned at a farm on the eastern side of the state and Mike drove the stock trailer over the snowy passes to pick up our new sire. This bull is nearly as young as our newly weaned boys so it will still be a month or two before he is actually put to use with some heifers.

Now we will have to get busy and find a new home for our herd sire. We have several farms that are interested in ‘more senior’ bulls that can service their established herds. No gray hair or support stockings for Renaissance just yet, he has more work to do.