Cutting Bull Calves

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CAB

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Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
5,607
Location
Corning,Iowa
You could get a bunch of different opinions on this one. Everyone has their own theories which are all OK. We band our steers the same time that we ear tag them, but we are not big players in the club calf world. Some of the bigger steer players want to wait until the bull calves get to 300 to 500 lbs B4 they casterate them and want to leave the whole cod there to fill the area per say.
 

nate53

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Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
419
Location
North East, Missouri
I don't know what's best for the showring but our commercial calves we cut at birth (never had any problems with a couple hundred a year).  Our neighbor cuts his at 5 or 6 months and every once in a while, one will bleed to death (it's not very often but it has happened to them anyhow).  Commercially speaking some like to leave them bulls for the extra growth, but all the grid data and articles that I've read has always said that calves cut at birth grade better on the grid (but if your not selling on the grid I guess that would not matter).
 

Davidsonranch

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Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Messages
443
Location
SE Oregon
I'm glad you posted because I was going to ask the same thing.  For our comercial cattle we band at about a month old at branding.  We have a couple bull calves picked out to make some 4-H steer for the kids next year and I was thinking about leaving them intact a little longer. I have a friend who breed a few clubby steers and he leave his until they are 6 months old?  So does it really make any difference in the end? 
 

rackranch

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Jul 14, 2010
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1,245
Location
under the X in Texas
We cut commercial calves as soon as we can get our hands on them.

Cut our show calves around 120das, and as soon as they are healed we wean them and put on full feed.
 

KSanburg

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Joined
May 5, 2010
Messages
695
Location
Western Colorado
We cut the clubby calves and cross breds at around 120 day's, our registered bull calves we wait until we take 205 day weights the cull for the knife depending on how they have done and weaning weights. We use one of the large banders on the weaned calves, give them a tetanus shot and cut everything off 48 hours later. Never have lost one doing it that way and heck they hardly even bleed. There seems to be very little effect on the growth and going on to feed.

I have seen yearling 1100 pound bulls banded and cut that way and never suffer any negative effects.
 
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