How old is the bull?
We start halter breaking our bulls when they are old enough to come up for creep. Handle them just like a heifer, but do not play with their heads! Most fairs have rules on age of the bull and when they need a nose ring. We used to wait until we absolutely had to put one in, and found it is easier to do them when we wean them at 6 or 7 months old (the skin is easier to get through). NEVER use the ring, unless you absolutely have to. We currently have a 14 month old, 1400 pound bull. We put his nose ring in just a month ago, because he got to the point where he was dragging me around and it scared me (when they realize their strength, you are in trouble!). He is a spring, so we did not do much with him last year since he was so young. We are showing him this year, so we have been working with him at least once a month (he was already halter broke, so we just threw him out to pasture over the winter to be a bull). When we catch him now, we put the halter on, then snap a lead on the nose ring. Hardly ever have to use it. He has bred two cows (we want to see what he throws), so he knows his business.
Feed them right along with the heifers. We are lucky enough to have a mill near us that mixes a pretty good bull ration, with rumenson, so that is what we feed the bulls. 2% of the body weight, depending on what kind of condition you are trying to reach. Our 14 month old is on 12 pounds of grain once a day, because he is an easy keeper and fat enough. We just weaned our fall bulls, and they are between 6 and 7 weights and get 14 pounds each because they are growing.
Hope that helps you a little. Bulls need to be treated with respect. They are not pets (unlike some of our heifers), and can be dangerous if you do not handle them properly. Start when he is little and teach him to respect people and it usually works out fine.
On another note, not all bulls are destined to be shown! We had a fall bull calf, great pedigree, white blaze. But, he was mean as heck! We thought we could work it out of him in time, and the bigger he got the meaner he got. He would try to pin you, head slam you, or just run you over when you tried to walk him. So, at 440 pounds, he went to the market. That was the best $1000 I ever earned, and I smiled all the way to the bank. I lost money (he was an embryo), but no one got hurt and nothing broken so all is good!
