Bawling Steer

[SkyBud]

I purchased my steer about a month ago. I always raise one show steer. When I bought it, he had been weaned for two weeks. I brought it home & put it in with our feeder steers for about two weeks. When we sold our feeder steers at the first of October, I put my show steer behind my house in the pen I normally use. It has been two weeks now, and he is still bawling at night & during the day. He is quiet for an extended period of time and I think he is over it, and he will start again. Any suggestions on what I should do to quiet him down before my neighbors shoot him?

 

[Earthmover]

You got to get him a buddy !! Cattle are a social animal.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

He needs some kind of friend.  My son raises only one steer, but our horses hang around the pen a lot and he socializes with them, and then we have dogs, cats and chickens that hang out with him throughout the day.  I wonder if even a goat would work???

 

[SkyBud]

I have been considering a goat. I raised two my first year and I found they didn't rely on ME because they had each other. This is my fourth time raising a steer alone. I have never had one act like this. My rabbit pens are right next to him & I do have a dog but he only goes out there with me.  I am definitely going to have to do something.

 

[Still Tryin]

We have a goat running with our calves for the 1st time ever. Do to lack of space not for any other reason. They get along fine. I am pretty sure the goat is now confused and thinks he is a steer!!!!

 

[SeannyT]

Yes cattle are gregarious animals, so being alone especially after having some buddies before that would make him feel lonely. To some degree the stress is probably affecting his growth(feed intake), but probably very minor. Another cow as a companion would be best but i'm sure other livestock species would work too.

 

[COd]

He will gain alot better too if he has a buddy to compete with for feed.

 

[vc]

He needs a buddy that parts easy, if you get him a buddy that doesn't travel with him it may cause you a big head ache at your shows. He will more than likely miss his buddy and act up again at your show.

If you do get him a buddy of some kind, it may be better to pen him near him but not with him and hope the calves he is tied with at your show keep him company.

You might try putting a radio near him and play it all the time. The music might help him relax
If he is bawling are there other cattle in the area that might be bawling back, this might he why he has not stopped.

 

[oakie]

We tried the goat theory for the same reasoning, and he ran them through the fence (they broke barbed wire). He was bucking and playing and they didn't understand. I went out and played with him for a few hours a day and that seemed to suffice.

 

[Bradenh]

we

I have been considering a goat.

we bought some miniature goats out of the paper for 25$ a piece and we have five of them and they roam around here and there and never bother anything and they loove the steers. and they do enought to compete for feed. but they dont bully him and push him away from feed and traumatize him lol and when they do eat it doesnt take much to get them full. . . people say cattle feed will kill the mini goats but it never does. we never wormed em or anything and they just jump around and never bother nobody.