34 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



now and then because they get- vicious. Well, now, I know what 

 ugly bulls mean. I have handled some that were bad enough, 

 and handling an ugly bull is not a very pleasant job, if you are 

 not provided with the proper means to handle them. 



There is a very simple way to handle a bull by which you 

 can get the very best there is in him with the least expenditure 

 of labor and with absolute safety. In the first place let me tell 

 you never to let the bull run in the pasture with the rest of the 

 herd. If you have the type of a bull you should have you can- 

 not afford to do it. It will result in waste of the energies of the 

 bull, will often breed heifers too young, is dangerous, and no 

 records of breeding can be kept. I don't believe there is a man 

 on earth who can pass through a pasture with safety when 

 there is a bull roaming around. And still you often hear the 

 owner say, *'Oh, my bull is very gentle," but you most always 

 notice that it is the "gentle" bull that kills. 



As a matter of safety, never let the bull run in the same pas- 

 ture with the cows. You cannot afford it if you want to keep 

 records, and that is very essential. I want to know when these 

 cows are bred; I want to know when they are to calf, because 

 I don't want them to drop a calf in the stanchions. We have to 

 have the bull separate from the herd ; that is the first essential. 



I want to show you briefly how I handle the bull myself. 

 In the first place I like to have a bull under six months of age 

 run out in the pasture; after six months he must be separated 

 from the heifers and other stock. I am aware of the fact that 

 many successful dairymen keep them from the time they are born 

 until they die in the stable. But a calf must have plenty of free- 

 dom and exercise. A calf may grow up in the stable and to all 

 appearances look strong and have weight, but I doubt if it has 

 the physical vigor that a calf should have to resist tuberculosis. 

 So I prefer to have the bull calf in the pasture, or where it can 

 have free exercise; after it gets older a pen 50 feet square built 

 outside for summer, and a box stall inside for winter are best. 



In a pen 50 feet square, I believe a bull can get all the ex- 

 ercise he needs. Now the question is how to best handle the 

 bull during the breeding season and that is one thing that is 

 rather time-consuming if you do not take the proper method. I 

 have here a little drawing showing a breeding pen attached to 



