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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 11:54 am
by justmalc
Mark (and others),
We have a well-bred beefy, black non-short bull who is short of receptive female company until November.
I am aware that the DCS operate a paper register of bulls for hire but wondered if any thought had been given to including on this web site an additional page on which we could advertise bulls for hire including rates, photos, delivery terms etc.
Sorry, not meaning to make you more work but wondered what you thought.
Many thanks,
Malc. (In Rutland)
Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 6:06 pm
by Mark Bowles
Hi Malc,
seems like a good idea, i will have to get our Chris to set the format up, and i will add all the entries.Does anyone else think there may be a need for this.
I think i might have to take this opportunity to appologise to people that i may have kept waiting for email responses and for sale additions to the site, im afraid the site has got rather popular and hence very time consuming. I do run my own business with my good lady and keep the Linford dexter herd, and run the Leicestershire Dexter Group,and try to show our Dexters where we can. Why oh why is time so short!!!?
Anyway, must press on, we are showing at the Royal again this year,got to be there on Sat, its our 5 day annual holiday!
Mark
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 12:06 am
by Jo Kemp
Good luck to all at the Royal! I look forward to hearing about it on the site
We hope to be at the Yorkshire 12th-14th July with 3 of ours ( I am not a 'show' animal so am quite nervous!)
Jo
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:49 pm
by GRAEME
I think it would be very useful to have hire bulls detailed on the website. Particularly if all the financial aspects were listed as well for transparency. It would probably mean that members might consider this avenue rather than A1 if they knew exactly what costs would be involved. I also wonder if there is potential for temporary exchanges of bulls. In the past when I have been involved with breeding loans for other types of livestock, there is usually a fairly standard contract which outlines liability to cover illness and injury etc. Does the same sort of protocol exist with cattle?
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 4:45 pm
by Jo Kemp
I have used AI and hired a bull...now using our own home bred fellow.
Some animals respond to AI well and others can be difficult and a bull usually 'gets his girl'. I would be unhappy to hire out my bull here there and everywhere as the risk of infection would be quite high - not just TB but respiritory infections etc. also, I would have to be sure that whoever borrowed him was good with bulls. Perhaps we should have a talk on handling bulls. I will mention it to the Scottish Group!
Jo
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:25 pm
by Duncan MacIntyre
I have to confess that the main worry I see on bull hiring is the disease aspect. I do not mean that anyone would knowingly hire out a diseased bull, or anyone with disease in the herd would hire one in and spread it. But how many of us really know what the disease status of our herd is in relation to even the common diseases like TB, BVD, leptospirosis, IBR, Johnes diseaseand loads of others. I have tried for the last few years to operate a strict biosecurity policy, never allow cross fence contact, nothing bought in since 2000, nothing hired out for several years now and the last was to serve two cows which came from this herd and had not had other contact. I have different boots and overalls for veterinary work and home farm, and it is still possible to get things like new forest eye last summer.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, too much makes one paranoid!! Seriously though shifting bulls between herds is an ideal way to spread different diseases. If you are already mixing a lot I suppose it makes little difference. But if you are free of, say, BVD, which many small herds may be, and you bring in a bull to serve cows, it may be months after he is gone before you see any signs and then not connect it with him. There is vaccination against some diseases, but more cost of course and cost per head in a small herd liable to be higher than in a large outfit. If you have ambitions to be BVD free I would even be wary of BVD vaccinated bulls since they can carry virus for quite a time after natural infection and may well have been vaccinated because of trouble in the home herd.
Duncan, in wet blanket mode.
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 2:02 pm
by ann
I hire my bull out to people who have brought cows from me, I do occasionally get persuaded by some one who hasn't brought cows from me and because I know it can be difficult to get some animals in calf with A.I. I do occasionally accept other peoples animals, but I am not very happy about it, however is we don't help one another, then I do think it will become harder to sell dexters eventually at a resonalbe price, as not everyone has the room or experience to run a bull on, or hire one.
However at the moment we are not in a high risk area regarding T.B if it does change then I WILL definetly become a closed herd.
Ann 
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:22 pm
by TONY LIMB
Hi Ann,
I am a livestock haulier & I haul alot of T. B, reactors for DEFRA,I have been to several farms that have been "closed herds" for at least 10 years but still have alot of reactors,so I am afraid that if you are unfortunate in getting T.B in your area, being a closed herd will not make any difference.
As for Duncan ,it is all very well him saying what he says about all these diseases,but he lives on an Island in Scotland,if he lived in the middle of England I think he would be frightened to get out of bed in the morning!!.
We have been hiring bulls out for 15 years & have so far not had any trouble, its a risk you take, but then there are risks with most things in life!.
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:14 am
by Duncan MacIntyre
Tony is quite right, the theory of Biosecurtiy is one thing, the practice of it is another. Somewhere in between there is the best road for each individual. I put things on this site as I see them, and am very happy to have the other side of life put as well. No-one should be slow to disagree with me on this site, I know my view is not always right for everyone.
Duncan
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 6:04 am
by Clive Taylor
Just to compare notes, what do people charge for bull hire? And do you generally charge for transport? We charge £25 per cow served, £15 loading charge plus 50p per mile if we are asked to transport the bull. And it's got to be worthwhile numbers otherwise we would charge per week. Is this reasonable to you think?