A number of researchers over the years have looked at the advantages of feeding young bulls for slaughter, as opposed to steers, since intact males make faster rates of gain. In order to compete, steers are usually given growth implants. Most stockmen still castrate their male calves, however, since feedlots still prefer to feed out steers. There are some extra management considerations involved when feeding bulls. Eventually, however, more people may feed bulls to take advantage of the natural growth hormones, especially if use of implants is restricted or halted.

Several studies have been going on at the Lethbridge Research Centre (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta) involving cattle reproduction. "One of the things we are looking at right now is onset of puberty and semen quality in young bulls. We are doing some feeding trials, looking at various levels of nutrition--energy and protein--in young bulls," says John Kastelic, DVM, PhD, who is a specialist in reproductive physiology. He was very impressed with how the young bulls gained, which again reinforced his thoughts that eventually more feedlots may choose to feed bulls rather than steers.

"We just completed one trial, in which the young bulls went to slaughter in August 2002. We early weaned these bulls at 8 to 9 weeks of age, and I worried about them being so young, but we got them onto dry feed quickly and it worked very well, with minimal health problems. Then we fed them varying levels of energy and protein. What was remarkable was the rapid efficient gain in these calves. Feeding bulls for slaughter is not a new concept, but our trial just highlighted the potential for doing this as an alternative to castration and implants," says Kastelic.

"I can't speak for the U.S., but on this side of the border my guess is that we are soon going to be under enormous scrutiny in our use of anabolic implants. Within 5 years, implants may disappear. People are becoming very anxious about their use. Whether or not their fears are valid is not the point. Perception has more impact than facts. As one person says, 'We don't manage risk; we manage outrage.' That's absolutely true," he says.

"This feeding trial highlighted the fact we need to revisit the whole issue of feeding bulls. Consumers think that bull meat is tough. If you have a bull that's 5 years old, that has been out breeding, and has a hematoma--and you send him off to slaughter 60 days into the breeding season--yes, he will be tough eating. But a young virgin bull that's 14 to 15 months old when he goes to slaughter can provide a wonderful carcass," says Kastelic.

"An important thing with bulls is that it takes management to get them to slaughter in optimum condition, to minimize stress. When we loaded them onto trucks they were in pens of 4 to 5 animals each, and we loaded adjacent pens together. We got them onto the trucks and to the packing plant, and got them off and killed quickly, without the problems that cause dark cutters," he says.

"If you let them co-mingle and stress them, there will be dark cutters, but you can work around those problems. Management is important, and feeding them out quickly and getting them off to slaughter appropriately are the big factors," he explains.

"There are 2 reasons we castrate. One is historical. The second reason is that if you want to put 300 animals in a pen, you probably should not feed intact bulls. When I was in veterinary practice 20 years ago we had a client who bought bulls in auction barns, brought them home and put them in an alleyway--crowded cheek to cheek--for about 2 hours, with no room to fight." They were jammed in there like cattle in a truck or trailer.

"They defecated on each other, rubbed shoulders, and got used to one another, and when he let them out after a couple hours they all smelled one like the other and there was minimal fighting. He kept them in modest sized pens with small numbers of animals per pen, and he was very successful at feeding bulls this way. He'd buy cull bulls fairly cheap, from multiple sources, stick them together and feed them out," says Kastelic.

"If you feed 300 animals in one pen, bulls are not what you want, but if we lose things like anabolic implants, we'll have to look at alternatives. Something like this--feeding bulls--can work. We'd have to change our management a bit, like using smaller pens, getting them off to slaughter quickly, and paying attention to details, but this is a feasible alternative." ©