Back in August our heifer, Antwonne Elsie Mae, had her first calf, graduating her to a cow. She gave birth to a healthy bull calf that is fifty percent Limousine on his paternal side. When he was named we opted for a name that would allow my nieces to know he would eventually end up in the freezer. The calf was then named 'Lunchbox' because he would end up in lunchboxes in the future. So as Fall turned to Winter our little Lunchbox grew.We decided Christmas time would be the perfect time for Lunchbox to lose his manhood. We left him intact to gain weight from the levels of testosterone while he was intact as the weather turned cold.
So around four months of age our Lunchbox needed to be banded. We discussed the different options to turn our calf from a bull to a steer and opted for using bands. An elastrator was purchased along with small green bands. The first task was to separate Lunchbox from his parents so that we could slip a harness on his small head. This took the longest time that included a bucket of grain, a harness, and two lead ropes. Lunchbox was nice enough to not kick while we were introducing him to a harness, but it still took almost thirty minutes to accomplish. From there we lead Lunchbox out of the pole barn through the goat yard to get him to the cattle chute. We opted for leading him out and around to avoid his parents and the mud from all of the recent rain.
Once secured in the cattle chute Lunchbox laid down on us. At first we thought this was going to be a problem, but soon realized that if he was laying he wasn't kicking. So squatting beside the cattle chute with the elastrator in hand my dad secured that both testicles were through the stretched band. I held the top hind leg up to make the job easier. When my dad released the band Lunchbox shot up quicker than we thought possible. I had expected the calf to make a call or a grunt, but he remained silent. After offering some we let Lunchbox back into the main pasture with his parents. He went running for his mom and soon after was nursing. The next task will be to wean Lunchbox, but we plan on allowing him to continue to nurse for another couple months. This will keep him full of nutritious milk as his body is going through the change to a steer.