We saw Ferdinand in a Facebook group in November 2014. Ferdinand is a purebred Cika bull, born in 2011. As a breeding bull, he was required to have a nose ring to make him easier to handle*. At almost three years of age, he was replaced with a new breeding bull and was being sold for meat. With the help of donations, we managed to buy him at the last minute and thus saved his life. Ferdinand lives with Sara, Sita, and Miška on a large pasture with trees and shrubs. They have free access to their shelter and can roam their pasture as much as they want, living as natural a life as possible. He adores apples or pears as a treat and his salt lick. When he feels like it, he enjoys being brushed, but he prefers to lick his cows.
*The nose ring is made of half-inch pure steel. Removing it would require sawing, cutting, or surgically splitting the nose. Such a procedure would require anesthesia and pose considerable risk to him. If the ring is not used (i.e., not pulled), it doesn’t bother him or cause pain. Therefore, we decided not to remove the ring due to the high risks involved.
