FORGET the big banana or pineapple, Chinchilla could be home to one of Australia’s biggest bullocks.
Reggie the eight-year-old Friesian bullock is still growing but already towers over his six foot high owner, Col Budden, and makes his trusty farm ute look tiny.
The pet was purchased from a Toowoomba poddy sale as a weaned calf after catching Col’s attention. He would often buy dairy cows to rare abandoned calves and wasn’t afraid to fatten their progeny into bullocks.
Reggie was eventually put on grain and was a few weeks away from an impending visit to the meatworks when Col’s sister from Brisbane visited his 530 hectare property, Glenroy at Pelican, north east of Chinchilla.
Col’s sister had been battling breast cancer but fell in love with the gentle giant after he allowed the group of five women to ride on his back all at once.
At the time Reggie was expected to make about $1200 so Col’s sister sent the money to him with a note inside which read: “I own him, you feed him”.
Col couldn’t accept the money but did agree to keep him alive. He said containing him was the hardest part.
“He puts his head over the wire and just pushes it to the ground so we are going to start hot wiring it,” he said.
“No fence, if he wants to go, will stop him. We nearly lost him last year. He used to push the gates over and he got out one night and probably ate half a 44 of grain and he was sick for a week.”
Reggie could be one of the biggest steers in the world.
In 2015, the Guinness World Records named Holstein cow, Blosom the world’s tallest measuring 190cm or 6.23ft.
She passed away later that year.
In 2016, the ABC visited South Australia’s Joanne Vine and her Guernsey steer Big Moo, who measured 190cm.
Mr Budden said he didn’t want Reggie to get too fat as it may affect his legs.
“We weighed him five years ago and he was 890kg but we can’t get him up a crush now,” he said.