Ahead of the Qurbani Eid, a 20-maund bull named Don is catching everyone's eye in Madhukhali, Faridpur. The bull belongs to Md Halim Sheikh, a farmer from Bosmoshi village in Megchami union of Madhukhali upazila.

Curious people crowd every day to see the bull, which is talked about as the handsomest and biggest in the upazila, and buyers are coming from far away too. The owner is asking Tk 8 lakh.

Farmer Halim Sheikh told Jago News that the Friesian bull now weighs about 800 kg or more and is gaining about one and a half to two kg a day on average. Don needs care all day long, with attention to everything from feeding and bathing to general upkeep. The bull is more beautiful to look at than it is heavy, he said.

The two-toothed bull now has to be given 10 to 12 kg of concentrate feed a day. Its diet includes green grass from his own land, dry straw, wheat bran, khesari bran, crushed maize and bananas. Not only in Megchami union but across Madhukhali upazila, Don is among the biggest and most handsome cattle this Qurbani Eid.

He said he bought Don, then a year old, from a local farmer two and a half years ago and after buying it began fattening it entirely by local methods. He has also planted a plot of grass beside his home to meet its feed needs. If he can sell the bull for a good price this time, he will be encouraged to prepare more such cattle in future, he said.

Madhukhali upazila livestock officer Dr Prithwis Kumar told Jago News: "The cattle owner is a successful entrepreneur. We have checked on the bull, and it has been raised naturally. We will give every kind of help so that the owner can become an even bigger farmer in future."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.