Livestock Management RANCHING Set Up Bulls for a Successful Breeding Season
Good development of young bulls and a good health program for any age bulls go a long way toward helping them do their job in the pastures.
By Gary DiGiuseppe Y
OU DON’T DRIVE YOUR PICKUP WITHOUT CHECKING THE OIL and tires. The same principle applies to your bull. That’s according to Mark Spire, D.V.M., techni-
cal services manager for Merck Animal Health. He points out that ranchers have a huge investment in their breeding bulls. Each bull is typically needed to service about 25 females. “If you look at the price of cows today, it’s not un-
common to have $1,500 a head in a cow. The total cost for a year is between $900 to $1,000,” says Spire. That means you can have $60,000 tied up in a single bull’s performance. “Take the time and spend the money to make sure
that bull is in peak condition at the start of the breed- ing season,” Spire urges.
Start with physical soundness The bull should have good, sound feet and legs and
a correct gait that shows their hips are well. Both eyes should be clear and functional. Spire explains, “Those bulls have to get out, and
they have to move. They have to be able to mount and breed the cows. They have to see them. Bulls depend so much on eyesight to watch cows’ behavior, to pick them out and decide whether to have physical contact with them.” He says ranchers should avoid any bulls with “lumps
and bumps” — that is, symptoms of diseases like lump jaw (actinomycosis) or wood tongue (actinobacillosis), or signs of abscessed teeth or arthritis in the neck, which will impact how the bull is able to graze and maintain itself. The bulls should start the breeding season with a
body condition score (BCS) of about 6. Bull BCS is as- sessed the same way it is on cows, by measuring the fat cover over the ribs and along the hips, while taking into account the differences in male and female builds. BCS ranges from 1 (gaunt) to 9 (obese). “That bull condition score will drop off very rapidly early in the
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breeding season,” says Spire, “so if we start them off too thin, that will impact semen quality.”
Reproductive soundness checks — vet or DIY? The bull’s reproductive equipment should also be
checked out. Spire breaks down those examinations into 2 categories — the $40 exam performed by the vet, or the $2 version you can conduct yourself, where you just make sure that they’re functional and doing what they should,” he says. That includes looking at the feet and legs, making sure that there’s no swelling in the scrotum, and watching the bull breed the cows for the fi rst few days after he’s turned out to make sure he can mount a cow and fully extend his penis. The more expensive exam, he says, is more ap-
propriate on newly purchased bulls, and on yearlings developed from your own herd. With the yearlings, it’s critical that their scrotal
circumference is adequate for their weight, breed and age. The industry standard is about 30 centimeters (cm) in diameter at puberty, with testicles no more than 10 percent different in size from one another and with good tone. “Then I like to extend them,” Spire says, “because
there are several things that we’ve seen come out of bulls in development centers, and just as bulls mature. Things like tears, hair rings and frenulums (folds of tissue that restricts the organ) on the penis can end up causing damage that can limit a bull’s ability to breed. Warts on the penis are also very important to look for when a bull is being extended during the examination. A more detailed examination will allow close examination of the prepuce for scarring, adhe- sions and strictures.” Another potential issue to watch for is seminal ve-
siculitis. The seminal vesicles are accessory sex glands within the bull and add fl uid to the semen. They can become infl amed and sometimes infected. Spire says
April 2014 The Cattleman 53
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