Page 23 - MWC 04-22-2021s

Is your bull ready for work? ers. The circumference is also money and push your calving

The Midwest Cattleman · April 22, 2021 · P23

nancy rate and female lifetime turns into a situation where
By Dean Kreager, Ohio State University Extension Agriculture strongly correlated to preg- season back but if that sub-par
Should a person wait until tal measurements later. productivity. only a few cows or possibly no
Every additional cycle that cows settle that can be a major
the hay is mowed before look- Semen quality is evaluated a cow remains open is 21 setback. With the Ohio average
ing at the rake and baler to fix by collecting a semen sample less days of growth on that herd size of 17 cows, not many
any problems that carried over by using electro-ejaculation. cow’s calf the next year. This have a backup bull in place. A
from last year? Would they This is not the unpleasant ex- amounts to about 55 pounds BSE is a cheap insurance pol-
head out on a cross country perience that the name may lower weaning weight which icy when so much rides on the
drive without at least checking suggest. Think of it more as at $1.40 feeder calves is a loss performance of one animal.
the oil and tires? If most peo- the electrical muscle stimula- of $77. This does not factor in There is no guarantee that it
ple answered no to these ques- tion you may receive in ther- that that cow will be 21 days will prevent all issues as it is
tions, then why do so many apy and not the electric fence behind for the next breeding just looking at one day in that
people just turn their bull in charger. Semen is then evalu- season since it is always a bull’s life, but it will help pre-
with the cows without first ated for motility, morphology challenge to move cows up in vent many issues.
being sure that he is ready to (normal shaped sperm) and the breeding season. A sub-
do his job. A cow/calf produc- any abnormal fluids such as par fertility bull can cost you
er’s income comes from having blood or pus.
calves in a timely manner and Studies indicate that 1 of 5
half of that is up to the bull. A bulls that are evaluated will
breeding soundness evaluation not be scored as a satisfactory
(BSE) is an often-overlooked potential breeder. These bulls
way to avoid some potentially can be retested in 60 days for
major problems in this year’s a potential change in status.
breeding season. Typical pric- The 60-day window is set be-
es are in the $50-$100 range cause that is about how many
and some facilities will estab- days it takes for a sperm cell
lish days in the spring when to complete the growth and
producers can bring their bulls maturation process. Chang-
to a central location for testing. es to the bull’s health or en-
A BSE is a test performed vironment any time during
by a trained veterinarian to the 60-day cycle can result in
estimate the readiness of the drastic changes in sperm. This
bull to settle cows. This eval- includes things like sickness,
uation concentrates on 3 as- fever, extreme heat, extreme
pects: 1) Physical soundness, cold, stress, and injury. Some-
2) Reproductive soundness, 3) times that 60-day wait will be
Semen quality. enough for sperm quality to
Physical soundness in- improve.
cludes evaluation of feet and The BSE should be conduct-
legs, body condition, eyes and ed every year about 30-60 days
any other condition that could before the breeding season.
affect the bull’s ability to breed Just because you had good
cows. Soundness of feet and conception rates last year does
legs are extremely important not mean that you will this
as the bulls increase steps year. Many things can happen
taken while walking with the during the bull’s off season
cow herd, but they must also be that could affect fertility, and
able to transfer their weight to this includes natural aging.
their rear legs without pain to Minimum scrotal circum-
consistently service the cows. ference standards have been
Adequate body condition is established based on the age
also important as the bull will of the bull. Even though your
be more active during breed- bull may meet the minimum
ing season and will be using there are reasons that larger
excess body stores to maintain circumferences are import-
energy. ant. The scrotal circumference
Reproductive soundness is measurements that are taken
evaluated by internal and ex- during the BSE are excellent
ternal palpation. Reproductive predictors of many traits. The
secondary organs such as the heritability of scrotal circum-
seminal vesicles and prostate ference is often estimated at
are palpated internally. The near .70 which is much higher
penis, testis, and scrotum are than many growth traits and
examined externally. Malfor- similar to the heritability of
mations, inflammation, and carcass traits. Above average
scrotal measurements are scrotal circumference is high-
prime targets of the reproduc- ly correlated to earlier onset
tive soundness portion. I will of puberty in offspring. This
go into further detail on scro- is true for both bulls and heif-