Breeding season is a very important time on the ranch. In order to have a good calf crop you will need to make sure that all of your cows will be bred.
While many focus on getting their cows ready for this time of year it is also a good idea to get the bulls that you will be using ready too. After all 50% of the genetics that each of your potential calves will have comes from just that one animal, the bull.
With the important role they will play you may be wonder just how you can go about making sure that he will be ready to service the cows. Well, here are 5 tips that you can follow that will do just that.
Tip #1: Let the bulls get use to each other
Now if you have a small cow herd and you will be using only one bull then you will not need to follow this tip. But if you will be using multiple sires then you may want to pay attention to this one.
This tip is important if you will be bringing in a new or yearling bull onto your place. It is important that you give the bulls a chance to establish their social dominance list.
What this means is that you should give them a chance to work out their “social pecking order” in the herd. It is important that you give them time before turning them out otherwise they will be doing that instead of servicing your cows.
While this is going on you may want to keep an eye on them to make sure that they will not take it too far and one of them get injured. This type of thing can happen when you mix old and young bulls because the younger ones will not always know when to stop.
If you are mixing old and young ones it may be best to keep the younger ones with others their similar age and the older ones with the old ones. Also, in this scenario you will want to use the older ones first and then you can use the younger ones in the last 1/3 of the breeding season to get any of the ones the old guys may have missed.
Tip #2: Acclimate them to their surroundings
This is true for any cows that you will be bringing onto your place but you will want to give them a chance to get use to the climate and surroundings before you put them to work. A general idea is that it is best to purchase your animals within a 200-mile radius of your operation. This will mean that they are already somewhat familiar with the climate they will be dealing with.
When you are bringing them onto your place it is a good idea to keep them in a pen with a group of steers or pregnant cows while they get acclimated. Keeping them with other cows will play on their “safety in a herd” mentality and will make the transition much more smoother.
Since this will already be a stressful time it is best to not overstress or agitate him during this time. He is already having a hard time with his new surroundings and overstressing or agitating him could result in a dangerous reaction.
Another good thing to remember is that when you are offloading him do not release him directly into a paddock or pasture. If you do that it could be likely that you will not see him again and you may have to rebuild some fencing.
Tip #3: Make sure that he is properly vaccinated
Much like your cows your bulls should be up to date on all of his vaccinations prior to breeding season. If you are buying him just this year you should be able to get that information from the seller.
If you have to vaccinate then you should do it 30 days before you turn him out. This will give the vaccines time to run through his system. Thus allowing his body to develop the antibodies that he will need.
When it comes to which ones to use the bull should receive the same vaccinations that your cows get too. Though if you are not sure it is never a bad idea to talk with your local veterinarian. He will help to find out any potential diseases that you will need to prevent from occurring.
Along with the typical ones such as BVD it is important that you vaccinate your bulls for Trich. Trich can cause infertility and even stillbirths. I talk about the importance of preventing this from happening in a previous article “Preventing Trichomoniasis in your herd”.
Tip #4: Check BCS before breeding season
It is important that your bull be in a good BCS before breeding season. He will need to be in optimal condition in order to do his job which will be to service your cow herd.
photo courtesy of thecattlesite.com
When should you check the bull’s BCS? you may ask. Well, the rule of thumb is that you should check it for sure about 60 days prior to the start of the breeding season. Doing it at this time will give you plenty of time to get him to either gain or lose weight before he has to go to work.
Just like your cows he should be at a BCS of at least 5. Though preferably he should be more like at a 6. You will want him to be a little more “fleshy” during this time. That is because it is not unlikely that he will lose some weight with everything that he will be doing.
As I mentioned earlier checking it early enough will give you time to slowly adjust his diet as needed. If he needs to gain weight then you can slowly increase the amount of energy that he will be consuming. If he is to fat then you can go with a more roughage-based diet in order to trim him down.
Tip #5: Do a Breeding Soundness Exam
A breeding soundness exam should be done 30-60 days before breeding season starts. Your local vet should be able to administer this test. They will check for things like the soundness of his legs and even his fertility.
Evaluating bulls with a breeding soundness exam is often one of the most neglected practices in a cow/calf operation. But you may be asking why do I need to do that when the bull looks healthy?
Well, according to a paper from Washington State University infertility rates among bulls range from 15%-25% here in the United States. And that even includes the ones that appear “healthy”. So don’t you think it is important to know for sure that your bull will be able to get the job done?
