“It is important for reproductive performance and profitability of the cattle operation to identify bulls that are not sound breeders and replace them prior to the breeding season,” says Patrick Davis MU Extension Livestock Field Specialist. This is the goal of the SW MO Fall Bull Breeding Soundness Exam (BSE) days as well as educating cattle producers on bull management for a successful breeding season. During the Fall SW MO Bull BSE days MU Extension cooperated with 6 veterinary clinics and two pharmaceutical companies to educate 53 farms on bull management and 184 bulls received a BSE. There were 11 bulls that failed the BSE or were deferred to retest later by the veterinarian. That is a 6% failure/deferral rate which is similar to previous seasons of BSE day results. Reasons for failure or deferral include no semen sample, poor semen quality and bull injury. Bulls that failed can be replaced to help ensure optimum breeding season performance. Bulls that were deferred can be retested in 60 days and if they fail the second test need to be replaced to help ensure optimum breeding season performance.
“Optimum body condition score (BCS) is important for bull performance during the breeding season,” says Davis. As part of the educational process MU Extension specialists evaluated bull body condition score during the BSE days. Fifteen bulls had a body condition score of 4 or less which is considered thin. Twelve of those bulls were 3 years of age or younger. Since younger bulls are still growing it is important to monitor BCS and adjust nutrition or substitute the bull during the breeding season so that they don’t get too thin. Allowing the bull to get too thin during their developmental years could negatively impact growth and performance in the future.
“Bull structure is important for breeding performance and longevity,” says Davis. During the BSE days MU Extension Specialists educated cattle producers on bull structure and foot scoring. Eleven bulls had foot or structure issues. These issues include toe curl, short heal or weak pastern, straightness or stiffness of legs, and swollen hocks. Progression of these issues can affect movement of the animal which may negatively impact the bull’s ability to breed females. Furthermore, if replacement animals are kept from these bulls those bad structure problems will progress in the herd. Therefore, Davis suggests paying close attention to bull structure at BSE time to make sure sound bulls are kept and when buying bulls so that proper structured bulls are purchased.
Bull BSE days are a cooperative effort between MU Extension, local veterinarians, and pharmaceutical companies to educate cattle producers on bull management, identify bulls that need to be replaced and gather data for upcoming MU Extension programming. If you are a veterinarian in SW MO that would like to take part in these efforts in the future, please contact your local MU Extension Livestock Field Specialist for further details.
