The breeding season has arrived; by now, producers should have had their bulls tested for breeding soundness. Unfortunately, testing is more the exception than the rule.
Eldon Cole, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist, said, “Maybe 15-20 percent of the people would routinely, sometime during the course of the year, have a bull examined for breeding soundness.” That’s not to say their bulls have never been tested; most young bulls are subjected to the breeding soundness exam (BSE) as a term of sale. But Cole said the breeding soundness clinics Extension held in early March were geared to producers who have owned their bulls 1-2 years or longer.
“They may dropping a little in fertility,” he said, “and may be having a little more strung out calf crop than they’d like – or may absolutely be having breeding difficulties.” The BSE may uncover problems that can be treated through medication or minor surgery, but Cole added, “In many cases, it’s a signal that you probably need to go shopping for a bull.”
Cole said most ranchers make the mistake of thinking a bull that performed well last year doesn’t need further testing. “In the course of a year,” he warned, “a lot of things can happen.” For instance, with the extreme cold this region has experienced over the past year, “we may have a few more bulls that had frostbitten scrotums; that could cause some fertility problems.”
Extension recommends producers have their bulls tested 30-60 days ahead of the breeding season; for one thing, if a bull tests out “borderline,” that provides time to wait for the problem to heal and conduct a second test 3-4 weeks later. “Fertility is not something that just goes all of a sudden or stays with a bull continuously,” said Cole. “It can rise and fall. So anytime an animal has had an injury, or anything that might cause him to have an elevated body temperature, fertility can go down for a while – but unless it’s a real serious illness, it can come back.” There’s another good reason to test early – you may discover you have to go bull shopping. “There’s not always a bull just down the road that you’d want to turn in with your cows; you may need to go to a couple of sales before you find the matchup of genetics and price that suits you,” noted Cole.
About 10 percent of bulls either fail the BSE or are deferred for a second test; Cole said there are many things, both external and internal, that the veterinarians check for. Scrotal size and semen volume and quality are factors; they examine the penis for adhesions or other problems “We have penile warts that can give you a little bit of a headache sometimes,” said Cole. The vet also examines the bull’s accessory sex glands – the seminal vesicles, prostate and Cowper’s gland – that provide secretions necessary for proper sexual function. And, the sperm are examined under the microscope to determine if they’re normal in form and swimming aggressively.
The fertility score, Cole said, is not just a pass/fail, and all of these factors will contribute. The bull “may be strong in one area, a little weaker in another, but when you put all the numbers together you can either pass the bull, you can fail him, or you can defer him for a future test.” The cost varies, but Cole said if you have several bulls and bring the veterinarian to the farm, it usually comes out to about $30-40 per animal. And considering the cost of having open cows – if that can be prevented, it sounds like a good investment.
