MOUNT VERNON, Mo.– University of Missouri Extension is hosting a series of breeding soundness exam clinics for bulls in Lawrence and Barry counties in March. The clinics will help producers determine if bulls are fit for the breeding season, says an MU Extension livestock specialist.
“The veterinarian does a complete exam on the bull, including a semen evaluation, to find out the level of use that bull might be able to withstand during the breeding season,” Eldon Cole said.
The first clinic will be March 12 at the Dake Veterinary Clinic in Miller. A March 15 clinic will be at the Barry County Veterinarian Service in Cassville. The final clinic will be March 21 at the Countryside Animal Clinic in Aurora. Cole says each session will begin at 8 a.m. and go until all bulls have been examined.
There is a minimal fee for the basic examination, but a pharmaceutical company is providing deworming, delousing and booster shots. Cole says that bulls can be tested for trichomoniasis for an additional fee.
The clinics are a way of bringing awareness to producers and getting them thinking about the importance of a breeding soundness exam, Cole said. Usually, about 10 percent of bulls examined are found unfit for very heavy usage.
Cole urges producers unable to make it to one of these clinics to work with their local veterinarian to evaluate their bulls.
“You need to have a bull examined at least a month before you are going to turn him out,” Cole said. “If you have to go look for a bull, it may be a bit of a challenge to find exactly what you like.”
For more information about the breeding soundness exam clinics, contact Cole at 417-466-3102.
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