How To See And Select A Fertile Bull

How To See & Select A Fertile Bull
For Seed Stock & Commercial Breeders
By Gearld Fry

      The selection you make for bulls for the next generation of calves will be the most important decision you will make concerning your future in the cattle industry. This bull with his genetic potential holds the keys to make a profit and a living in the cattle industry and build a concentrated gene pool that will assure you of continued success. Or your choice if improperly made and settling for second best will not allow you to progress and will leave open cows to be culled unduly.

  This writers intended purpose in presenting the following information is to make available information of specific nature, which will allow you the opportunity to satisfactorily determine if the prospective bull you are about to select is fertile, sub-fertile or sterile and get your cows pregnant on time. Also allow you to produce the type of cattle the consumer or breeder is searching for.

  A high fertile bull will impregnate 80% - 90% of the cows he services in the first 21 days of the breeding cycle. The sub-fertile bull will impregnate 60% - 75% in the first 21 days of the breeding cycle. A bull below the sub-fertile line can be as low as 10% conception. I will discuss each of these animals and the requirement for each category later. You can have a high fertile bull and not have the body conformation needed to pass on to the progeny.

  We have all seen a lot of cattle, but what do we actually "SEE"? As Bertillon, the famous French detective once said, "One can only see what one observes and one observes only things which are already in his mind. My purpose is to put bull fertility selection knowledge in your mind by observing the hair and other masculine features so you can make a valued decision about a bull before the semen is drawn and then the final decision can be made.

  I want to put some thoughts before you that will allow you to know before you semen test a bull if he will pass the test and get most of your cows pregnant in the first 21 days. (IN SHORT, BULL SENSE).

  Once the decision on a herd bull has been made there is a great demand upon his reproductive performance. The requirement on him may far exceed his reproductive capabilities. Late calves or open cows cause great economic losses. The cattle industry experiences more open cows because of low fertility in bulls than any other one factor. Some seed stock breeders keep every bull for sale to commercial cattlemen unless he is so bad that he knows no body would want him at any price. A one percent increase in reproduction is worth twice as much as a one percent increase in price. What if you increase the reproduction in your herd by 10%? (BIG BUCKS)

HEAD
   One of the most desirable features one should look for first is the coarseness of the hair about the head, face and neck of the bull. The hair shafts should be coarse in appearance and touch. Looking closely you will notice the hair per square inch is moderate in amount. You will notice the hair is generally all in a downward direction except over the eyes.

COARSE & CURLY HAIR
   Exhibition of coarse and curly hair about the head, face and neck of the bull assures the looker of the highest degree of fertility. As the bull matures and reaches his highest sperm production the hair will become more tightly curled. Test the curly hair by pulling a curl straight and it will return to the tight curl.

< Coarse Curly Hair

This bull will settle (get the cows pregnant) 80% to 90% of his cows in the first 21 days of the breeding season. This bull's semen count should be in the 80-90 percent live range. If you collect and freeze semen on this bull you should only get a 10-15 percent reduction in conception because of the stress in the freezing process. This bull will be the most likely candidate to produce sons when mated to great cows that will replace himself. This bull can lend himself to the cow to allow her to express herself. This bull will be the most likely candidate for building your future in the cattle industry. Seed stock or commercial.

COARSE & WAVY HAIR
   Exhibition of coarse and wavy hair about the head, face and neck. This bull will also be a highly fertile bull. His live count should be in the 75-85 percent range. This bull should get 75 to 85 percent of his cows pregnant in the first 21 days of the breeding season. If you collect and freeze semen on this bull the breeding results would be 10-15% less than natural service because of the stress in the freezing process.

< Coarse and Wavy Hair

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