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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