Bulls fertility

Donnelly24

Hi lads
I have a pedigree bull that i hope to show and sell at a future sale . Got him fertility tested and vet says hes low fertility. Hes 16 months is there any way of trying to improve his fertility or im i wasting my time. Vet will retest him in 6 weeks do be sure
Thanks

ganmo

He might just be a bit immature

patsy_mccabe

What level of feeding is he on?

charolais0153

Donnelly24 wrote: »

Hi lads
I have a pedigree bull that i hope to show and sell at a future sale . Got him fertility tested and vet says hes low fertility. Hes 16 months is there any way of trying to improve his fertility or im i wasting my time. Vet will retest him in 6 weeks do be sure
Thanks

Has he big balls?or are they small

Donnelly24

Hes on high feeding getting as much as he wants . He measured 30cm scotal size so hoping he works out vet said give him 6 weeks test him again .I was told to give him oats

whelan2

What breed is he ,some are a bit slower maturing than others

Donnelly24

Hes limousin

Lady Haywire

Oats for the oats! If he's getting as much as he wants I'd be inclined to cut back a bit, was told that by our vet with the first bull we bred which never performed. Something with fat in the scrotal sac? Can't remember rightly though.
Was he off form any time over he last while too, temperature could have had an impact on it.

Donnelly24

Ya hopefully he'll come right great bull

patsy_mccabe

Cut way back on the meal, bit by bit. Over feeding of breeding bulls is only asking for trouble.

squinn2912

Interesting thread. I thought fertility in bulls was a yes or no issue I never dreamt that overfeeding could cause it.

gozunda

Donnelly24 wrote: »

Hi lads
I have a pedigree bull that i hope to show and sell at a future sale . Got him fertility tested and vet says hes low fertility. Hes 16 months is there any way of trying to improve his fertility or im i wasting my time. Vet will retest him in 6 weeks do be sure
Thanks

Is he showing any active interest in the ladies?

Bellview

Is he in a yard or pen with other bulls as they might be riding which will affect his scores. Our vet view is that once they are over 12 months the age should not matter as much but may be different for limo

Bellview

Is he in a yard or pen with other bulls as they might be riding which will affect his scores. Our vet view is that once they are over 12 months the age should not matter as much but may be different for limo

High bike

What are lads views on wintering a bull, are they better off in a shed or out wintered.

squinn2912

High bike wrote: »

What are lads views on wintering a bull, are they better off in a shed or out wintered.

Depends on a few things I guess. If he's a heavy bull with history of bad feet or of a certain vintage then a slatted shed wouldn't suit. If the opposite is true then he might be ok. I know a few men who let the bull bull away at cows on slats but I wouldn't like that. Other guys have a pen for the bull and an area to let in heat cows into him (likely dairy boys). What's worked best for us is bulls in and out of a yard with a compound or access to a field you don't mind sacrificing.

High bike

This lad is only a 2yr old and he’s in an out of a yard , seem ok anyway

squinn2912

High bike wrote: »

This lad is only a 2yr old and he’s in an out of a yard , seem ok anyway

If he's ok in and out of the yard you'd likely be as well leave him as he is no? Hopefully it won't be for much longer!

Suckler farmer

We recently purchased a 15 month old bull. He was 500 kgs. He has been running with ten heifers for 5 weeks. Heifers are 15-20 months old. We have seen 9 of the ten heifers bulling. Five have been bulling for a second time. Only 2 or 3 have passed the three weeks without any signs of heat. Should we be worried about fertility? Was hoping to take bull away from heifers next week

tanko

Yeah, i think it sounds like there are reasons to be worried.

whelan2

Suckler farmer wrote: »

We recently purchased a 15 month old bull. He was 500 kgs. He has been running with ten heifers for 5 weeks. Heifers are 15-20 months old. We have seen 9 of the ten heifers bulling. Five have been bulling for a second time. Only 2 or 3 have passed the three weeks without any signs of heat. Should we be worried about fertility? Was hoping to take bull away from heifers next week

What breed is the bull?

Suckler farmer

He’s an Aubrac.

Three more heifers will be three weeks since they were served this week. See how that goes. Scan them all in 6 weeks to 2 months time. May have to move him on if there isn’t a substantial number of them in calf.

Is there any recourse with the seller of the bull if he is sub fertile?

whelan2

I'd ring the seller now and let him know what's happening. You dont want your own calving date slipping. You bought an animal supposedly fit for breeding.

TooOldBoots

Young bulls are not as successful as a mature bull. They tend to spend too long with the heifers in season.
I seen a young new bull following a heifer for 3 days before she came into standing heat, he ended up missing two others.

minerleague

TooOldBoots wrote: »

Young bulls are not as successful as a mature bull. They tend to spend too long with the heifers in season.
I seen a young new bull following a heifer for 3 days before she came into standing heat, he ended up missing two others.

+1 on this, run themselves ragged days before cow/heifer standing

patsy_mccabe

Older bulls can be the complate opposite then. You'd think nothing was bulled as they just walk over, bull the cow and then go away grazing.
A lot of farmers just let the younger bulls in for a while to cows, when they are on.

Suckler farmer

He has thrived since we got him. Not gone back in any way. He could be up to 3 days following the same heifer but am confident that he has served all the heifers. He’s actually following the tenth heifer this evening. Should we leave him longer than another week running with the heifers to give him a chance? Getting very late though. Plan to bull the next batch of heifers in October

Mac Taylor

Suckler farmer wrote: »

He has thrived since we got him. Not gone back in any way. He could be up to 3 days following the same heifer but am confident that he has served all the heifers. He’s actually following the tenth heifer this evening. Should we leave him longer than another week running with the heifers to give him a chance? Getting very late though. Plan to bull the next batch of heifers in October

Was he fertility tested, if not that’s where I would start. Unfortunately sub fertility is a much bigger problem than lads think....

Gudstock

Overfeeding of young bulls too causes a lot of problems. See some breeders of continental breeds in particular feeding big batches of young bulls for 16 month bull beef but trying to sell them at the same time younger to bull buyers.

Bellview

Suckler farmer wrote: »

He has thrived since we got him. Not gone back in any way. He could be up to 3 days following the same heifer but am confident that he has served all the heifers. He’s actually following the tenth heifer this evening. Should we leave him longer than another week running with the heifers to give him a chance? Getting very late though. Plan to bull the next batch of heifers in October

Was he vaccinated for ibr or bvd recently as sometimes that can impact fertility for a short time.. especially ibr vaccines

Suckler farmer

He hasn’t been vaccinated for ibr or bvd. Will
scan the heifers a month after we have removed the bull. If a few of the heifers show up empty will either fertility test the bull or send him to the factory

tanko

Would it not be better to fertility test the bull asap to find out if there’s a problem with him?

Suckler farmer

Yes we’re going to get onto the vet to see if he is able to do the test. Hopefully we won’t have anymore repeats

Markcheese

What'd nearly be more worrying is if he's tested fertile ,serving the cows and they still come round again ...
Cos then you're looking at the cows ....