Three Tips to Prime Bulls for Breeding Season

A lot of the focus for reproduction before breeding season is on making sure cows and heifers are ready to breed – but they are only half the equation. Bulls can get overlooked even though they are responsible for getting your cow herd bred. Ensure your bulls are ready for breeding season with these three tips:

1. Schedule a breeding soundness exam (BSE)

Bulls need to be fit to breed females before you turn them out. Work with your local veterinarian to schedule an annual breeding soundness exam 30 to 60 days before breeding season to know if your bulls are ready to perform. The Society for Theriogenology recommends the following testing standards to pass a breeding soundness exam:

• Physical exam
• 34-centimeter scrotal circumference by 24 months of age
• 30% semen motility
• 70% morphologically normal sperm

If a bull fails some parameters of the breeding soundness exam and you’ve performed it far enough in advance of turnout, there may still be time for them to pass after re-examination.

2. Provide a quality mineral

Two of the top reasons bulls fail a breeding soundness exam is because of semen volume and sperm abnormalities. Research from the University of Arkansas and USDA have both shown supplementing bulls with additional organic trace minerals helps improve semen quality.^1,2 Providing Purina^® Wind and Rain^® Mineral with Availa^® 4 three to four months ahead of a breeding soundness exam and turnout can help ensure your bulls will be ready to perform reproductively.³

Often I find bulls only have access to mineral when they’re with cows. Make sure you give your bulls the best chance to be at their reproductive prime by providing mineral year-round.

A concern you might have when providing mineral to bulls is that they’ll tip the feeder over and waste mineral. A simple solution to prevent mineral from tipping over is to stick the feeder into a tire. This trick works for Purina^® Purina^® Wind and Rain^® mineral tubs and most plastic barrels converted to feeders.

3. Monitor body condition score (BCS)

Body condition is another factor that influences the ability of bulls to service females. Like our mature cows, bulls should be in body condition score 6 at turnout. You don’t want bulls too fat or thin starting the breeding season. Bulls above body condition score 6 tend to have lower libido. Bulls below body condition score 6 have reduced fertility.⁴

Monitor body condition score for bulls during the breeding season, along with watching out for their physical soundness. By the time breeding season ends, they’ll lose one or two points of body condition, approximately 10-15% of their weight. If a bull drops to body condition score 4 you should rotate it out and put in a different bull with better body condition score for the remainder of the breeding season.

To keep bulls in good shape heading into breeding season, consider using a self-fed option with Intake Modifying Technology^® to reduce the task of feeding them every day. Offering Purina^® Accuration^® Hi-Fat blocks is an easy way to provide bulls with a high plane of nutrition when paired with quality forage and mineral.

Help bulls pass their breeding soundness exam and breed cows or heifers by providing quality nutrition before, during and after the breeding season.

Does your cattle nutrition program stack up? Find out with a Proof Pays trial.
 

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