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CATTLE TALK
good
bull
Don’t overlook bulls when caring for herd
By Michael Grahmann
w
ith weaning time winding down
and calving season just around
the corner, herd bull conditioning for the breeding season should be addressed on your ranching operations. Even
though the herd bull is responsible for 50
percent of the calf crop annually, herd bull
conditioning is often overlooked by operators. However, condition of the herd bull
battery has as much to do with a successful
breeding season as the body condition score
of your cow herd at calving.
The process of herd bull reconditioning is something that should begin four to
five months prior to breeding season. By
starting this process early, ranchers have the
opportunity to fully evaluate their herd bull
needs for the next breeding season, long
before the run of late fall and winter bull
sales. Emergency bull purchases because of a
bull not passing a breeding soundness exam,
lameness or not being in condition to breed
never seem to work out quite as well as carefully planned bull purchases that target the
traits the operation needs in next year’s calf
crop. Proper bull conditioning, along with
a breeding soundness exam 30 days prior
to breeding season, helps ensure maximum
reproductive success in the herd.
As with the cow herd, the body condition
score of herd bulls is extremely important.
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Bulls entering the breeding season need to be
in a body condition score of 6.0 to 6.5. Ideally,
the desirable 6.0 body condition score should
be reached 60 days prior to turn-out to ensure optimal sperm production. Remember,
sperm production in the beef sire is a 64-day
process, thus the need for proper body condition at least 60 days prior to turn-out.
The first step in conditioning bulls is to evaluate the current body condition of the bulls.
The current body condition will help determine how much weight the herd sire needs to
gain prior to turn-out. For most Continental
and Brahman influenced cattle, one body condition score equals an estimated 150 pounds.
For English breeds, one body condition score
equals an estimated 100 to 125 pounds. For
example, if Brahman influenced herd bulls are
in a body condition score 5.0 and the desired
BCS prior to turn-out is 6.5, then the necessary gain to reach this target is an estimated
225 lbs. This information will help determine
how aggressive of a conditioning program the
ranch needs to achieve the desired goal.
Many reconditioning programs exist to
achieve the necessary gain in herd bulls;
however, improperly conditioned herd bulls
tend to “melt” once breeding season begins.
On conventional full feed programs, cattle
are typically placed in confinement where
forages are not a source of nutrition for
the cattle. When the bulls are turned out,
the microflora in the rumen is not suitable for digestion of forages, causing the
cattle to melt. A proven program that uses
a combination of forages and concentrates
is Purina Mills’ Accuration Cattle Limiters.
Depending on the average daily gain goal, in
the Accuration Cattle Limiter p