Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
measuring the height and width to determine how many square centimeters the birth canal is.
For a heifer about 600 pounds that is expected to grow to 1,100 pounds or so, an average
measurement is 140 centimeters squared.
If your farm operation includes breeding cattle, you can either use a bull to do it naturally, or
you can use artificial insemination (AI). Bulls are expensive and high maintenance, and even
if they seem tame, there is always a chance they could attack humans. If you plan to calve
seasonally, you must separate the bull from cows that are able to rebreed or from heifers that
are able to breed because the bull could impregnate your animals outside of your desired
breeding window. You also can share or lease a bull from a farmer who uses a different calv-
ing season than you.
Natural breeding
You can find bull sellers the same way you find other cattle: in trade publications, classified
advertisements, online, or through mutual connections. If you use a bull, you need to get a
veterinarian to examine him before you purchase him, and you need your vet to examine him
on an annual basis. The vet will measure his scrotal circumference — usually, the larger the
scrotum, the higher the sperm count. Just to be sure, a sperm sample will be collected.
A good bull will have a high libido and be eager to mate, but keep in mind a high libido does
not guarantee fertility. A simple way to test libido includes putting a bull in a pen with a fe-
male that is ready to breed. If he successfully mates within five minutes, he probably has a
good libido. If he shows no interest, this is probably not a good sign. Mature bulls can service
more cows in a breeding season than young bulls — ten to 20 cows for yearlings, about 30
cows for a mature bull, and sometimes many more for the best bulls. A yearling also will not
have been used yet for breeding, so you will not be able to see how successful he has been in
a breeding program, and there will no data about calves he has produced.
Disposition is important when choosing a bull. If you walk up to the fence to look at him, he
should stay calm. He can show signs of being on alert, such as ears standing to attention, but
he should not bolt away. He also should not move toward you as if to attack. If he runs away,
or runs at you, you do not want him. If you have a large herd, you may need more than one
bull. If you decide to use more than one bull, you need one bull to be the dominant bull that
will sire most of the calves in the herd. The animals will have to sort out their place in the
hierarchy themselves, so keep your bulls together in a paddock away from the females for
about 30 days so they can establish which one is dominant. If they do not establish their order
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