AGRIBUSINESS: Factors that affect bull fertility.

AGRIBUSINESS: Factors that affect bull fertility.When it comes to bulls, fertility is of upmost importance as their job is to secure the future of your herd. 1)Body Condition Your bull should have a Body Condition Score (BCS) of 3 or more before being turned out to the cows. As bulls can lose hundreds of pounds of weight during the breeding season it is a bad idea to have them in bad condition at the start of breeding season. This will likely compromise herd fertility and reduce the reproduction rate. Dramatic weight loss leads to lower sperm quality and production. However you need to watch out for overweight bulls too because they can become lazy. READ: Fertility of cows and bulls. 2) Weather Heat stress can have a detrimental effect on sperm motility in Bulls. It also affects fertility in cows. Excessive cold can affect bull fertility too, especially in cases of frostbite. Scrotal frostbite can affect fertility. Usually the way to spot this is inflammation and swelling days after freezing. This inflammation generates heat which affects development of the bull’s sperm and could temporarily - or permanently - sterilize the bull. 3) Disease and infection. Disease and parasite control in bulls is very important. Even if the disease doesn’t directly relate to fertility, it could affect his body condition. If the bull fails to maintain a good body score it could lead to reduced vigor. Infections like foot rot can display itself with a fever. Fever is harmful to a bull’s performance, as the sperm that were forming whilst he was suffering from it will be abnormal, and afterwards, he will have an infertile period of about 60 days. Disease prevention should be treated the same in a bull as with females. New animals should be screened by a vet for possible infectious agents, and only buy bulls from a reputable source with a healthy herd plan. Here are three rules you should follow to avoid disease in cattle. Don’t expose cows to bulls from other herds or vice versa. No leasing or borrowing bulls No grazing in common lands with other herds, good solid fences to keep neighbors out. Bovine Trichomoniasis - This is a venereal disease which leads to repeat breeders, low pregnancy rates and abortions beginning in early pregnancy and continuing right up to the time of calving. There is no treatment for Trichomoniasis, although most cows will self-clear of the disease within 120 days. Bulls spread the disease between cows and any bull found carrying it must be culled. Because of this you should test your bulls annually. 4) Injury Lameness. If a bull is lame he won’t be able to stand up to his task. If he is partly lame his performance will be impaired.