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Bulls are among the most dangerous domesticated animals due to their size, strength and unpredictable temperament.
For this reason, farmers need to behave with extreme caution at all times around them, even if the bull seems docile.
You need to know what to look for if bull is threatening you, how to get out of that bind, and how to prevent yourself from getting into it in the first place.
Here are a few tips that we should all follow when keeping and handling a bull.
Bulls require very different care to cows, and taking them out to grazing requires some special considerations.
Maintaining your bull’s body condition score (BCS) and keeping him uninjured (this could render him sub-fertile) is key to making your investment worthwhile.
Here are just a few things you should be considering when letting your bull out for grazing.
A lot of thought needs to go into how you’re going to graze your cattle; this is one of the biggest decisions you will make when it comes to your farm from a business perspective.
According to teagasc, one extra day at grass is worth €270/day/100 cows in spring. In autumn one extra day is worth €150/day/100 cows.
There are several ways you can break this down, and reasons you might go with each. Each system has their pros and cons. Hopefully this blog post can help you find the system that suits your operation.
Because you see the visual signs of heat does not necessarily mean you have to AI them then and there.
Sometimes they may be coming on, and thus not ready to be bred yet, and sometimes they are just after heat and you are too late.
With each missed heat costing a dairy farmer €250 and a suckler farmer €149, it is vital that you not only know the signs of heat, but what stage of it they're at.
As farming technology gets more sophisticated, farmers can afford to move their goalposts and expect more productivity.
In breeding, this is no different, and the benefits of a well-planned, well-executed breeding plan could spill over into other aspects of your operation.
However, to get the best out of this, you will want a large percentage of your cows to get in-calf during the first week of mating. This is also called a ‘6-week in-calf rate’.
A teaser bull is the best option for farmers aiming to transition to AI. However a lot of people are unsure about what effect the procedure has.
This blog post will let you know what you’re getting in for. Once you give him the snip, there’s no going back.
You've perfectly manicured his hooves and combed his silky coat. You're now ready to let your bull in along with the cows.
But is he ready to start breeding them? Your bull may have other ideas.
Is your bull looking sheepish after doing the business reliably for the last few years? Did he get off to a great start and then come to a grinding halt?
Here are a number of things you need to look out for to make sure your bull is working this breeding season.
Many beef farmers place a good high mature weight as the most important factor when planning sires for the year ahead.
However, to go exclusively off that would be foolish, and if they are on a small to medium sized operation it could lead to problems down the line.
The stock bull is a fixture in many Irish suckler farms. However, while they are the primary method of getting cows and heifers in calf in most of these operations, 3-4% of bulls are infertile.
As well as that, a further 15-20% are partially or periodically infertile according to Teagasc.
While some of the latter figure is inevitable, some of it can be prevented with early intervention. And if you identify your infertile bull early, you can minimise your losses.
Lameness in bulls is a major impediment to their reproductive performance - as you can well imagine, it makes their job a lot harder.
It is a common condition with 20-35% of cows suffering from it to some degree. If a bull has a lameness problem he probably won’t be able to perform his task.
Lameness in bulls can come about for a number of reasons, including:
