? About bull BSE

[Ky hills]

We had a 2 yr old bull semen checked this morning. He had been checked before we bought him around a year ago. Today the vet said that the semen checked good but that he didn't come out of the sheath. He said that he could be alright and just didn't because of the artificial means of the check and to watch him to see if he comes out when out with cows. I had seen him look and act normal earlier in the year when breeding, but he has been pulled out and running with bred cattle for a while. The vet addressed my concern that he could be injured by saying that was a possibility. He said that that it happens that way in about 1 out of 20 bulls that they check that they don't come out of the sheath. We have had quite a few done over the years and I had not seen that happen. Is this something that common or should we be looking for another bull?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Lim is available.

 

[Bright Raven]

Maybe this is just a bad year for BSE tests. ;-)

I have been talking to lots of folks - breeders, vets, semen representatives, etc. The BSE tests are not always according to script. I had two out of seven bulls that on the first electroejaculation, the bulls did not fully extend out of the sheath. All my bulls passed their BSE with good results but the procedure does not always go well.

You sometimes just have to run the test again, even at a later date. I had 2 bulls that could not be collected in my squeeze chute. My chute squeezes from the top. They went down and the vet could not get the cup under them. I took them to the clinic where they have a chute that squeezes from the bottom up. It "cradles" them so they cannot go down. The bulls both passed with excellent results.

I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes they just don't like the pulse and it does the opposite of stimulation - they actually pull back in.

Edited to add. There is a condition where the bull has a defect and cannot extend. I doubt that is the issue with your bull.

 

[southernultrablack]

We had a 3 year old bull do the same thing. Wouldn't extend during the BSE. He's done just fine.