COUNSELING NEEDED

[Ridgefarmer63]

Hello Folks,
I have a small beef herd in New Hampshire (13 head). I'm fairly new at this, about 8 years .
I put a new Hereford bull (he was about 15 months old but big) in with the heifers and cows (angus and black baldies) July 1st, 2014. Still no calves as of yesterday. When should I start getting nervous?

Thanks

 

[tdarden3k]

#1 15 mo. is a tad young but did you get him tested prior to introducing him ?

#2 Do you see members of your herd riding each other still ?

#3 Have you seen him attempting to do his responsibilities or even does he seem to have any interests?

#4 Are your cows filling out and looking bred ?

If the answers are NO, Yes , NO or Don't Know and Cant tell then I would refer back to question 1.

 

[M-5]

when did cows calve last?? most need a cycle or 2 to breed again.

 

[dun]

The sonnest they would claf if caught on their first cycle was April 9. If they haven;t started yet it could be the bull or the cows. Depends on the condition and nutritional plane the cows were on when the bull was turned in. That is assuming he was tested before turn in.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Have you had any of your cows preg checked?

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Thanks for all the replies.
Out of 6 girls, two are proven 4 are not . One of the cows had given birth in April 2014. The bull was never tested.

When I put him in, July 1, 2014 he immediately started mounting. I witnessed a few sure fires with-out getting too graphic. Seems to me he has stopped jumping on the herd, in general by Sept.

There is one heifer he seems to be hitting all the time, figured she was going to be beef.

These cattle has only received eprinex wormer twice a year. Already got a lead on a relief bull if need be.

Otherwise guess I will get my vet up here to do a preg test if I don't see anything by July 1.

Still holding out a ray of hope that I see a few at least drop soon.

Thanks

 

[Quigly]

If you have open cows, they should be riding each other. If you are watching them and only see one being ridden by any cows or the bull, then it is likely that most of the others are bred. A 15 month old bull should be old enough to cover 13 cows. Not getting a single calf over nearly 2 cycles is not a good sign though. Most bulls that fail semen checks have some degree of fertility and will get some cows bred, but this is very poor. Get your cows preged so you have some idea when they will calve, then you will know when you need to start breeding again. Have your bull tested now so that if he fails you have some time to find one. Even if he passes, I would be leery of using him.

 

[cow pollinater]

Without being able to see the condition of your cattle I have to say call the vet and let them sort it out. It could be the bull, it could be the cows not getting what they need, it could be that everything is okay but just a little later than you expected... You need to have someone that knows your area come give you advice after seeing the situation.

 

[wacocowboy]

Palpate the cows get the bull checked. Piece of advise don't buy untested bulls, or if you raised him test him before you throw him out with the girls. Not trying to be mean or rude I just don't understand waiting this long to have cows checked especially with an unproven bull. If the bull is no good you just wasted an entire cycle you will never get back in that cows life.

 

[Son of Butch]

Hello Folks,
I have a small beef herd in New Hampshire (13 head). I'm fairly new at this, about 8 years .
I put a new Hereford bull (he was about 15 months old but big) in with the heifers and cows (angus and black baldies) July 1st, 2014. Still no calves as of yesterday. When should I start getting nervous?

Thanks

Now is past the time to start getting nervous.
Would have, could have, should have, is of no help now.
NOW is the time for action. Preg check all to find out herd status and proceed accordingly.
Sorry for your loss, because it doesn't sound promising, at best it sounds like a very long and sporadic calving season and at worst none bred at all.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

I want to thank all who responded.

Saw my bull following, licking and riding one of my proven girls who's been open since April 2014. Yeah, guess I'm screwed. I will chalk this one up as a newbie lesson learned.
Plan on getting girls preg checked, inoculated and bring a new bull in July 1st if needed.

How do you test a bull?

Glad I joined this forum. Lots of knowledgeable folks.

Thanks again.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

Friends of ours have about half a dozen cows. Every year they rent a young bull for the summer. We were baling their hay in 2014 and saw the young Hereford they were renting. He looked pretty good. Now there will be no calves for them in 2015, apparently he turned out to be sterile. They were very disappointed.
Thing is, I had a Horned Hereford bull to sale early 2014 and I offered him to them first, but they turned that down because the price was sooooo high (not really, but they thought so). Also they were afraid of horns! He sold the first day I advertised him. The missed breeding season would have more than paid for that bull.

 

[dun]

I want to thank all who responded.

Saw my bull following, licking and riding one of my proven girls who's been open since April 2014. Yeah, guess I'm screwed. I will chalk this one up as a newbie lesson learned.
Plan on getting girls preg checked, inoculated and bring a new bull in July 1st if needed.

How do you test a bull?

Glad I joined this forum. Lots of knowledgeable folks.

Thanks again.

It's called a Breeding Soundness Exam. The vet measure his scrotal and gets him to ejaculate nto a tube. The semen is checked for motility and defective sperm cells. Unless he is a gauranteed virgin bull he should be checked for trich. If he has it now your cows have it. That would be one explanation for the lack of calves.

 

[wacocowboy]

I want to thank all who responded.

Saw my bull following, licking and riding one of my proven girls who's been open since April 2014. Yeah, guess I'm screwed. I will chalk this one up as a newbie lesson learned.
Plan on getting girls preg checked, inoculated and bring a new bull in July 1st if needed.

How do you test a bull?

Glad I joined this forum. Lots of knowledgeable folks.

Thanks again.

It's called a Breeding Soundness Exam. The vet measure his scrotal and gets him to ejaculate nto a tube. The semen is checked for motility and defective sperm cells. Unless he is a gauranteed virgin bull he should be checked for trich. If he has it now your cows have it. That would be one explanation for the lack of calves.

Get this bull checked out by a vet see if it his sperm or something else. If this bull had a disease you would want to get that cleared up in your cattle before you put a new bull in.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Definitely find out if you have a trich problem.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Update: Still no calves. Vet will test bull for Trich and preg check all the girls. Sounds like there is no treatment available for him, but the girls will self clear if they are isolated from the bull.

Still bumming but I think some of the girls may be pregnant. (at least I'm hoping)

 

[JW IN VA]

If bull checks out ( or even if he doesn't) you might want to have the vet pull blood samples from the cows for vibrio or Lepto.Also,if all else checks have him test for neosporia.It is spread by canine type animals.Doesn't spread from cow to cow but once she gets it there is no known cure or treatment.Cornell was working on a vaccine but I haven't heard anything.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Thanks JW. Will talk with vat about that.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Update on the "no fun on the ridge situation". Got 6 out of 9 girls tested for being pregnant. 0 for 6. Bull was tested for Trich and was clean. Bull is now a steer. An observation is that his testes never hung down. I believe if that is the case, they can overheat and seriously reduce his sperm count. Was watching "Alaska, the last frontier" and Otto, the cow guy said that a good sign is when the bulls really hang down. Tighty whiteys verses boxers debate I guess.
Chalking this one up as a lessoned learned. Trying to find a leasable proven bull. If I can't find that, I'll get two or three yearling bulls and hedge my bets.

 

[TN Cattle Man]

Ridgefarmer63... although this has really nothing to do with your post, I want to Thank-You for coming back to the boards and giving an update on your situation. Too many times "New" members come on here asking this or that and we rarely, if ever find out what the outcome was.

Thanks again and I hope you stick around and become a regular user of the Boards!