I Hate Bulls

[TheBullLady]

Bought a 16 month old bull last July (?) put him on 50 or so cows. Everything went along fine, I've been feeding him so he doesn't fall completely apart, etc. The past three weeks or month I've noticed a couple of heifers that arent' bred... and I've also noticed the bull seems to have little or no interest.

What do you suggest? I'm thinking there's no use in testing the bull if he's not accomplishing anything? Should I haul the open cows / heifers first?

I'll make someone a good deal on a bull... :roll:

 

[Frankie]

Bought a 16 month old bull last July (?) put him on 50 or so cows. Everything went along fine, I've been feeding him so he doesn't fall completely apart, etc. The past three weeks or month I've noticed a couple of heifers that arent' bred... and I've also noticed the bull seems to have little or no interest.

What do you suggest? I'm thinking there's no use in testing the bull if he's not accomplishing anything? Should I haul the open cows / heifers first?

I'll make someone a good deal on a bull... :roll:

Is he just too young? Did you test him before you turned him out? I'd test him now. The problem might be with the cows, not the bull.

I guess it depends on the market in your area, but I'd get the heifers bred before I hauled them to the sale barn.

 

[greenwillowhereford II]

I'm guessing that this is a thread intended to poke a little fun at someone else...Surely you didn't really expect a 16 month old bull to cover 50 head? :shock: Especially if he was Brahman or crossed therewith? Nah..this is illustrating absurdity by being absurd. :lol:

 

[KNERSIE]

I'm guessing that this is a thread intended to poke a little fun at someone else...Surely you didn't really expect a 16 month old bull to cover 50 head? :shock: Especially if he was Brahman or crossed therewith? Nah..this is illustrating absurdity by being absurd. :lol:

although I have seen this done before with good effect, I agree that the ratio isn't leaning in favour of the young bull's well being.

yearling bull: 15-20 cows
two year old: 25-30 cows
mature bull in small level good pasture: 40-50
multiple sires on range: 2 mature and 1 yearling per 100 cows

 

[Caustic Burno]

Most likely he is petered out.

 

[novatech]

Most likely he is petered out.

:lol:

 

[LFF]

Most likely he is petered out.

:D :lol: :)

Good to see you back.

 

[jkwilson]

Most likely he is petered out.

I had no doubt whose name I was going to see to the left of that post :lol:

 

[1848]

Ya, I would suggest not putting a bull that age on 50.... ;-)
If he got 48 he is a stud......I wouldn't blame the bull.....I'd be looking at the heifers first! :lol:

 

[Avalon]

If you want a good (tight) breeding season you need 2 Bulls out there. Might even be a good time to buy a spotter bull and learn to AI.

 

[msscamp]

Bought a 16 month old bull last July (?) put him on 50 or so cows. Everything went along fine, I've been feeding him so he doesn't fall completely apart, etc. The past three weeks or month I've noticed a couple of heifers that arent' bred... and I've also noticed the bull seems to have little or no interest.

What do you suggest? I'm thinking there's no use in testing the bull if he's not accomplishing anything? Should I haul the open cows / heifers first?

I'll make someone a good deal on a bull... :roll:

"50 or so" could be 50, or it could be 70. It sounds like he had more girls than he could cover, given his age. If the cows in question have always bred back on time before, I don't think I would be so quick to ship them unless you have reason to cull them for other reasons. Depending on the quality of the heifers, I believe I would also give them a 2nd chance unless there is another reason why they didn't settle/or other issues that warrant culling.

 

[SmokeStackFarms]

Maybe he has a gender problem---bovo-sexual.


what kind of bull is he?
I need a productive RA --possibly a yearling.


all joking aside, my neighbor had two bulls, the red bull was not the one he wanted to keep because he was shooting blanks---so he bought a very expensive Black. The Black showed no interest (To his observation)--the Red was always @ work ---mounting & smiling. My neighbor got mad and sold the Black bull @ half the big $ he paid.
Bingo--when calving time ALL the ladys delivered Black Angus-sired by the SOLD bull. my neighbor still own the sterile bull-who was smiling.
Moral of the story--be careful of judging too quickly.
What it appears isn't always what it turns out.
"for what it's worth"

 

[cypressfarms]

seems like a huge amount of cows to gamble with a 16 month old bull. Even if his semen count was fine, he could still fail to breed because of "low libido". Wouldn't want to find that out AFTER calves should be popping out.

By the way, howdy to everyone and Merry Christmas.

 

[bigbull338]

i wont buy a bull unless he passes a BSE with an 85 or better.an i sure wont buy a 16 month old bull an kick him out on 50 cows.the last bull i bought was 32 months old.an i kicked him out on 40 cows.

 

[hillrancher]

I always keep two bulls together. This eliminates the worry of a bull going bad. I know the expense of keeping more bulls than needed. I am sure they have paid the extra expense. I have them tested every year have one or so every year that is not what he should be and get lame in the summer.

 

[holly heifer]

:oops: More nooky than he could handle--- i bet the poor guy
just got pooped out. :oops:

 

[highvoltagecattleco]

I can't believe folks on here would suggest anything other than "Too many cows to cover". The fact that 80-90% were breed is great. Give the boy a break. Should be proud of him. There is probably nothing wrong with him. Give him some extra feed and time off. You may want to AI your open heifers. If your bull only left a couple of open heifers. Congratulations you have a good bull. Now manage him, a little better.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

16 months old = 16 head to cover.
BullLady - any comments?
Seriously, you didn't expect a long-eared 16 month old bull to cover these 50 or so females did you?