semen test pay

[Angus Cowman]

have a neighbor that never preg checks or semen test he just turns the bull out for 120 days and then pulls him back in out of 39 cows he "bred " last yr none had calves vet was out and checked his bull he was shooting blanks so he learned an expensive lesson semen testing and preg checking pays He always told me I was throwing good money away they hauled the bull to my place to check him when the vet told him he wasn't no good he got in his trk and drove away left his bull at my place I called and asked his wife what I was to do with him she said she would send one of the boys to get him I think he was embarrassed

 

[bandit80]

Amazing that some people don't have their bulls semen checked. My Father-in-law did that for a few years and got lucky, but he never pregged checked his cows until I did it for him this fall. Last spring he had 4 cows out of 24 that weren't bred. This fall he had a few open cows that he is going to sell.

I just can't fathom why someone would do this. Very rarely is a bull no good, but it does happen every so often.

 

[Angus Cowman]

well I failed to add this guy goes to the sale barnand buys his bulls never gives over $1000 for a bull mostly they are weighed he ask me last yr about leasing him a bull I told him have his herd tested and I get $1200 per bull for 90 days he thought I was nuts and said there wasn't a bull alive worth $1200 to buy let alone rent I told him you get what you pay for that might bewhy he drove off and left the bull, I guess that $1200 looks cheap compared to no calves for a yr

 

[bigbull338]

when you have a set breeding season every year.you really need to have your bull checked every year.since we calve year round we can catch pretty quick if a bull quits working.but i do test all new in coming bulls.

 

[Angus Cowman]

in my operation set breeding season is the only way to make it work got my last calf yesterday Finally
all calved in 78 days just checked and the bulls were in for 74 days only had 13 that didn't calve in the first 52 days but the last ones were hfrs that calved late last yr turning the bulls in on the 10th so only a few days left then the boys will settle down LOL been like messing with a bunch of teenagers lately

I test my bulls twice a yr because I lease some of them to a spring calving guy

 

[I luv herfrds]

Helped preg check our friends herd. Over 30 were open. He never gets his bulls checked. Vet was saying he should have his bulls checked.
we did ours this spring and were happy with the results. We had 2 heifers open and 2 cows open.

 

[cypressfarms]

Your neighbor sounds alot like cattleman I know. That is why they buy my weaning age bulls at around 800-900 dollars instead of the yearlings at 1500-2000. It works out good for them cuz then they can take the calf to their place and get them accustomed to how their feeding environment and regiment is.

This is what I do - buy bulls young as yearlings. I do it because I want a bull to mature here, where I can spend time around him. I'm notorious for feeding young bulls to tame them down - or to see if they are tame enough. There are many tests that a bull must pass be it conformation, EPD, etc. But the most important one is temperment. I have three kids that regularly ride the "mule" out through the pasture and there is no bull good enough to cause them problems.

I test all bulls in January of each year, before I put the bulls on the cows. Although I've never had one test bad, if I did, I would quickly sell and buy another bull to prevent things as above. This is the one thing I can't convince my dad of. It only costs $30 to test a bull, but he won't do it. He's too old school, and thinks he can visually tell a bull's status.