Teats...and udder quality...

[Wisteria Farms]

Hi all... this is a carryover from my post "Are we getting close?"... My only cow (rest are heifers) has a total of 6 teats. She's got one on all four quarters that work fine but then she's got a nonfunctional one in front of the right front quarter and then one placed high between the two back quarters. Is this considered a default? I remember reading that udder quality was a trait to look for so can anyone give me their thoughts? I'd heard that some will take a pair of sterile scissors and snip any extra teats off of newborn heifers. (I'm assuming a judge will deduct for extra teats on heifers/cows that are shown) My new heifercalf does have an extra but I haven't snipped it off.

Also, how does a bulls scrotum affect his female progeny? Is it only that bulls with larger scrotums have heifers that will come into heat earlier or are there other things affected? Thanks so much.

 

[dun]

With no other indicators the size of the scrotum is in theory an indication of fertility in his daughters.

 

[novatech]

With no other indicators the size of the scrotum is in theory an indication of fertility in his daughters.

I have heard this for years. I always wondered if any research has actually been done in regard to this. My neighbor had a bull that measured out at 55cm. None of his daughters seemed to be any more fertile than any other progeny, as a matter of fact he did not average a calf per year but that may have been more related to the condition he kept them in.

A good article;
http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2004 ... T313.shtml

 

[dun]

With no other indicators the size of the scrotum is in theory an indication of fertility in his daughters.

I have heard this for years. I always wondered if any research has actually been done in regard to this. My neighbor had a bull that measured out at 55cm. None of his daughters seemed to be any more fertile than any other progeny, as a matter of fact he did not average a calf per year but that may have been more related to the condition he kept them in.

I've never seen the data, but most of the "authoritys" on reproduction tout the research that shows that yearling scrotum size is an indication of early puberty in his daughters. Seems that the term fertility and early puberty are used interchangably. I personelly don;t classify them as the same. The bull that we had was 41 cm as a yearling and all of his daughters were cycling before weaning. That to me is too early if you run a bull with the herd. As long as they're cycling by 12-13 months I'm satsified. We don;t breed till they're 14-15 months anyway. I suppose if you had late born heifers that you wanted to retain and wanted them on the same calving cycle as the rest of the herd that the very early puberty might be an advantage.

 

[novatech]

I would do back flips if I could get Brahmans to start cycling at 18 months. They are slow maturing, although one ranch I know of has made some major improvements in that regard.
As far as udder quality is concerned it is very high on my list for keeper heifers. Teat size and length are important issues, especially when the cow starts getting a little age on her.
As far as number of teats. They are supposed to have 4. I do not like to pass on the genetics of 6.

 

[bigbull338]

most all heifers/cows have extra teats.it not really that big of a deal.the other teats are just there.as for a bulls measurements.the bigger the measurement the more fertile he is.thus the quicker he can get cows bred.i had my bull BSEed when i bought him.an he was 42cm an tested 85% mobility.an he hadnt been on cows in 45 days.an his pipes wasnt cleaned out.

 

[Frankie]

With no other indicators the size of the scrotum is in theory an indication of fertility in his daughters.

I have heard this for years. I always wondered if any research has actually been done in regard to this. My neighbor had a bull that measured out at 55cm. None of his daughters seemed to be any more fertile than any other progeny, as a matter of fact he did not average a calf per year but that may have been more related to the condition he kept them in.

A good article;
http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2004 ... T313.shtml

Yes, there is research backing up the larger scrotum - early puberty thing. But it's not much earlier, maybe a few days? The main reason to look for adequate scrotum is the bull's ability to breed cattle. We all like fertile heifers, but I don't see any advantage in a cycling 7 month old heifer.

 

[Aaron]

Scrotal circumference in young bulls is a
potentially useful indicator of reproductive
potential in beef cattle. It is highly correlated
with total sperm production (Hahn et al., 1969)
and, therefore, plays an important role in the
breeding soundness examination recommended
by the Society of Theriogenology. It has been
shown to be favorably related to semen quality
(Brinks et al., 1978). Lunstra (1982) reported
scrotal circumference to be the best single
indicator of puberty in bulls, and several studies
(Brinks et al., 1978; Lunstra, 1982; King et al.,
1983) have indicated a highly favorable genetic
relationship between scrotal circumference in
bulls and age at puberty in females. Toelle and
Robison (1985) reported favorable relationships
between scrotal circumference in bulls
and age at first breeding and subsequent rebreeding
in females. Scrotal circumference is
easy to measure, highly repeatable (Hahn et al.,
1969) and moderately to highly heritable
(Coulter and Foote, 1979; Latimer et al., 1982;
Neely et al., 1982; Knights et al., 1984).

 

[Aaron]

http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/67/11/2881.pdf

 

[randiliana]

http://beef.osu.edu/library/scrotum.html