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<blockquote data-quote="bball" data-source="post: 1575141" data-attributes="member: 23752"><p>Completely agree CB. Wasn't saying skinny is better than a properly developed bull, just referencing the following study that showed skinny bulls breed more successfully than obese bulls.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Body condition</p><p></p><p>Weight and condition are important determinants in whether a bull will be a good breeder. Proper fitness is necessary to deliver the athleticism and endurance needed to cover a large territory and breed a lot of cows.</p><p></p><p>"For a long time, I told producers they needed to have bulls in abundant flesh because they'd lose weight during breeding season and needed some reserve. Then I saw the results of a study in Canada involving some large community breeding pastures," Whittier says.</p><p>That work by Glenn Coulter ultrasound-measured the backfat of a group of bulls on a community pasture. The bulls, the cows they were mated to, and their resulting calves were then all blood-typed to determine parentage.</p><p></p><p>"I would have predicted that really thin bulls would breed fewer cows, the really fat bulls wouldn't breed very many, and that you'd want bulls to be in the middle," Whittier says. "It turned out that those with zero backfat bred the most cows."</p><p></p><p></p><p>A fat bull isn't as athletically fit and more likely to hurt himself, just like an overweight, out-of-shape human who tries to exercise, he adds. He's also more apt to be lazy.</p><p></p><p>"A BCS of 5 (with 1 being emaciated and 9 obese) is fine for a bull. A BCS 5 bull may not be pretty but he'll settle more cows than a fat bull. It's crucial that these bulls not be overly fat," Whittier says.</p><p></p><p>Special considerations must be made for yearling bulls, however. A yearling bull that's still growing may lose too much weight during his first breeding season, Whittier says. That's why a yearling bull should be given fewer cows to breed or shorter turnout times, and be removed from the cows before he draws down too far in body condition.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="bball, post: 1575141, member: 23752"] Completely agree CB. Wasn't saying skinny is better than a properly developed bull, just referencing the following study that showed skinny bulls breed more successfully than obese bulls. Body condition Weight and condition are important determinants in whether a bull will be a good breeder. Proper fitness is necessary to deliver the athleticism and endurance needed to cover a large territory and breed a lot of cows. “For a long time, I told producers they needed to have bulls in abundant flesh because they’d lose weight during breeding season and needed some reserve. Then I saw the results of a study in Canada involving some large community breeding pastures,” Whittier says. That work by Glenn Coulter ultrasound-measured the backfat of a group of bulls on a community pasture. The bulls, the cows they were mated to, and their resulting calves were then all blood-typed to determine parentage. “I would have predicted that really thin bulls would breed fewer cows, the really fat bulls wouldn’t breed very many, and that you’d want bulls to be in the middle,” Whittier says. “It turned out that those with zero backfat bred the most cows.” A fat bull isn’t as athletically fit and more likely to hurt himself, just like an overweight, out-of-shape human who tries to exercise, he adds. He’s also more apt to be lazy. “A BCS of 5 (with 1 being emaciated and 9 obese) is fine for a bull. A BCS 5 bull may not be pretty but he’ll settle more cows than a fat bull. It’s crucial that these bulls not be overly fat,” Whittier says. Special considerations must be made for yearling bulls, however. A yearling bull that’s still growing may lose too much weight during his first breeding season, Whittier says. That’s why a yearling bull should be given fewer cows to breed or shorter turnout times, and be removed from the cows before he draws down too far in body condition. [/QUOTE]
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