Yearling bull

[hilltop]

Was kinda toying around the idea of keeping one of our young bull calves around for breeding purposes in the future, instead of trying to come up with a bull from somewhere. The question I have is, when would that young bull be ready to breed, could he cover a herd of about 12 cows at a young age? And is there anything I may need to be aware of? Any advise would be greatly appreciated..........Kris

 

[VanC]

He should be able to cover 12 cows at 12-14 months of age, assuming he is healthy. Other than that, I will let the experts give the advice.

 

[shorty]

My last two bulls were 13-14 months old when we put them in service and they both worked, the last one covered 18 cows with no problems. I had an 11 month old bull from a bred heifer I had bought that I put with 2 of my heifers july 1 and they both calved late april

 

[CopeMan]

Believe it or not my 18 month old yearling bull that I bought last year covered 40 cows in a 90 day breeding season. Of course he had a 43cm scrotal circumference for a yearling and was 1800 pounds and a frame score 7.2 his breeding soundness exam showed a 95% sperm motility. If you are going to be using a yearling bull or any bull for that matter make sure they get a breeding soundness exam and a scrotal circumference measurement from a vet this will be their true measurement as to whether they can cover alot of cows. I wouldnt use a yearling bull that had a scrotal of below 38 cm. He turned 2 in september of last year and was purchased in march of last year. So this september he will be 3 years old. Right now he weighs in right at 2300 pounds. This calving season we actually had 33 calves born in 30 days. The others were a little slower coming.

What breed is he?

 

[rockridgecattle]

is this bull going to be breeding his sisters or cousins? I would think that that might compromise the genetics. Maybe not right away but in a few years if this practice would continue.

 

[msscamp]

And is there anything I may need to be aware of? Any advise would be greatly appreciated..........Kris

How are you going to breed his mother, and any sisters or half-sisters that are in your herd?

 

[Aaron]

By the time he is 14 months, he should be able to handle a few head. Be easy on the little guy though. Give him a smaller pasture with up to 10 girls. Remember, you don't know what kind of calves he will throw, and an ounce of prevention through forward thinking, is worth a lot of money in c-sections.

 

[mnmtranching]

At 14 months he should have no trouble with 12 cows. It's good if he has some size especially if you have big cows,

 

[TheBullLady]

I wouldn't be worried about his age as much as I would be worried about him being closely related to the females in your herd.

You'd be better off to sell the calves and buy an unrelated breeding age bull for your herd.

 

[Alan]

I just bought a 16 month Polled Hereford bull, he's about 1450lbs not worried about covering my small herd. I bought a yearling about 4 years ago he did fine also. I too have knocked around the idea of keeping a bull out of a good AI bull to use as a clean up and then ship him. He may have to clean up on mom and a couple of half sisters . But I have a few years to decide if I want to do that.

Alan

 

[hilltop]

Well thanks for all the responces.....ya the mom and sis thing have me concerned, still kicking that issue around. But I am glad to here the age of the bull would be no problem for our small operation. Guess I have to talk with the neighbors and see if we can work something out with some of there guys and gals??? But it would be nice to not have to start knocking on doors to find a bull.....thanks again everyone...and sorry for the lack of a quick responce, critters running amuck this morning, guess the elk didn't like my fence

 

[Caustic Burno]

Well thanks for all the responces.....ya the mom and sis thing have me concerned, still kicking that issue around. But I am glad to here the age of the bull would be no problem for our small operation. Guess I have to talk with the neighbors and see if we can work something out with some of there guys and gals??? But it would be nice to not have to start knocking on doors to find a bull.....thanks again everyone...and sorry for the lack of a quick responce, critters running amuck this morning, guess the elk didn't like my fence

What is the breed as you could have trainwreck written all over this especially if they are british cattle.

 

[aplusmnt]

Guess I have to talk with the neighbors and see if we can work something out with some of there guys and gals??? But it would be nice to not have to start knocking on doors to find a bull.....thanks again everyone...and sorry for the lack of a quick responce, critters running amuck this morning, guess the elk didn't like my fence

Why do you have to work something out with neighbors? You could just take the revenue you get from selling the bull calf you were thinking about keeping. Put a little money with it and buy a bull then sell it after the breeding season if you did not want to keep it.

 

[novatech]

Most people can buy a better bull than they can raise.

Move forward buy improveing your genetics, buy a bull that will do this for you.

Or better yet go with AI.

 

[KNERSIE]

I definately wouldn't breed the bull back to his mother, breeding to halfsibs might be OK depending on your cattle. Why not post a photo and we can try and help you by telling if he is worth the hassle?

 

[forageconverter]

Here’s an informative article on bull reproductive fertility:

http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/a ... g02011.htm


The information I was looking for, to share with you, was the part about a 16 month old bull having a higher likelihood of producing quality semen than a bull that was under 16 months of age. Not saying that a young bull couldn’t do the job, just trying to give you the statistics of a young bull accomplishing the job.

The age and weight at which puberty occurs also vary greatly among breeds and level of nutrition during development; however, research with various breeds suggests that a practical indication of imminent puberty is when scrotal circumference is between 27 and 29 centimeters. However, simply because a bull can produce semen does not translate directly to fertility. Sperm quality and quantity continue to increase for several months after the initiation of semen production. About 35 percent, 60 percent, and 95 percent of 12-, 14-, and 16-month-old bulls, respectively, are reproductively mature and produce good quality semen.

I also wanted to mention I tend to agree with novatech that most people can buy a better bull than they could raise. Especially when the raised bull needs to be used on related cattle.