How many cows would you put with a yearling bull for his first year of breeding? I was told this bull would be ready to breed this spring, but I don't want to over do it.
Yearling Bull
- Thread starter Chuckie
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
Running Arrow Bill
Well-known member
We've heard that you can put one cow/heifer for each month of the bull's age with the bull: E.g., 16 month old bull = 16 females.
Chuckie":2d3jt8r4 said:
The general recommendation for young bulls is one cow per month of age. Our bull test station recommendation is to run a yearling bull with 10-12 cows for a restricted breeding season. Be sure he's fertile and watch him to be sure he's getting the job done for you. I've known some people who had unpleasant surprises at calving season when they discovered a young, fertile, bull apparently just hadn't been interested in breeding cows.
Here's a link to Oklahoma State's Cow-Calf Corner site. If you scroll down, you'll find some "Bull Management" topics that might be helpful. There are other topics there that might help, too.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cc-corner/archive.htm
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
So how long does that rule apply for. If I have a bull that's 4 years old, could he cover 48 cows? I've got a bull right now who will be about 30 months when I turn him out. Do you think he can cover thirty cows and heifers in a 21 day cycle? I'm thinking about buying him a little help.
Cattle Rack Rancher":3couwwq4 said:
I think until a two year old. A lot depends on pasture conditions. We used a three year old Angus bull on 40 cows and had good results. But we were doing rotational grazing that breeding season and he had all the cows in 6-10 acre paddocks. If they had been spread out over the entire 300 acre place, I doubt he'd have been as successful. He'd probably have killed himself trying, though. The general rule of thumb where I live is 25 cows per mature bull. One concern with young bulls is that they lose their teeth and aren't efficient eaters for a while. If they're busy trying to breed cows, they'll drop a lot of weight and that can affect them permanently. Once their permanent teeth come in, it's less a concern. Scrotal size makes a difference, too. It takes 60 days to build a sperm cell. Younger bulls generally will have smaller sperm factories, so can't breed as many cows.
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
That's kind of what I had thought. It seems a shame to buy a second bull when you are just over the 25 cow limit, but too much bull power is better than not enough. I'll throw 2 in for the first 3 weeks and send one back to my brother's. He has some of the worst luck I know with bulls. He'll probably need a spare anyway.
sidney411
Well-known member
I have that 3 year old I posted the pic of on 33 cows. Do you think that is too many?
OP
OP
Sounds like I will need to pick just a few of the girls to put with him.
jerry27150
Well-known member
i've always run 2 bulls (yearling or older) with 80-90 head. never had any problems. if one gets thin i'll worm him & give him a little grain for a while
TheBullLady
Well-known member
I run one mature bull with 68 cows. But I don't have a breeding season, and I won't run more than one bull together.
greenwillowherefords
Well-known member
There is an elderly fellow in Sapulpa, OK, who has over 70 head of straight commercial Herefords. He runs one bull and calves year round.
