Subfertility in Bulls (Part 1) with Dr. Colin Palmer
May 28, 2024
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Dr. Colin Palmer, a reproductive specialist vet, discusses subfertility in beef bulls. Topics include the importance of bull breeding soundness exams, implications of factors like lameness on fertility, and identifying fertility issues through physical examinations.
Regular breeding soundness exams are crucial for maintaining optimal bull fertility in beef cattle herds.
Identifying and addressing physical issues like lameness is essential for ensuring reproductive success in breeding bulls.
Deep dives
Importance of Herd Fertility in Beef Production
Maintaining herd fertility is crucial for profitability in beef cattle operations. The percentage of calves produced per cow exposed to bulls directly impacts the overall profitability. Weaning weight plays a significant role in production costs and calf selling prices. Ensuring a high number of good-sized calves is vital for maximizing profitability, especially considering factors like production costs and market prices.
Factors Affecting Fertility Success in Herds
Apart from breeding bulls, other key factors influencing fertility success in herds include nutrition, cow cycling regularity, body condition at calving, and the age of cows and heifers. Nutrition plays a substantial role in cow reproductive performance, influencing time of calving and overall fertility. Additionally, the age of cows and heifers can impact their reproductive capabilities, emphasizing the importance of proper management practices to optimize herd fertility.
Classifications and Percentages in Breeding Soundness Exams
During breeding soundness evaluations, bulls are classified as satisfactory, decision deferred, questionable, or unsatisfactory based on various criteria like sperm morphology, physical soundness, and serving capacity. On average, about one in five untested bulls may fail, necessitating removal. However, in regularly tested herds, the failure rate may decrease to around one in twenty bulls, underscoring the importance of routine evaluations to maintain optimal herd fertility.
Physical Issues Impacting Bull Fertility
During physical exams as part of breeding soundness evaluations, identifying issues like lameness, eye problems, genital abnormalities, and overall health is crucial. Conditions such as lameness and eye abnormalities can significantly affect a bull's semen quality and reproductive performance. Ensuring bull health through comprehensive physical assessments plays a vital role in maintaining herd fertility and reproductive success.
Dr. Colin Palmer, one of our reproductive specialist veterinarians from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine here at the University of Saskatchewan joins the podcast to discuss the important topic of subfertility in beef bulls. Why do we need to perform bull breeding soundness exams? What are the implications of various factors such as lameness and other physical problems on bull fertility? These are just some of the topics we discuss in this first part of a two part episode.
00:00 –Welcome and introductions
03:54 – Importance of herd fertility in cow-calf operations and factors that affect it
10:45 – Value of a limited breeding season
14:22 – Subfertility vs Infertility
16:08 – Importance of the breeding soundness examination of the bull
19:21 – Meaning of the various classification categories
27:22 – Impact of lameness on bull fertility
31:06 – Other factors that may affect fertility that can be identified in physical examination
34:23 – Summary and Wrap-up
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