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Breeding Soundness Exam-Cheap Insurance and Assurance

published: April 28th 2011
by: Allen Bridges
source: University of Minnesota Extension Specialist

We all have insurance of some sort. We insure our trucks, homes, health, and if you are a farmer you can even buy insurance for your crops. Heck, some famous celebrities insure body parts.

As cow/calf producers, often we often fail to purchase the most important insurance for next year's calf crop, a policy that gives us assurance that come next year we will have calves to sell.
 

The insurance that I am referring to does not come from a store downtown or a 15-minute phone call, but rather from our herd veterinarian. That insurance is a breeding soundness exam (BSE) for our herd bulls.

We have to remember that we trust that bull to get up to 40 cows pregnant and if he fails, rather than having 40 calves to sell next year, we will just have 40 open cows and a worthless bull at market. Hence, we better purchase some insurance upfront so we have some assurance that he is up to the job.

A BSE is a reliable and relatively inexpensive way to assess the breeding potential of a bull and eliminate bulls with reduced fertility that may not be able to service all the cows you are asking him to breed.

During a BSE a bull is evaluated on several criteria. The first is a visual assessment of the feet, legs, eyes, teeth, and body condition score. A bull that is not able to travel the pasture to locate and/or mount a cow in heat due to bad feet and legs is undesirable.

The external genitalia, scrotum, and testis will be evaluated. This determines if the penis can extend properly, if there is damage to testicular tissue, and checks for the presence of certain diseases that may affect bull's breeding potential.

The veterinarian will also palpate the bull and check the accessory sex glands to investigate signs of infection or disease. The scrotum of the bull will be measured. Scrotal circumference relates to testes size and testes size is highly correlated with sperm production. The larger the testes, the greater sperm output potential of the bull.

Lastly, a semen sample will be collected for microscopic evaluation of the sperm concentration, motility, and assessment of the number of abnormal sperm cells. Bulls that produce too few sperm cells, have sperm with poor motility, or have a high number of abnormal sperm cells have reduced fertility.

Your veterinarian will evaluate the bull in each of these criteria, and based on the bulls age and breed, determine if the bull is satisfactory to use during the breeding season.

There are a few things to keep in mind concerning a BSE. First, every bull should get tested every year, at least 60 days prior to the start of the breeding season. Just because a bull was good last year does not guarantee that he will be good this year.

Age, a newly acquired disease/infection, and physical injuries such as frostbite can cause a bull to become infertile or have a reduction in fertility. By identifying these potential problems in advance, you will have time to find a quality replacement.

It is also important to note that a BSE is not done to only eliminate sterile bulls. The reality is that the majority of bulls that fail a BSE are not sterile; however, due to a number of reasons, they have reduced fertility and are not capable of breeding multiple cows over a short period of time.

Bulls that do not settle their fair share of cows early in the season contribute to poor reproductive efficiency, which is very costly to a cow/calf operation.

Finally, a BSE does not measure libido or sex drive of a bull, nor does it prevent physical injuries from occurring during the breeding season. Therefore, don't just throw the bull out there and walk away until it is time to remove him for the year. Spend some time watching the bull during the breeding season to make sure he is servicing cows in heat and no injury has occurred during the breeding season.

All beef cow/calf producers should invest in a BSE for their bulls. It is a cheap insurance policy you can buy that provides you assurance that the bull(s) you are trusting to deliver you calves are capable of doing their job.