OUR TOP FIVE TIPS FOR KEEPING BULLS IN THE GAME

Every year, breeders spend large amounts of money on bulls. These bulls are an investment & a way to increase the production & profit in our herds.

Prolonging the working life of both new bulls & also older sires is vital. Here are our top five tips:

1. Give bulls plenty of space. Bulls need to be able to have their own space & room to get away from each other. If bulls are confined they will fight more, potentially leading to injuries. Too often we see bull paddocks that are too small.
2. Take note of the pecking order. With older bulls, if you know which bulls are rivals, take your time & bring these in one at a time, never together. It will make the job so much easier & safer, plus keep the rest of the group more settled.
3. Get organised. Figure out which bulls are going with which cows & get them picked out & used to each other before joining is set to start. Don’t dump them in the paddock together for the first time on day one of joining, you’ll loose valuable breeding time as they determine a pecking order.
4. Choose bulls for joining by size. If you are multi-sire joining, select a group of bulls that are the same age, size & weight. Its even better if the bulls were raised together. If the bulls ages are mixed, it’s really an invitation to injury for the younger, lighter bulls.
5. Never introduce a single bull to a group of established bulls. The newcomer will be outnumbered & run to exhaustion. For example, if you buy three new bulls, all from different sales, introduce them to each other on the same day (before the joining period). This puts them all on a level playing field as they figure out their order of dominance.

Injuries & accidents will always happen, but following some simple management tips like these will help reduce the risk. Planning ahead is the key.

For more info: Execute behavior strategies to keep bulls in the game - Progressive Cattle