Before the breeding season begins, a few simple management procedures involving the bulls can increase the likelihood of a high pregnancy percentage among the cows. 1) Subject all bulls to a breeding soundness examination by an experienced veterinarian. Often, this procedure is performed by the seedstock producer that sold the bulls. A breeding soundness exam will ensure that infertile bulls are not turned out with the cow herd. 2) In multi-sire pastures, make certain that the bulls that will be pastured together have been in a common trap or pasture prior to the breeding season. Make sure there is plenty of room so that young bulls can get away from the older, dominant bulls. Bulls WILL establish a social hierarchy. It is better to get this done before the breeding season begins rather than wait until they are first placed with the cows. 3) Put young bulls with young bulls and mature bulls with mature bulls. Mixing the ages will result in the mature bull dominating the younger bull completely and, in some instances, causing a serious injury. If the plan is to rotate bulls during the breeding season, then use the mature bulls first, and follow with the yearling bulls in the last third of the breeding season. In this way, the young bulls will have fewer cows to settle and will be one to two months older when they start breeding. 4) The cow:bull ratio is difficult to decide upon because of pasture size, terrain, and differences in libido, to name a few. A conservative rule of thumb for a young bull is to place it with roughly the same number of cows as his age in months. For example: Bull age in months Number of females in breeding pasture 12-15 month old bull: 10-12 cows 15-18 month old bull: 12-18 cows 18-24 month old bull: 18-25 cows More than 24-month-old bull: 25-35 cows Some bulls are known to be successful breeding 50 or more cows, while some are failures with only 10 cows. Observing bulls early in the breeding season may give the producer a little idea of the libido and breeding capacity of the bull.

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