Management
Don’t Forget the Bulls
By Ellen Crawford, NDSU extension service
Producers are busy with haying
and the small-grain harvest this
time of year, but they shouldn’t
overlook the bulls, according to
North Dakota State University
Extension livestock specialists.
“It’s a wise choice to check the
bulls often during the early
part of the breeding season,”
says Karl Hoppe, Extension
livestock systems specialist at
NDSU’s Carrington Research
Extension Center. “Problems
can arise that need quick
attention or cows won’t get
bred as timely as you want.”
For ranchers with calving
starting in February or March,
the breeding season is
practically finished. However,
ranchers scheduling calving
for April and May are in the
first or second cycle of the
breeding season. Having bull
problems during the first 21-day
breeding cycle can lead to late
bred or open (unbred) cows.
The normal cow-to-bull ratio is
30 cows for an adult bull and
20 cows for a yearling bull. If
one bull gets hurt, the other
bulls may or may not be able to
get the cows bred. Some bulls
can settle 50 or more cows in
a short season, but that’s the
exceptional bull, Hoppe says.
“Bulls can get hurt for multiple
reasons,” notes Gerald Stokka,
NDSU Extension veterinarian
12 | SEPTEMBER 2018
and livestock stewardship
specialist. “Bulls will fight to
determine a social dominance.
The more bulls in a pasture,
the more fighting that occurs.
Even though the bulls have
been feeding together all
winter, breeding season brings
out the aggressive attitude.”
Bulls jockeying for breeding
position with other bulls can
lead to bruised and damaged
legs and lameness. A bull
also may be injured if it lands
wrong after mounting a cow
or another bull knocks the bull
down during breeding, causing
severe joint or spinal injury.
A bull that is limping will
not service as many cows
and may not be breeding
at all, Stokka says.
“It takes a lot of strength for
a 2,000- to 2,500-pound bull
to jump up onto a cow, and if
too much pain is present, the
bull will not mount,” he adds.
“Bulls are truly athletes,” Hoppe
says. “To do the breeding
work they do requires them
to be sound, with healthy
feet and legs, and in good
condition, which means
not too fat or too thin.”
A sure sign of a problem is a
bull lying by himself away from
the herd during the prime
breeding season. That may
be an indication he was hurt
in a battle with another bull
and left the herd, or he has
foot issues such as foot rot.
On hot days, any open water
is inviting for cattle to cool off
or help fight flies. However,
standing in water, especially
muddy and manure-laden
water, softens the skin
around the hoof and can
lead to a bacterial infection
that can cause foot rot.
The signs of foot rot are obvious
lameness and swelling in one
foot. This condition usually
responds to treatment with
antibiotics unless the condition
has been ignored or not noticed
in a timely fashion, Stokka says.
Other lameness conditions
that may be confused with foot
rot are an injury to or cracks
in the hoof wall that become
infected. However, neither of
these conditions should show
extreme swelling of the skin
and the area between the toes,
which are symptoms of foot rot.
Producers can vaccinate cattle
for foot rot, but bacterial
exposure and skin susceptibility
may overwhelm local immunity.
Stokka says vaccinations are a
helpful preventative but not a
cure-all. Cattle receiving foot
rot vaccinations should receive