Is He the Right One?

You've seen the plethora of dairy articles about estrous synchronization, timed breeding, genomic testing, embryo transfer, and other neat things that can help you manage reproduction and genetic progress in your dairy herd.  There's a good chance you're even using some of those strategies, but it's possible you've also still found it helpful to use a herd bull or two for getting some of your heifers or cows bred.  You are not alone.  There are still a lot of dairy herds with bulls roaming around (and hopefully working) in select pens.  Other herd owners choose not to use herd bulls because of the risks involved, but it’s a decision you have the right to make.

If you’re using herd bulls, what factors go into choosing a bull to use in your herd?  Is he a result of convenience, or have you thought through the reasons he may or may not be the right one?

Let’s start with health issues.  If you are going to purchase a bull from another herd, hopefully he will have some sort of health screening done for diseases such as TB, BVD, brucellosis, and leukosis before stepping into your herd.  You might manage every female in your herd perfectly to minimize the incidence of disease, but one animal (that darn bull) can ruin a lot of those efforts.  Don’t let that happen.

There’s also another disease - Johne’s.  You can test for it too, but if this new bull you're adding to the herd is young, there's a chance he won't test positive for Johne's even if he's been infected.  It won't show up in a test until he is older.  The next best thing is probably to explore the Johne’s status of the herd he’s coming from.  Is it a clean, well-managed herd where some Johne's testing has been done, or are animals coming and going all the time with minimal management to prevent the spread of Johne's?

Remember, semen that is passed by natural service hasn't been tested and will vary in quality.  Quality changes as the environment changes.  Changes in the weather or the diet a bull is eating can sometimes have dramatic effects, so don't assume that the mere presence of a bull means that fertile breeding will continue 100% of the time.  You'll need to monitor his reproductive success.  He might simply get too fat from eating a loaded ration and need to move on.

Hopefully the genetic quality of your herd is moving in a positive direction.  There’s no reason you need to go backwards or even stay stagnant if you've identified particular goals for your breeding program.  So what is this bull doing for you?  Ideally, he would be able to do more than simply get a few females pregnant.  If a pedigree is available on a bull you're considering, take a look at it.  If not, ask for information about his parentage.  What was his dam like?  Who are his sire and grandsire?  Make sure he's a good fit for what you're after, and consider what effect he might have on inbreeding.

It probably doesn't need to be stated that safety is an issue with bulls.  There have been, and continue to be, nasty accidents with bulls.  In a matter of seconds, a bull that may have had zero history of any aggression towards people can abruptly change (or even eliminate) someone's life.  It's a serious issue that can affect even the most careful operations.  If you have bulls, or are ever working around them, please always keep this in mind.  An aggressive, "no nonsense" culling program is a good idea.

Maybe, after thinking through the various issues, you’ll decide to discontinue your use of herd bulls.  If that’s the case, I'm willing to bet that you'll be able to make up for them with other reproductive strategies and be satisfied with your reproductive success.  There are a lot of options you can consider these days.

If you plan to continue using bulls in your herd, just remember that you might be paying more than you first think, so be careful to think about the variables and don't sell yourself short.  You don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot by getting a “dud” and regretting the fact that you didn't get the right one.

Here are some related articles:
Do Away With Him
Are They Necessary?
Costs & Risks

Photo credit:  www.anglindairy.net

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Three Key Questions for Evaluation of Reproductive Performance in a Dairy Herd

What is the current state of reproductive management in your dairy herd?  Are things cruising along well, or does it seem like things could be better?  Here are the three main questions to ask that will lead you to an answer.

Question #1:  Is there a problem?

Asked differently, is there an area where further improvement may be possible?  You might feel things are going okay, but oftentimes there is still opportunity for improved efficiency.  And improvements to reproductive performance usually result in financial gain - a very good thing.

This question is a simple "yes" or "no" question, and it's possible you may have a quick answer, but it's also possible some work will be required to give an accurate answer.  If you use herd management software such as PCDART or Dairy Comp, you can easily generate and evaluate some reproductive reports to seek your answer.  If you don't have a particular software program, you'll still want to figure out a way to evaluate where you're at.  What are your current pregnancy rates?  What is the average age at first calving?  Average days open or days in milk?  Have these numbers been changing, or steady?  Compare where your herd is at to standard industry benchmarks or to other dairymen in your area.

Remember, if you have a small herd, you're bound to see more dramatic fluctuations because of a small sample size.  If only one out of five cows conceived to their first service last month, that doesn't automatically mean you have a disaster on your hands.  It could rebound and be five out of seven that will conceive this month.  If conception rates have been low for a while, then you probably do have a problem that should be addressed.

Another option for evaluating your herd's reproductive performance would be to contact an extension educator and have them take a look at your records or visit your herd.  They can provide a different, outside perspective on things.  There's a good chance they may have already seen similar problems in other herds and know of solutions that might work for you.

Question #2:  If there is a problem, what is causing it?

There are many different directions you could end up going after determining there's a problem area with potential for improvement.  Here is an example list of some of the initial questions to ask while exploring what might be causing poor reproductive performance:

• Are any herd bulls being used that might be contributing to the problem?
• How many different people are breeding cows?  If there are multiple people, is there a significant difference in conception rates between them?  If only one person is breeding, have the problems just been a recent occurrence, or has it been a long-term struggle?
• Where does the semen come from?  How is it stored?
• What breeding strategies are being used?  Do you breed based on detected heats, use a timed breeding protocol, or something else?  Have the protocols changed, or is it possible they aren't being accurately followed all the time?
• Are you catching good heats? How do you decide when to breed?
• What is the frequency of postpartum disorders?  
• Are cows in the herd excessively fat or thin?
• Are cows in the herd comfortable most of the time?  Are pens overcrowded?  Do cows like to lay in the appropriate bedding places?  Is there decent airflow?  Are there seasonal fluctuations in breeding success that might be due to weather?
• What kind of ration are the cows getting?  How often is the ration tested?

Question #3:  How can the problem be addressed?

There might be a number of different potential solutions.  Maybe you just want to tweak one thing, or maybe there are several things you feel should change.  But remember, making several changes might make it difficult to determine which changes were most effective in addressing the problem.  This may or may not be important.  You'll also have to accept the fact that you probably won't see evidence of improvement in your reproductive records for quite a few months.  You just can't see dramatic changes as quickly as you can with changes to a ration or milking routine.

Investing some time to evaluate where you're at with reproductive management in your herd and exploring any problem areas can be a challenging project, but it will probably be worth the effort.  If you run into trouble, there are ways to get help.  Click here for a troubleshooting guide which might help point you in the right direction.  Talk to your breeder or veterinarian, call an extension educator, visit with other dairymen, or look for related information online.  You'll be glad you did.