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Hundreds of stock bulls will change hands over the coming months, with autumn pedigree sales in full swing up and down the country. It’s an important investment on a suckler farm and time should be taken to make sure you are making the correct decision with your purchase.
For many, it’s one of the biggest spends in the year and deserves some thought before the decision is made.
Timing is extremely important in relation to a couple of items when it comes to bull purchasing.
The bull needs to be bought well in advance of the breeding season to allow him become acclimatised to his new surroundings and settled in.
The ideal is to purchase the bull this autumn that you will be using next spring.
You should also get the catalogue in advance of the sale and spend time comparing bulls in the catalogue and then arrive at the sale in plenty of time to study the bulls at the pre-sale show.
1. WHRP Herds
This autumn, bull purchasers should try to purchase bulls from Whole Herd Recording Programme-accredited herds.
These herds have put time and effort into ensuring that the figures behind their bulls are accurate and correct.
These herds have passed an ICBF inspection and have had all stock weighed on their farm to verify weight gains.
These breeders will have a stamp beside their animals in catalogues at sales. They are also listed on the ICBF website under the Bull Finder online tool.
2. Decide what you need the bull to do?
What job is the stock bull being bought to do?
Is it to breed replacements or to breed terminal-type progeny for sale or finish or maybe you need a bull that will tick both boxes. Not getting caught up on breeds is important at this point.
The ICBF has shown that there is more variation within breeds than there is between breeds.
Focus on quality no matter what. If it’s a bull to breed replacements, focus on the maternal index with particular focus on milk and fertility. If it’s producing finished cattle or weanlings, focus on the terminal index paying particular attention to carcase weight and conformation.
Avoid bulls with excessive calving difficulty.
Some full-time farmers may be able to deal with a higher calving difficulty figure but proceed with caution with very high calving difficulty figures.
3. Look at the bull
Buying a bull from a catalogue page or website photo isn’t the road to go down.
Just because a bull has high indices doesn’t mean he will be fit for purpose and it’s important you give the bull a full physical examination before you make the purchase. Look at the bull’s overall conformation to make sure you are happy.
Look for length and a clean body.
Make sure the bull has good feet and stay away from bulls whose feet have been pared or trimmed as this will have to be continued later in life. Make sure the bull stands up straight in his back legs (these are the legs that will be under the most pressure when serving) and make sure the bull walks well, with no limps or stiffness.
Obviously, one of the most important parts of a bull is his testicles, so make sure all is OK in this department.
Many pedigree breeders and society sales have moved to fertility testing bulls but still carry out a quick examination for any deformities. Watch the bull walk around the ring and pay attention to how nervous or unsettled he is.
Talk to the breeder about the bull and his pre-sale feed and health management.
4. Understand the catalogue
Nearly all bull sales now carry the ICBF catalogue format. This allows purchasers compare different bloodlines and also the terminal and replacement index and what helps make up these indices.
The terminal and replacement index are detailed on the catalogue page. For those farmers participating in BDGP, a genotyped four- or five-star bull on either index needs to be on the farm on 30 June 2019.
This means a bull must have four or five stars in either of the green boxes on the catalogue page to be eligible. Calving difficulty is another very important figure and for heifers you should aim for 5% or below and for mature cows, you should stay below 12%.
However, this will depend on the individual calving of the cows and other factors such as cow type etc.
Reliability should also be looked at and if possible buy a genotyped bull as it will have greater reliability and hence less chance of figures changing in the future. Genotyped bulls will have a helix stamp in the catalogue.
6 Keep the bull healthy
It’s essential that you don’t overwork a young stock bull in his first year.
Between 20 and 25 cows is the maximum in a young bull’s first year serving. After a bull is bought, he should be allowed settle in the farm with a few cows in a paddock and then gradually introduced to the breeding herd.
Bulls should be observed mounting and serving to make sure they are inseminating the cow on heat. You should also keep accurate breeding records and if there are a high number of repeats, prompt further investigation will be needed.
Stock bulls should go on the same vaccination programme as the cow herd and should be dosed for worms and fluke accordingly.
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