But, as calving season reaches full steam, our thoughts turn to warmer weather and the coming breeding season. Not only are body condition scores a little lower in some parts of the state, but we ve seen limb breaks and sprains from slipping on ice, scrotal damage from freezing and stress-related illness. While most everyone understands the impact of mobility on breeding, few realize that injured bulls can become infertile because of body heat while lying down. It is recommended that producers check bulls in the early spring while the animals are more accessible and there is still plenty of time to treat sick and lame animals prior to breeding season. While body condition score does not have a major impact on bull fertility, it does greatly effect bulls ability to sustain sexual activity with cows over an extended period of time.
Bad sprains can take several weeks or months to heal properly.
Inherent or congenital bull defects may begin to become apparent after observation. Kersting said producers should look carefully for disorders such as corkscrew claw, corns and post leggedness, all of which can affect a bull s ability to travel distances to mate. Producers may need to trim feet or consider purchasing another bull. These limb difficulties can effect fertility. When a bull is in pain, Hopkins explained, the animal s brain automatically reduces testosterone production.