Farmers who are in a livestock business need to consider the age of the bull they are purchasing because their wrong decisions might incur huge losses. In most cases, they purchase a bull for only breeding purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to buy a bull of the right age. On one hand, if you purchase an old bull then your investment will be of no use if it is not able to breed. On the other, if get a very young bull from the market then you will have to take its care until it reaches puberty.
After going through the above details, you would have developed a question about when is a bull too old to breed? We have prepared a detailed guide for you after doing extensive research, which will help you in making your decision. We advise you to go through the following notes to come up with a conclusion.
When Is a Bull Too Old To Breed?
Most male calves do not reach the puberty stage because they are castrated before reaching that point. The primary purpose of castration is to use them for steer purposes. This act has more negative points than the positive ones because this deprives them to play their role in the production of upcoming generations.
In the majority of the cases, calves become sexually mature even before they reach the age of one. However, this might not be the case with every bull. Some of them need about two years to reach the puberty stage. The key factors on which puberty of the bull depends are:
- Its weight, and
- The breed of the bull.
Another fact to consider in a bull is its sexual health. They need to have strong sexual health to produce quality sperm. A healthy ejaculation should have around fifty-two million sperms and the rate of mortality should be around twelve percent. This number will help you in deciding whether you should use a specific bull for breeding purposes or not. In case, if you are purchasing a bull then you should necessarily ask the seller about these stats so that you should not end up wasting your money.
Furthermore, if you think that, your bull is too young or old for breeding then you should take its sperm samples for a breeding test. This will help you to decide whether you should go with a specific bull or not. According to experts, on a scale of nine, your bull’s score should be more than six. If it is less than that then you should avoid using it for breeding purposes.
The Scrotal circumference is also an important factor to consider when you are selecting a bull. It plays a vital role in determining the quality of sperm. According to most experts, bulls with large scrotal sizes tend to reach puberty at a very early stage. This early achievement of puberty might result in a reduction in sperm count when the bulls reach the age when they are considered for breeding. This happens because the bull starts ejaculation at a very early stage, which affects its health.
High breeding efficiency can be achieved only with bulls that have reached the age of two or more. It is because they are healthier and sexually mature. Moreover, older bulls can breed with more cows at a time than younger ones. This does not mean that younger ones cannot be used for breeding purposes. They can be used for breeding but they will not be able to fulfill the demand of breeders. Moreover, using a younger virgin bull can avoid the spreading of many diseases among cows.
Conclusion
After reading every fact mentioned in the above details, we have reached a point where we can decide which bull to purchase depending on its age. Moreover, the stats on sperm quality, which we have discussed in the above paragraphs, should be considered before making a decision. Many experts suggest that you should use old bulls that have more than six on a scale of nine in a breeding test because of their ability to breed with more cows than the younger ones.