Check Fertility of the Herd Bulls

April 2007

With breeding season fast approaching, it may be worth the chips to check the fertility of all the bulls that will be used in the up-coming breeding season this year.

In some areas, this winter was down right brutal. Along with the snow, there were a number of days when the temperature was low and the wind speed out of the North was high which converts to low windchills. In looking at weather data, it indicates that January and February 2007 compared to 2004, 2005, and 2006, on the average there were lower temperatures, less chance to warm-up, in 2007. In addition, January and February 2007 in many parts of Nebraska, there was slightly more precipitation and wind which are both conducive to cold stress. More precipitation during January and February in Nebraska means more ice.

If bulls are not provided protection from the wind and an occasional dry place to bed-down, damage can occur to the scrotum and, therefore; the testicles that impact negatively on fertility.

Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science
Animal Science, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE