Count Ridge Red Angus

1 week ago

YES!FARMFAIR INTERNATIONAL 2021! Block your calendars!

More details and information to come.... ... See MoreSee Less

Count Ridge Red Angus

2 weeks ago

Seems to go without saying- and yet- paying attention now can avoid disappointing results at the end of the season!Today was bull turn out for our cow bulls, and I have a story to tell. The photo tells a story that many of us know...or at least think we know. It is a story that generally results in a calf in 9 months or so. And, this bull was turned in with 47 of what I consider to be our best cows, with the hope of next years replacement heifer calves. However, as much as we think we see what is going on in the photo, it doesn't quite show us the whole picture. In this case, this story does not end with a pasture full of calves next year, in fact, best case scenario, this story ends up with a whole herd of cows cycling again in 21 days. Worst case scenario, you end up with a whole herd of cows open come preg check time in the fall, too late to breed back for next year. What you cannot see in the photo, is that this bull cannot physically breed a cow. He's got libido, he's sound enough to jump a cow, he's knows how to do the job, and he's sired several years worth of calves in the past, and he passed his BSE. But he has a spiral deviation of his penis and is no longer able to physically breed a cow. This may have been caused by an injury, or it may have spontaneously developed. Regardless, the result is that this bull is no longer able to breed cows. I am just glad that we spent enough time watching them today when we turned the bulls out and caught the problem on day one rather than half way through or after the first cycle when we had a bunch of our best cows that didn't get pregnant.

As it is breeding season for a lot of us, the time when we turn bulls out with our cows in anticipation of next year's calf crop. A lot rides on having bulls that are able to breed a lot of cows in a short time. It is important to have a Breeding Soundness Exam done on your bulls before you turn them out with the cows. This will make sure that they have good semen quality and an appropriate scrotal size to breed a large number of cows in a short breeding period. It should detect a lot of problems that a bull might have when turned out with the cows.

However, a BSE cannot detect all problems that a bull might have, and they are of course really only accurate on the day that they are done. There are things that cannot always be detected with a BSE, and things can happen AFTER the BSE and before bull turnout that may make a bull infertile, or unable to breed.

It is always a good idea to observe your bull when you turn him out with the cows. Make sure that he has enough libido to want to cover the cows. To make sure that they do not have penile abnormalities that make them unable to breed.

It is also a good idea to observe your bull during the breeding season to make sure that he has not injured himself or developed an infection.

In the past we have seen
1. bulls unable to extend their penis enough to penetrate the cow
2. bulls that mounted the head of the cow rather than the proper end.
3. Bulls that have developed a sheath infection
4. Bulls that have gotten themselves cut up in barbed wire, involving some pretty serious injury to the penis.
5. Bulls that have 'broken' their penis
6. Bulls that have gotten injured fighting with other bulls, everything from minor lameness to the type of injury that requires a bullet. ... See MoreSee Less

Count Ridge Red Angus

3 weeks ago

Timeline PhotosDo you know a student entering grades 7-9 who loves animals with thoughts of becoming a veterinarian? #UCalgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine's week-long online camp will introduce students to some of the skills and knowledge veterinarians need to take care of a variety of species. Register: ow.ly/rnZM50ERFYV ... See MoreSee Less