The front limbs maintain about two-thirds of the weight of the bull as he is walking. The rear limbs need to support most of the bull’s weight during breeding. Therefore, the feet and legs need to be sound in order for a bull to thrive during breeding season.

Common conditions that could affect bull mobility include hoof disease, foot rot, arthritis and traumatic injury.

Hoof disease encompasses several issues, including sole abscesses, laminitis and overgrown hooves. These syndromes can present as acute severe lameness and should be addressed as soon as issues are identified.

Foot rot is an infection between the claws that — if untreated — can cause progressively worsening lameness.

Arthritis may be the end result of a chronic injury, or it could just be the result of wear and tear in older bulls. Any potential lameness should be evaluated by a veterinarian to determine optimal therapy and decide on a prognosis for future breeding.

Body condition

Bulls need to maintain good body condition prior to and during the breeding season to maintain fertile semen and keep up with the breeding herd.

Bulls are large animals and need to be fed differently than mature cows. The difference in mature body weight should be considered when planning rations and promoting potential changes in body condition.

Similar to an adult cow, a bull will consume 2%-3% of his body weight in dry matter daily. For example, a 2,000-pound (lb.) bull would need intake between 40 lb. and 60 lb. per day to maintain body condition. To achieve a gain in body condition score (BCS) or increase the amount of fat reserves, this may take more time due to the large nutritional maintenance requirement of the bulls. Once bulls are mature, assessing BCS two to three months prior to the start of the breeding season is a good idea to allow time for increased plane of nutrition (if needed).

Young bulls that are still growing also need adequate nutrition. In this instance, caution should be used to ensure bulls are not overconditioned, or too fat, prior to the breeding season. Bulls typically lose weight during the breeding season, and young bulls are especially susceptible to this trend. Creating a transition plan can be important so young bulls don’t need to move from full feed to a complete grazing diet in a very short period of time.

Health program

Bulls are susceptible to many of the same pathogens that affect the rest of the herd. They are commonly vaccinated annually for viral and bacterial diseases to prevent severity of infection if they are exposed to these pathogens.

Additionally, an appropriate external and internal parasite-control program should be instituted to help bulls maintain adequate body condition. Parasites can decrease the nutritional efficiency of feeding bulls and make maintaining or gaining weight more challenging.

Work with your veterinarian to design a preventative health program for your bulls.

Conclusions

Bulls are a critical part of the herd, but it is easy to focus attention on the cows for the majority of the year. Making sure bulls are ready for the breeding season is important. This includes evaluating mobility, promoting a healthy body weight and updating any preventative health procedures. The final step to prepare for the breeding season is to get a full physical and breeding soundness examination performed by your veterinarian.

Editor’s note: Author Brad White is on faculty at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and serves as director of the Beef Cattle Institute. To learn more on this and other beef herd health topics, tune in to the weekly Beef Cattle Institute Cattle Chat and Bovine Science with BCI podcasts available on iTunes, GooglePlay or directly from www.ksubci.org.