Important to Assess Herd's Breeding Health

As we now enter the breeding season for many beef herds in our region, University of Idaho Extension Beef Cattle Specialist Dr. Benton Glaze reminds beef producers to really assess their cows prior to turning out that bull.
Glaze: “I think the cows need to be in good body condition as they enter the breeding season. It is pretty well known that as cows go into the breeding season that they need to be a body condition score of five. So we need to be make sure that we have prepared those animals well to go into the breeding season. When we consider heifers we might want them to have a little more condition than maybe the cows so they have a better chance of getting bred during that breeding season as well. So we just want to make sure that they are in good body score condition, free of injury and that they have plenty of nutrition out there to get them through the breeding season.”
Dr. Glaze continues with the importance of having a breeding soundness examine on your bulls prior to the season beginning
Glaze: “That breeding soundness examine consist of a physical exam, an exam of the reproduction organs and a semen evaluation. Really the breeding soundness exam serves as a insurance policy to those producers to be sure that those bulls do wha they are meant to do. Then once those bulls are are turned out during the breeding season, bulls need to be monitored regularly to be sure that they maintain body condition, that they are free of injuries and that they are able to seek out cows and breed those cows.”