4 Reasons You Should Be Testing Your Bull's Semen
If you're not testing your bulls' semen, or you're buying untested bulls, it might be costing you more than you realise.
After decades behind the microscope and in the paddock, QSML has learnt that if you’re not testing your bull’s semen, or you’re buying untested bulls, it might be costing you more than you realise.
Here are the top reasons why semen testing should be a core part of any cattle business.
1. To increase the rate of pregnancy
Morphology testing of bull sperm is a critical part of the bull breeding soundness examination, as it is the measure most strongly correlated with calf output.
Bulls with a low percent normal sperm (PNS) get fewer cows in calf and, importantly, it takes longer for the cows to become pregnant.
(Bullpower, 2005)
What this graph tells us:
- Bulls with 90 PNS had 90% of the herd pregnant after 43 days.
- Bulls with 19 PNS (terrible sperm) only had 5% of the herd pregnant after 63 days. That’s a lot of cattle eating a lot of feed for a fairly poor result.
2. You’ll get more weaners on the ground
20 to 30% of bulls fail the morphology test (a fail is anything below 70 PNS). If you buy five bulls that haven’t been morphology tested, it’s likely one may have poor enough morphology to reduce calving rate, meaning fewer weaners on the ground every year.
3. Shorter calving periods mean more kilos at sale time
Bulls with a poor PNS extend the calving period, which reduces the kilograms sold at weaning.
A calf born at the end of a six-week joining will be 42 kg lighter at weaning (at an average daily gain of 1 kg) than a calf born at the start of joining. Across 100 cows, that’s 4,200 kg. At $3.50 per kilogram, you’re looking at $14,700 lost.
4. It’s cheap
Morphology testing a bull in a commercial laboratory costs about $30.
If you’d like to test your bulls with QSML, see our services page or get in touch.
