Now and again, athletes expertise accidents or stresses on their physique that require them to relaxation and get well. This can be a time for the athlete to guage their coaching routine and diet plan.
In a lot the identical manner, beef producers have to relaxation their bulls following the breeding season and make these evaluations on their well being and diet, mentioned the consultants at Kansas State College’s Beef Cattle Institute on a current Cattle Chat podcast.
“Like offensive linemen, bulls are huge, heavy animals, which makes them inclined to ft and leg points, particularly if they have been strolling and breeding in tough pastures,” mentioned veterinarian Bob Larson.
He mentioned that producers ought to assess the motion of the bulls after they stroll, focusing consideration on the bulls’ hooves and legs.
“It takes good observational abilities to search for swelling or an harm in these areas and that may trigger restrictions within the bull’s motion,” Larson mentioned. “Generally it’s arduous to detect lameness even when the issue is severe.” If a problem is suspected, Larson encourages producers to achieve out to their veterinarian to assist establish the supply of the issue.
Together with musculoskeletal points, bulls could also be coming off the summer season pastures thinner than regular because of the drought that a lot of the nation is experiencing, mentioned beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster.
“If the bulls are at a physique situation rating of 5 or much less, they are going to want an power complement to get them again in situation for the subsequent breeding season,” Lancaster mentioned. “That is very true if the hay high quality is poor due to the drought.”
If producers are adjusting diet, it is suggested that they separate the bulls from the cows if the amenities will enable for that, in accordance with Larson.
“As we get later into the winter and nearer to breeding season for a spring-calving herd, the bulls and cows have to be separated as a result of the late gestation and lactating cows may have excessive dietary calls for and the bulls will get over-conditioned if they’re supplemented the identical manner,” Lancaster mentioned.
Larson added that there are different advantages for separating the bulls and cows for a interval by way of relaxation, however he mentioned you will need to preserve the bulls collectively from a social standpoint.
“Bulls want to determine the dominance hierarchy and it’s best for them to do this earlier than the beginning of the breeding season,” Larson mentioned, including that if new bulls are added to the operation within the fall, they need to be built-in into the bull pasture previous to turnout. “I would like these new bulls to acclimate with the feed and different bulls which are already on the operation quickly after they arrive.”
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