Spring calving is well underway. Producers are focused on saving new calves and attending to the momma cows’ health. Away from all this commotion are the bulls, some old, some new. They’ve been maintained but are they ready to perform. Bull health and conditioning is critical to the next generation of offspring.
Heather Smith Thomas shares the importance of transitioning bulls. Likening them to professional athletes, she highlights aspects of preseason preparations for newcomers and the old guard.
In a breeding related discovery, we’ve included information about a test being developed to determine in vivo sperm fertility level within five minutes. The device measures the number of sperm during the rheotaxis route at varied flow rates.
Source: Angus Beef Bulletin, April 5, 2022. Link.
A bull is a big investment, so give them the transition time to do their job well.”
Source: BEEF, April 1, 2022. Link. Cornell researchers mimicked female reproductive tract dimensions, hydrodynamic features in a microfluidic model, to quantify the sperm’s rheotaxis abilities.