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Hereford Erupts!!!

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Was just talking to my buddy who bought a 3/4 brother to my new bull at Fraser's sale. They collected him at Alta Genetics this morning and he froze 702 straws-that's the most they've ever got in one jump off a Hereford bull. Must be a treat for the bull crew after having to fool with those barley castrated Calgary Bull sale hogs. My critter is heading there early next week hope he performs the same.
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
One time at Alta we had one of the lab technicians come in and give us a talk on semen quality-it was very interesting she said that dairy bulls quite often put up 1,000 plus straws per collection. Her explanation was that dairy bulls never get fattened but are managed from birth to be the most fertile. If a dairy bulls semen will not freeze he gets his head chopped off. The problem with beef bulls is that you pork up a sale champion then when he won't put up very much semen -it just enhances his value because he becomes a rare commodity. That little half hour presentation was quite an eye opener.
 

Mike

Well-known member
Many times a bulls semen quality and quantity is dependent on the number of ejaculates before going to stud. A bull that has been with cows (a reasonable number) will keep his plumbing cleaned out and in top notch working order.
A bull that has been by himself or with other bulls will usually need a few jumps to clear his system and the quantity will normally be less.


The Extenders and Antibiotics added to semen can sometimes dictate the quantity of semen produced. Whether it be egg yolks or whole milk, etc. Depends on what it takes to freeze the semen without the tails breaking off.
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Well all things being equal -dairy bulls are almost always put up better semen quantity and quality wise than beef bulls. All things being equal that bull is a producer-Alta doesn't freeze it for use until it passes some pretty tough standards-not like the bottled water that you get from some places. That Hereford bull had come right out of the bull pen but he wasn't overly conditioned. I don't know how many times I've got the news flash about a great new bull-only to find out he can't produce freezable semen.
 

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