THE YOUNG BULL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 208, 18 September 1937, Page 16

THE YOUNG BULL

Care in Rearing is Essential

FEED LIBERALLY

. No one step in the building up of a dairy herd is of more importance than the selection of the herd sire. That fact has been demonstrated over and over again, and our most prominent herds to-day owe their bucccss largely to the influence of outstanding sires that have been at the head of those herds from time to time. The experience of these and other breeders has shown that it pays to have a pure-bred bull as a herd sire. At the samo time, liowever, experience has shown that all pure-bred sires are not necessariJy herd improvers. On the coutrary. it is not uncomnion to iind herds that have gone back solely as the result of the inlluence of a bull lliat, while uppurently bred on sound lines, obviously had not inherited tUo capacity for passing on to his progeny the high-production charaetcristk. Uniortunately, there is only one way of finding out whetlier a bull has that capacity, and that i.s to actually breed from him and te6t the progeny over a period of years. That means that by the time a bull has been proven he usually has passed on to other herds, or perhaps to the butcher. The selection of a bull to head the herd involves, then, the choice between buying such an old animal that has been tried and proven, or one that is young and untried. There can be no doujit as to which of these methods is to be preferred. If a breeder can obtain the services of a proved •sire, either by purchasing outrlght n? by tra.-ding or borrowing such a bull, he is indeed fortunate. Mature sires of proved ability, however, are rarely available, and the only alternative open to the breeder is to obtain the best young bull his financial circumstances will permit, Care In Handling. The usual practice followed in selectiiifr a new herd sire is to purchase a biul calf. This method offers the initial advantage of economy, while, provided care and judgment have been exercised in his selection, there is a reasonable •'.liance that he will bege't daughters that are higher producers than tlieir dams. ' The chances of this, however, uaturally decreaso as tho production level of the herd inereases. Another advantage of the young bull is that he is easier to handle, and cp,u be trained according to the likes tf the " purchaser. Most bulls that' are vieious become so bccause of improper handling while they are young. a. bad disposition usually can be avoided if the bull is bought as a calf and properiy treated. There is less chance of buying disease such as contagious aoortion with a young bull than there is with one that has been in service, while in addition a young bull can be fed so as fco develop up to the limit of his ability. Most important of all is the fact that if a bull bought young proves to bo the xight sort of sire, he has a long period of usefulness before him. Naturally there are disadvantages other than the risk that the young sire may have a depressing influenco on the production level of the herd. In tho first place, the buyer must wait about three years after the bull is old enough for service before any idea can be gained as to his merit as a sire. In the meantime- his progeny may have betin used to replace older members of the herd, and considerable harm may have been done before it becortes apparent. This grave risk is one that is always present when a dairy farmer buys a young, untried bull and puts him iiito exelusive use. Again, if a bull calf is bought, one cannot be sure how he will develop. Occasionally nice-looking calves develop into ungainly animals, and it must bo admitted that a goodloolting sire is au asset to any herd, particularly where there is auy trade in young stock. Good Foed Esseatiai. , Having pureliased or bred a bull calf, he should be given more consideration than ho usually receives. It should always b.e remembered that very much of the success of the herd depends on the bull, and that he should receive at least as much attention as is given to the best cows. Since bulls of the dairy breeds are expeeted to grow to be about 50 per cent. heavier than the mature cows, they must receive plenty of the proper kind of feed. The loss of the breeding powers of bulls probably is due more often to laek of caro than to old age. TJntil he is six months of age tho bull calf should receive much the same caro aud feeding as the heifer calves, although if he shows a great er capacity for feed aud growth than tho heifer calves he miglit be given more milk and concentrates with . less roughage. After he is six months old the aim of the feeder should bo to keep hiux growing rapidly. Particular caro should be taken to see that ho receives plenty of feed while on pasture. When the pastures are young aud watery in spring, or dry and seanty in late summer ancl carly autumn, some of the concentrate mixture used for the higher producdrs of the herd should be fed to the young bull. Coucentratos are to bo preferred to silage or soiling crops for this purpose. as tho aim should be to proniote rapid growth and large size of framo in the bull calf with out enlarging the middle of the animal to such au extent ns in the easo of the lieifers. In addition to liberul feeding, the young bull requires cxercise. propcr liousjng aud special care. After ho is five or six months old hc should be .ttepar&ted from the heifers. Ho should

be kept in good condition by plenty of exereise and adequate shelter. "When the bull is between nine and twelve months Of age a ri,ng should be inserted in the nose. so that he may be led with safety. The ring should be of some non-rusting material such as copper, gun metal or brass. Thc trocar and eannula are generally used for inaking the hole through the cartilage that form the dividing wall between the nostrils. Before they are used, the trocar, eannula and the ring should be boiled or placed in a disinfectant solution for a few minutes. Dehorning Methods. Unless the bull is to be used for show purposes, it is advisable that he should be dehorned. This may be done by cutting out tho honis when he is a year or two old, but the better method is to prevent the growth of the liorns in the first place. As soon as the horn buttons cau be plainly felt — probably when the bull calf is about two weeks old — they should be treated with caustic soda. Before using the eaustic stick the hair should be clipped closely round eack button, exposing a clean surface of the skin. Apply some vaseline to this surface, but not over the buttons, the object being to proteet the surrounding skin from the action of the eaustic soda. Next apply the soda carefully to each button, keeping all except the tip of the stick cobered with paper in order to proteet the liands. Moisjien the tip of tlie caustie stick sligktly with water and rub firmly on the skin covering the tip of the horn, rubbipg until the skin is broken and bleeding commences. In two or three days a scab will form ; this will drop off in a few weeks, and the hair will grow over the wound. If the treatment is not effective the first time, repeat in four or five days.