Bulls don’t live long.

[Jayson]

Just a question and wanted to get everybody’s thoughts. I have my opinions on this. But was wanting to see what y’all thought.
Question:
      Why do we go thru so many bulls? They either die, disappear, or whatever. Especially the clubby stuff! There are SO many that disappear or die and a bunch of them where really good.
And now you see some of those older ones getting leased out. I remember as a kid our bulls living 8 to 12 years.

 

[LLBUX]

I would think the bulls have a lot of injuries being collected 2-3 times each week.

Some aren't accepted quickly and go away, sometimes to a herd for natural service.

Too expensive to keep in a stud if they are not selling.

 

[aj]

There was one discussion on here..........bulls are pushed so hard by artificial products to get their look.......their bodies are shot at a couple years of age.

 

[knabe]

around here, bulls just get too big, sit around the water trough, won't breed like the young one's do etc etc.etc


i guess the pud bulls will never get too big.  seen quite a few with really inflamed coronet bands. they have to be in pain.

 

[Bulldaddy]

Lots of reasons why bulls are listed as deceased...they become infertile; are crippled and can't be collected; bad attitudes; lightening.  Or, they are heavily collected then salvaged and the semen is promoted as being in limited supply from a deceased bull, lol.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

You got it Possum Trot-remember the threads on here that had Heat Wave toward the end of his days-really pathetic the way he was treated O0

 

[CAB]

There are so many games played that you can't really imagine!! Limited supply, not freezing, deceased. Look how much money people spend for the first collection on the bulls out in Denver :-\

 

[RyanChandler]

I'll be turning out JSF Maestro early next month-- He'll be 10 in March and has bred over 40 cows last several years in a row.

Most bulls just suck and they fall apart--- they weren't breeding quality to begin with and like AJ alluded to, they've been pushed so hard they just burn out.  Another common scenario is just to lie and say the bull is deceased in an attempt to create artificial scarcity.

 

[Lucky_P]

Across the board, bull fertility takes a steep nosedive around age 7.  While some bulls may still be fertile into their teens, they're the exception. 
Then, there's the consideration of injury or arthritis/etc. as a result of conformational unsoundness  - whether in an AI stud or out at natural service - that may put a significant number of them out of commission even if they are still fertile.
And... some fall out of favor as folks move on to the 'newest, hottest' thing on the block.

 

[SEA]

I believe this topic needs to be divided into two topics and/or questions.  As the answers, some of which are the same, many may be different...

1)  Why do heavily promoted "club calf", "show bulls", "A.I." bulls seem to have shorter life spans?  What are the causes?

2)  Why do "herd bulls" seem to have shorter life spans than say, 20 years ago?  Or, do they not?

 

[renegadelivestock]

most of the clubby bulls are designed to be show steers, they just got "lucky" enough to keep their nuts. they are never supposed to live past 14 months of age

 

[Duncraggan]

I believe this topic needs to be divided into two topics and/or questions.  As the answers, some of which are the same, many may be different...

1)  Why do heavily promoted "club calf", "show bulls", "A.I." bulls seem to have shorter life spans?  What are the causes?

2)  Why do "herd bulls" seem to have shorter life spans than say, 20 years ago?  Or, do they not?

The answer to both of these questions is the same, namely, information technology!

 

[SEA]

"The answer to both of these questions is the same, namely, information technology!"

Duncraggan;

Would you please elaborate on your comment, quote above that you made in an earlier post?

 

[Duncraggan]

"The answer to both of these questions is the same, namely, information technology!"

Duncraggan;

Would you please elaborate on your comment, quote above that you made in an earlier post?

Before the internet and social media, news didn't move as fast. Currently, everyone wants to be at the forefront of their breed and everyone 'hypes up' their animals to keep them in the limelight and keep the semen sales high.
In the club calf industry, if you don't have progeny of the latest 'fashion' sire you won't sell them as easily.
This creates in the younger generation the concept of FOMO, they want to be where the hype is! Remember that the internet has shortened the attention span of today's youth who are the showers of cattle at present.
In the seedstock industry, performance figures are updated, in some cases, monthly, so the astute commercial cattleman will also be chasing the best sires to improve efficiency. I imagine the herd sires last a good few years longer in that industry, although the AI sires will also have a fairly high turnover rate. This, longevity, would also be influenced by the higher incidence of line-breeding in purebred herds to set certain traits.
I hope this answers your question, bearing in mind that it is JMO!

 

[aj]

You don't have to pass a drug test........to be on display as a club calf bull. I would guess these cattle are pumped up with some unbelievable additives. Steroids,growth hormones etc etc. I bet every year is a new experiment.

 

[sue]

I like to stack pedigrees that have longevity on both cow family and sires. It takes some time when you searching for your next sire or outcross but  it's sure some leverage when it's time to sell the offspring.
Great post !
Captain Obvious  is still going as  he is a 06 model and just  cover cows naturally now in Ontario.  His sire, grandsire. dam and grand dam all cover some ground before kicking ( average 12 plus years). many of his 08 sons and 09 sons too.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

I agree-Dales bull Wildside is another-got a video of him out with cows at 12 going on 13 I believe O0