Have you heard the saying – as useful as tits on a bull?
Well it turns out you might have to come up with a different saying to express frustration at the uselessness of your subject as tits on a bull are actually quite helpful when making decisions about improving your herd.
At Agvention 2024 one of our guest speakers was Gerald Wyatt from Classic Livestock Management Services. Gerald’s career has been analysing traits in livestock that can indicate important fertility, temperament, health and eating quality characteristics. From ear wax to scaliness of tail hair, jawbone and rib structure and even positioning of hair whorls, these seemingly irrelevant characteristics can tell you as much, if not more, about your livestock than industry EBV’s (Estimated Breeding Values). And the power is in your hands once you have the knowledge of what to look for.
Bulls do have teats…they are only small of course but where you find them, along with their shape correlates very closely to the teat characteristics that the bull’s daughters will rely on for feeding their calves.
A bulls scrotum area should be seen as a mirror for the teat and udder area of his female offspring. So what are you looking for?
Teats that are evenly spaced and uniform in size and shape. The teats should be in front of the scrotum on either side at 3-5 cm apart. The spacing between front and back teats should be similar.
It is not uncommon for teats to be found on the scrotum and or be unevenly positioned and this is closely linked to daughters with poorly shaped and positioned teats which can lead to suckling issues which can lead to calves failing to thrive and potential mastitis infection in cows.
Given one bull services many cows, it’s important to consider what traits they are passing on.
Gerald has a fascinating book called ‘The Vision Splendid – The keys to livestock mastery.’ That discusses teats on bulls and a plethora of other fascinating insights. It is available at the Kandanga Farm Store and we are also hoping to organise a hands-on (literally) workshop with Gerald in the New Year – so please register your interest if you would be keen on attending.
