Help cattlemen

I've raised cattle for 40 years but need some help.

I've currently got four breeding age bulls. The one in question was raised by me and AI'ed here on the farm. He is a registered direct son of Final Answer and I had him verified viable at a year. He is currently about two and a half. I have had calves out of him although he was used as a cleanup his first year so the numbers aren't huge.

I had seventeen prime cows that didn't calve this spring that were with him. Ten of them were exposed twice and were young the first time so I figured they didn't cycle and were due in the fall.

I just preg checked the other seven and they are all open. Odds I don't have. I am going to sort out the other 10 and check them tomorrow.

Here are my dilemmas: all of my cows are virgin stock and I buy bulls as calves and raise them. I have no neighboring herds. I doubt that he would have gotten trich but I am going to pull him and test him to see. A friend was telling me about a coyote-borne VD in cows that renders them sterile. I just found out about it so I haven't gotten a chance to read up on it but he says that it is within counties from me. It is transported through urine or feces supposedly. Have any of you heard of this? If that's it I am looking at who knows how many sterile cows and heifers that are not yet of breeding age. Upwards of 75. Does anyone have any knowledge about it? I'm kind of hoping for my pricey bull to be bad. It would be easier to start breeding back with others.

If it is trich how long does it take a cow to slough it off?

You sure the bull throwing blanks? I have seen bulls test good 1 year then never again.

I'm betting bad bull. I'd get a different one in with those young females and I bet they'll take and settle in. Bummer though that you missed a year of calves out of them.

By final answer I am assuming you are talking about Shaff angus valley final answer. If that is the case I really don't know why but we have bought at least 3 bulls AIed from sav bulls and none of them breed good with our cows. Sav has a top notch staff and top notch bulls and I'm not sure if it is a dam or sire problem but we have had so much better luck with bulls from our local Purdue bull test sale. These are ai bulls and I am in no way attacking sav but one of the bulls had genetic issues and one had corkscrew hoof and almost got totally down on us

If it is trich the vets down here claim 60 to 90 days for the cows. The nnalert may shorten that a little. The bull won't cleanup , he will have to go to slaughter. Good luck Tony

Always a good idea to semen test a bull before using. Also good idea to preg check atleast some of the cows so you know the bull didnt go bad while using. I never raise my own bull. I always buy one ready to use. I always make sure the bull is semen tested and trich tested as well when I buy one. If you buy and raise cattle, that opens up a whole new can of worms. I usually always keep replacement heifers from out of my own stock. Reduces the chance of getting diseases by a bunch. If I were to guess, I bet your bull went bad. But perhaps not.

are you vaccinating for vibrio and lepto years ago I had that problem and started vaccinating it helped.

I'm betting that it's your bull but the only sure way is to have him tested. I'v not had any experience with trich but I've also been told that it takes 90 days for the cows to clear up and the bull has to be slaughtered.
Have your cattle been nnalert for vibrio? Infertility is a symptom.

I would lean towards a bad bull. I started having mine tested annually. It is cheap compared to open cows/heifers.

As for Trich. Usually you will not have 100% open cows that are infected. You usually have shattered breeding with usually 50% being breed at the first exposure.

As for the cows/heifers. They usually have to go through 2-3 heat cycles or 120/150 days to be clear of Trich. There is vaccines that help. They require two shots 2 weeks apart. Even then you can have some still have the infection.

Any bulls over 4 years old are usually a lost cause. Younger bulls MAY recover with treatment but it is 50/50.

They also suggest a 2 week rest before testing bulls to get the most accurate results.

Good luck. It sucks having open cows and high cost bulls.

"shooting" blanks. It's one of the few great old metaphors that make sense anymore. Makes me chuckle every time I hear it.

Having your bull fertility tested before breeding season is always a good idea. High temperature weather can render bulls temporarily sterile. Since you have a closed herd, it"s unlikely that an outside cow brought this problem into your herd.

I have not heard of any of the cattle VD"s being spread by coyotes however, leptospirosis which and cause the death of a viable fetus is spread by coyotes. There are other diseases that can also cause abortion or fetal death and re-absorbtion. We vaccinate our cows yearly prior to bull turn out with Vista 5 V L as a precaution. Since you are having a pretty serious problem on a large scale, I would advice you to have a vet check your cows and your suspect bull for signs of a disease problem and recommend a course of vaccination to get it under control.