What Farmers Want in a Herd Bull

Because a bull is responsible for half the genes and characteristics of every baby born in its herd, a farmer must be very selective when choosing the future sire of his calves. The right animal to become a herd bull should have traits that offset the weaknesses of the cows on his farm and upgrade the quality of the offspring.

  1. Good Disposition

    • A good disposition is one of the most -- if not the most -- important qualities in a bull for several reasons. First, a bull that is intractable or ill-tempered will be difficult to handle and possibly even dangerous to those who work with him or other members of the herd. Even worse, the bull may pass his bad disposition onto its offspring, leaving a farmer with a herd of bad-tempered animals that are difficult to work with or sell.

    Good Conformation

    • Good conformation in a bull also is very important. A bull with proper bone structure and conformation is less prone to becoming lame or injuring itself, especially during the breeding season when the animal will be putting a lot of its weight repeatedly on its hind end while mating. A farmer should also pick an animal whose conformation will improve the herd. For instance, if you want to increase the size of your beef cattle, choose a large-frame bull.

    Good Breeding

    • Before choosing an animal to become the herd bull, a farmer needs to carefully research its bloodlines and pedigree. When selecting a bull for a dairy herd, a farmer should make sure its mother and siblings are or were good milk producers. For beef cattle, a farmer should look for a herd bull from a stock known to grow to full size and weight quickly and yield a good meat-producing carcass.

    Fertility and Offspring

    • A bull should be tested for its fertility by a veterinarian each year, as an infertile animal will be of no value to a farmer's herd. The fertility testing should be done early enough in the breeding season so an infertile bull can be replaced with a new animal, if necessary. As a bull ages, the quality of its semen decreases. Animals younger than 6 years old are preferable as herd sires. Bulls that sire poor quality offspring should be culled and replaced with animals whose traits are better able to improve the quality of the herd.