Stuart Luxton buys a new bull
When looking for a bull, everyone has their own check list.
Hello again everyone. This month something different, I hope.
On the farm we have some great bulls doing a good job and haven’t needed to buy a new one for a while, but because the bulls we have all have daughters that are old enough for breeding we have identified the need for new blood.
The next problem is where to source the new bull. There are different options but every February in Stirling, Scotland, is the premier annual bull sale. Because we are after a high performer to improve our herd I took the decision to go to this sale looking for a bull. The first time I have been by myself.
I worked at the shop on Saturday morning and flew from Bristol to Glasgow in the evening.
Sunday morning I had a lovely time watching the best bulls in the country being prinked, preened and paraded in front of a judge and many potential purchasers and spectators.
When looking for a bull everyone has their own check list.
In my opinion the most important is the physical form of the animal, namely height, length and muscularity. In theory that is easy to select but when 150 animals go by its not as easy as you think.
They also need good ‘locomotion’; if an animal doesn’t move correctly, in time his feet or joints will play up and he will not be fit for his job.
Animal health is a major consideration. Breeders are usually enrolled in a health scheme, tests are carrier out on the herd at home and a level of risk is displayed at the point of sale. You do not want to import disease into your prized animals at home. Fertility might also be an issue, some bulls are tested and sold with a fertility certificate.
So to recap we need eye candy, physical form, good movement, good health and fertility. Now things start to get complicated.
Every bull offered for sale has a full family tree, verified by genetic testing; you don’t want the same genetics that you already have. Whilst this is being done they are also tested for undesirable genes (which are displayed in the sale catalogue). Every bull also has published a list of predictions on how he or his daughters should perform compared to the breed average. Calf size is very important; if the offspring is too big, the cow wont be able to give birth naturally. There are figures for growth rate of the offspring, how much milk the daughters might give and the meat quality and yield.
When all this information has been assimilated, a purchaser will have a shortlist of bulls. As I am writing this on Sunday evening, I have a shortlist. I might not sleep much tonight due to the excitement of what tomorrow might hold.
I keep trying to tell myself that I will be happy with any bull on my list, which I will, but the truth is I like one or two more than the others. That brings us to budget - will I be able to afford my first choice, or my second for that matter.
Will it be Dean Martin? Will it be Jacobite? Will it be Ebony?
I will let you all know next time…. If you can't wait, pop into the shop as I would love to tell you all how it ended up.
By Stuart Luxton