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Managing reproduction, feeding, branding, selling & fence repair 2 January 2009 page two of three |
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ABOVE & LEFT: After the Reproductive Tract Scoring, the heifer is then measured internally to determine the size of the pelvic area. The larger the area of the pelvis the less difficulty a heifer will have giving birth. Both the height and the width of the pelvis is measured to get the product of the area. |
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| Ralph Sexton keeps the records on the results of each of the heifer examinations. Beside Ralph is his dog, Tullah. | |
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| Before being able to leave, the heifers are each given two shots. One shot promotes estrus synchronization while the other shot vaccinates against a host of venereal diseases. Above, Mike refills one of the syringes. | Everyone rushes over to lend a hand when one of the heifers gets its head inexplicably stuck in the side door of the chute. |
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ABOVE: Sean shows the buyers the bulls for sale while Travis looks on. LEFT: The buyers want their own brand on the bulls before leaving the pens. Sean is happy to oblige, which also gives him the opportunity to brand some leftover cattle from the previous branding session the other day. |
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| So the bulls do not feel left out from the doctor's attention, the circumferences of their scrotums are measured. According to IFAS' Florida Cow-Calf Management, "Young bulls with above-average scrotal circumference can be expected to produce more sperm cells. Research shows that 63,000,000 more sperm cells are produced per centimeter of scrotal circumference." | Will Barker holds the bull's tail out of the way while Doctor Harvey does the measuring. See a diagram of how the measurements are taken from the IFAS publication Managing Bull Fertility in Beef Cattle Herds. |
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| Mike Sexton and Rob Tripson part bulls from the herd. | |
Go to page three of three > > > |
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