Breeding Soundness Evaluations of Bulls with Dr. Roy Lewis

The Beef Cattle Health and Nutrition Podcast

Dr. Roy Lewis joins the podcast to discuss breeding soundness evaluations of bulls. Dr. Lewis is an experienced bovine practitioner who has practiced for many years in the Westlock, Alberta area. He has also worked as a technical service veterinarian for the pharmaceutical industry and he writes extensively for many producer publications. Roy has a special interest in bovine preventive medicine and reproductive fertility of cow-calf herds. He chats with me about how the breeding soundness evaluation of bulls has become more commonplace and what the various components of the evaluation can tell us about bull fertility.

00:00 – 01:51 Introduction

01:52– 04:07 How breeding soundness examinations have evolved over the years

04:08 – 05:31 Good facilities for bull testing

05:32 – 08:22 Seminal vesiculitis in bulls

08:33– 10:38 Measuring scrotal circumference in bulls

10:39 – 11:57 Testicular degeneration in bulls

11:58 – 13:28 Equipment improvements for obtaining semen samples

13:29 – 15:12 Penile frenulums, warts, and hair rings

15:13 – 16:37 Bulls that don’t protrude during collection

16:38 – 18:12 Evaluating the semen

18:13 – 20:06 Pass, Failure and Decision Deferred Categories

20:07 - 21:50 Testing pubertal bulls

21:51 – 24:29 Other factors that may impact fertility of the bull

24:30 – 25:24 Closing comments