Take care where bulls are housed on straw-bedded pens with no access to concrete areas as feet can become overgrown and tender. It’s also important that the bull does not lose too much condition over the winter months. It’s important that they are fit and not fat either.

In most cases ad-lib access to good quality silage plus 3-4 kgs of a balanced ration is adequate. Avoid feeding rolled barley on its own as this could increase the incidence of feet problems.

Make sure the bull receives all doses and vaccinations that the herd gets, if out-wintered or housed separately, they can often be forgot about.

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Many vets now offer a fertility testing service and there are many specialised fertility testing services around the country. It costs between €50 and €70 and could prove a good spend if your stock bull has become infertile for some reason. Discounts may be obtained by testing a number of bulls in the same area.

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