Collect Semen from a Bull for a Breeding Soundness Exam

Bull Breeding Soundness Exams or BBSEs (also known as semen testing) are a way of testing the quality of semen and quantity of sperm produced by a bull prior to letting him breed cows and heifers during the breeding season. A BBSE is a way for a veterinarian to see whether the sperm being produced is normal or abnormal (which is the morphological aspect), whether sperm cells are moving around normally versus moving irregularly or not moving at all (locomotive aspect), and how many sperm cells are found in the sample (which is the sperm count aspect). It is also a way for a veterinarian to assess the body condition of the bull, his conformation (including the condition of the penis and testicles as well as the shape and size of the scrotum), and the condition of the semen-producing glands inside the bull.  Most BBSE's cannot assess the libido nor the eagerness of a bull to mate with a cow or heifer at any given time; this assessment is up to the producer to find out and evaluate based on the number of cows that come up open after the end of the breeding season.

It should be duly noted that it is illegal for someone who is not licensed as a veterinarian to perform BBSEs on a bull, even if it's their own.  Thus please note that THIS HOW-TO SHOULD ONLY BE TAKEN AS A GUIDE and not as a means to do it yourself, unless you are a licensed veterinarian yourself.  If you are not a veterinarian and you have a bull that requires a BBSE to be performed on him, please consult and make an appointment with a local large animal veterinarian to do so.

Steps

  1.   Make preparations before moving the bull into the squeeze. This means doing the following:
    • Plug in the control box to an electrical outlet
    • Place the control box near the center of the holding or squeeze chute (on the outside of the chute, never the inside) in a dry area.
    • Plug in the cord that connects the control box to the anal probe, and place it near the box
    • Take the collection cup near the control box and make sure it has the plastic collection bag with a test tube attached to it, then place it near the control box.
    • Readying the lube, fingerless obstetrical shoulder-length glove and non-sterile latex glove, scrotal tape and paperwork to be done as the BBSE is being performed
  2. Handle, move and confine the bull to a head-gate or squeeze chute.  The chute itself must be able to open up at the bottom to be able to collect semen as the bull ejaculates into the semen collector.  The head gate should be wide enough that it confines the bull's head, but doesn't cut off circulation to his body. As you move the bull into the chute, this is a good time to have a look at his conformation (especially the way he walks), and make a visual assessment of his body condition.
  3. Measure the scrotal circumference.  This usually will tell you, based on the bull's breed and age, whether he has good fertility or not. It's common knowledge among most cattle producers that a bull with large testicles will pass on high fertility to his daughters.
  4. Glove up.  Put on an obstetrical shoulder-length glove on your dominant arm or arm you plan to use to insert into the bull's anus, and pour lubricant into the palm of your gloved hand.
  5. Insert your hand into the bull's anus.  Form your hand into a kind of puppet the same way you would when performing rectal palpations on cows (thumb tucked under your fingers, extended so it touches the tips of your fore and middle fingers, and all four fingers also extended out but closed together), and slowly push into the anus, keeping your wrist and arm straight.
  6. Feel around for the seminal glands of the bull, at the same time making room for the rectal probe to be inserted in.  There are three main glands that are found in a bull, just like in a human male: the prostate, cowper's gland and seminal glands.  These glands should not feel irregular in anyway, such as feeling harder than usual, have abnormal lumps, etc.
  7. Prepare and insert the anal probe.  You should have a helper ready the probe by lubricating it along its length and holding it ready for you to insert it into the anus of the bull.  The two lighter-shaded stripes on the probe need to be facing downward, and the point of the probe going in to the bull's anus. As you pull your hand out of the anus of the bull, insert the point of the probe into the anus and keep pushing it in until it reaches the handle.
  8. Have a helper push onto the tail to keep the probe in place. The handle (silver part) needs to be between the anus and the tail, and the tail pushed up against the handle portion to keep the probe from popping out as the bull is "forced" to ejaculate through electrical stimulation.
  9. Man the control box to start stimulating ejaculation of the bull. It takes a bit of practice and a "special touch" to be able to get a bull to ejaculate for you, but you must remember to not turn the electrical control up too high, nor too low.  It should be high enough to get the bull to react to it (the first few electrical stimulating enough to get the bull to tense his body up and move forward into the headgate, but not  vocalize in a way that it's causing him pain), and to encourage the penis to protrude from the sheath with an erection. Reduce the amperage to allow him a brief rest, then crank it up again.  Each increase and decrease in amperage cycle should last one second. 
  10. Put the semen collector up to the bull's penis. Place it far enough so that the tip of the penis is near the entrance to the test-tube end of the collection bag. Continue stimulation until the bull ejaculates about 7 ml (millilitres) of semen into the test tube. Have the helper leave the probe in until you've confirmed that you have a worthwhile sample to analyze, which follows in the proceeding steps.
  11. Analyze the semen and sperm under the Use a Microscope to Observe Microorganisms. Take a sample of the ejaculate, place it on a microscope slide and stain it, then place it on the stage and have a look at the results through the eyepiece. Study the morphology and mobility of the sperm and count the number of sperm you have on the slide. If the first slide reveals nothing (no sperm to view), then you must repeat the process (Step 9) again. If it reveals enough to work with, then get your helper to pull the probe from the bull. You will also need to make one or two more samples to analyze so that you don't end up with any false positives or results that may warp the true results of the bull's semen test.
  12. Record the necessary information about the bull and the results from the semen testing. This includes the owner's name and address, the breed of the bull, the bull's age, body condition score, conformation score (including reproductive organs, body and legs/feet), scrotal circumference, ejaculate volume, and sperm morphology, mobility and count.
  13. Base your decisions about the bull's fertility and let the owner know about the results. There are generally five classes to class a bull into: unsatisfactory, decision deferred, satisfactory, good and excellent. Most bulls are typically classed into the last three.  Young bulls are likely to get classed into "decision deferred" if their sperm is immature or if the bull still needs time to grow and mature before being tested again.  If the bull is classed into satisfactory, then the producer be pleased with the results, because generally that's as good as a bull can get.
  14. Free the bull from the head-gate. As soon as the semen testing is done, the bull is free to go back into the trailer or into the holding pen he came from before he was herded to the head gate to be tested.
  15. Clean equipment after the testing is complete. It's always important to have clean equipment every time a bull is tested so that you don't potentially invite sexually transmitted diseases such as Trichomoniasis from one bull to the other, or even harm the recipient bull in anyway from a dirty, caked probe.

Tips

  • Use calm handling practices to get the bull into the head gate and to easily analyze the condition and conformation of the bull. Use the same practices when he exits the head gate and chute.
  • Always have the necessary equipment and tools out before you begin the BBSE, not during.

Warnings

  • Bulls are dangerous, no matter how seemingly calm they are or not. This is something to always keep in mind when handling bulls.
  • Never attempt this unless you are a licensed veterinarian. Even so, as a licensed veterinarian there is no real need to follow the steps of this article due to the fact you would have already been shown and trained to do this in veterinary college!

Things You'll Need

  • A bull
  • Bull probe
  • Squeeze chute/holding chute with head-gate
  • BBSE control box with necessary cords for bull probe and electrical plug-in
  • Collection cup with plastic collection bag and test-tube attached
  • Lubricant
  • Fingerless shoulder-length obstetrical glove
  • One non-sterile latex glove
  • Someone willing to help with the BBSE
  • Scrotal measurement tape
  • BBSE paperwork
  • Microscope
  • Glass slides
  • Phenolphthalein stain
  • A couple electrical outlets
  • (Most importantly) A licensed large-animal veterinarian to do the job!

Related Articles

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Collect_Semen_from_a_Bull_for_a_Breeding_Soundness_Exam&oldid=309531"