Читать книгу Bovine Reproduction - Группа авторов - Страница 188

The non‐breeding period provides an opportunity for the bulls to rest and replace any weight that was lost during the breeding season. Body condition scoring or weighing bulls at this time will allow producers to make the necessary dietary changes to ensure that the bull battery enters the next breeding season at an appropriate body condition. The effect of body condition on breeding performance of mature bulls is not well documented; however, logic would suggest that avoiding overconditioning will reduce the effort to mount and the force on the hindlimbs during mating. Commonly, breeding bulls are fed to reach a body condition score of 6–7 prior to entering the breeding season [34]. Dietary energy excess has been shown to have detrimental effects on semen quality in yearling bulls. These effects are thought to be related to impaired thermoregulation of the testes due to increased scrotal fat deposition [35].