SELECTION OF THE HERD BULL 169 



while young, on the other hand, there is no special harm done 

 if he appears a little smooth and beefy in form at this age, 

 since this tendency will disappear later. The ration should 

 be such that a good growth will be encouraged. As a winter 

 ration, clover, alfalfa, or other leguminous hay is best adapted, 

 while for grain a mixture of corn, with oats or bran or oil 

 meal gives good results. Some breeders continue the feeding 

 of skim milk until the animal is eight months or even a year 

 in age, in order to insure rapid growth. The bull calf should 

 be separated from the heifers at least by the time he is six 

 months old, as he soon begins to annoy the heifers, and is 

 better confined alone or with other bulls of his age. 



Most bulls are sufficiently mature for light service at ten 

 or eleven months of age. It is not advisable to breed one 

 to over five or six cows before he is one year of age. From 

 12 to 15 months, not over one or two cows per week should be 

 bred. As the animal becomes better developed, the amount 

 of service may be increased. A well-fed, mature bull might 

 serve 200 cows in a year, if distributed throughout the twelve 

 months; but since the greater number usually are to be bred 

 within a much shorter time, one bull is not usually expected 

 to serve for more than a herd of fifty cows. 



When the bull is about one year of age a ring should be 

 placed in his nose as a convenience in handling. It also serves 

 as something of a protection in case the animal becomes 

 vicious and attacks the herdsman. In ringing a bull the 

 animal should be tied securely. A bull punch sold by dealers 

 in such supplies may be used for making the opening. The 

 ring is slipped through as the punch is withdrawn. A trocar 

 is equally satisfactory. In using it the instrument is forced 

 through the cartilage division between the nostrils and with- 



