A cattle family near Esperance in Western Australia used to lose up to half its first-year bulls to penile breakdown within three weeks of joining; after almost 20 years of vaccinating young bulls before joining, the losses are down to two out of 20 or 25, Beef Central reports.

Simon Fowler of Chilwell Farms, a 2,000-head operation, took part in Meat & Livestock Australia's Producer Demonstration Site "Preventing bull preputial breakdown by vaccination". The three-year project, run by ASHEEP & BEEF with Swans Veterinary Services, studied how to reduce infectious balanoposthitis (IBP) and the preputial breakdown it causes in virgin bulls.

Local veterinarian Dr Enoch Bergman suspected bovine herpesvirus. Blood tests on affected bulls suggested most virgin bulls were exposed during their first joining, and some producers had started using the vaccine Rhinogard before joining. Across the Esperance district, more than 3,500 bulls were monitored: breakdown was consistently higher in virgin bulls than in experienced ones, and lower in vaccinated virgin bulls than in unvaccinated ones.

The losses had shaped the business. "It got to the point where I was reluctant to spend money on superior genetics because of the risk of losing them," Fowler said. On his farm, new Angus bulls first back up a fixed-time AI programme, so young bulls matter. Fewer bulls now fail testing for corkscrewing (premature spiral deviation of the penis): "We had years where we were losing a third of our bulls at testing. Now it's only two or three." Dr Bergman believes preputial injury may contribute to that condition.

Vaccination is not the whole answer. Close watching in the first weeks of joining, when risk is highest, lets bulls with early swelling be pulled out, treated and rested; wet, muddy seasons bring more injuries.

"Vaccination is not a silver bullet," Dr Bergman said, "but it does appear to reduce both the incidence and severity of preputial and penile breakdowns."

Photo: Montanabw / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: Beef Central