GETTING THE MOST OUT OF RAMS , BULLS AND BOARS

The reason why farmers use too many males is that they have not had the means of identifying males which are of low fertility or those males which can be successfully mated to a large number of females for example, 100 ewes or 60 cows. Methods of identifying males of low or high fertility, methods which measure the male's serving capacity and sperm production, have been developed in the last decade. This series describes these methods as well as making recommendations on how many females to mate to each male on the basis of its serving capacity and testicle size. This series also describes how farmers can get the most out of males by selecting for fertility, by providing for the nutritional and social needs of males during rearing and mating and by the annual culling of males unsound for breeding.