When to Tb test

we do ours in March but some of the bucks are starting to grow by then so we were wanting to move it back to Feb but the weather was SOOOO bad that there was no way we could even get gates open to run them to the barn.  Doing them when you cut antlers would be fine for the bucks and if you had a chute to run the does through would be good.  The problem is if you have very many to do then that becomes problematic. How many do you have to do all together?

18px calibriOne thing I would recommend thinking about is looking down the road on what your anniversary date will mean to you. I believe you have 90 days before and 90 days after your anniversary date to do your testing. Although you will be quarantined (so to speak on the 90 days after). To me the perfect anniversary date would be somewhere between Dec 1st and Dec 15th or there about...


18px calibriThis would give you from Sept. 1 -15th to March 1st-15th. Getting started for the Dec date would be tough for the 1st 2 years but in my opinion would be a great date once established... I wish we could work with the Feds in explaining how nice this date would be for us but how hard it is to establish because of the breeding season...


18px calibriGood luck and feel free to contact me if I can help in any way.

My vet works great with me  when i have a group of bucks to cut antlers she does her thing. Then when the ***** are out for ai breeding she comes over and does her thing. Works out great!

An option that is sometimes helpful is testing your doe at or near your required due date then doing your bucks near the end of the ninety day window. If you do your bucks in Oct. when you are Cdr-ing your doe, there is a chance one could test a false positive which would quarantine your herd until the animal is confirmed healthy. This potentially could keep you from selling your stocker bucks during a testing year. I would try to establish your test date beyond the point you would likely sell your bucks to preserve. This would include a buck that has bred for you that afterward you plan to sell to a preserve. In my opinion January or February are the best times to test bucks. It is a great time to give bucks LongRange wormer after breeding season. It is possible to test your doe the end of Oct while Cdr-ing and finish your bucks testing the end of January. Establish your test date in Dec as Barry recommended.

RHR,

Do you have bucks to sell this year?

If not when cutting antlers would be fine.

Bell is right if you have any to sell and your get a false positive you have to wait a month to retest, keeping you from moving anything. If you don't have any to sell test in 2.5 years after this time to get it moved to where it doesn't matter if you have a false +. Just a thought.