Buller Whistle Syndrome

What is buller steer syndrome?
The buller steer syndrome commonly observed in feedlots is an abnormal, aberrant behavioral and social condition in which steers repeatedly mount another steer. The steer being mounted is called the “buller” and the steer riding is called the “rider.” As a consequence of the excessive mounting, the buller steer often becomes exhausted, shows loss of hair, can develop swelling and trauma along the dorsal line and tail head, and in extreme cases, can suffer from broken bones or may even die from injuries. There appears to be various degrees to bulling activity; some mounting activity is relatively harmless and falls under the category of “horseplay.” However, a more extreme mounting activity has been observed among

Compared to normal steers, bullers have been reported to have suppressed serum concentrations of progesterone, increased estrogen and testosterone levels, and 74.5 percent greater levels of monoamine oxidase type A
(neurotransmitter enzyme responsible for modifying behavior; the same molecule associated with psychopathic behavior in humans) mRNA activity. It is possible, however, that the greater estrogen levels were not causative of buller activity, but instead are elevated due to the buller steer being mounted, since hormonal profiles returned to normal levels after three days of isolation.
How much do buller steers cost the industry?
Besides the animal welfare concern for buller steers, the extra handling necessary to accommodate these cattle, the disruption to the uniform marketing of cattle particularly in custom feedlots, the need for extra pens in which to house bullers, and the losses due to injury, treatment and death add significantly to the cost of operating a feedlot. Bullers are 2.5 times more likely to be reclassified as “sick” and 3.2 times more at risk to die than non-buller steers. In addition to the economic cost relative

It is recommended that population of pens should be kept below 250 head and that feedlots should pay close attention to cattle management before and during warm weather season as stressful circumstances during this time of the year are reported to increase the incidence of buller activity. Proper management of buller cases requires prompt removal of the affected buller steer to a separate hospital or sick pen in isolation, with other bullers, or to a pen of heifers where buller activity usually disappears. If large numbers of bullers are combined in a single recovery pen, the bullers may themselves begin mounting other steers. Several feedlot operators recommend limiting the number to less than 50 bullers per hospital pen to avoid bulling within the hospital pens. Once the buller has rested and recovered, it can be returned to its home pen where it should be closely monitored as one in every three buller steers will exhibit buller behavior again.
Conclusion
The buller steer syndrome has been a common problem seen in feedlot operations for more than 50 years. Intangible monetary losses, as they haven’t been precisely quantified and reported recently, are estimated at about
$134.04 USD per buller steer in 2015. If not