**2.3 Bull feeding (4–5 years)**

The feeding systems described during the 1980s based on a final bait are still in force today. Although each farmer has its own feeding methodology, depending on the availability of grass and other types of food on the farm, the possibility of growing the forage or concentrate on the farm itself or the use of agricultural byproducts such as citrus pulp or some derived from the olive oil industry.

This final bait is carried out in fenced areas of small size, frequently without grass, with a daily supply of rations of high energy concentration and high digestibility [19]. This last feeding stage is called "pre-lidia bait" or "finishing," and it can vary between 5 and 12 months and usually begins during the winter [20], adapting the amount of ration supplied to the bulls at the date on which they have to fight.

The average fenced area used for these bulls is usually around 60 hectares per farm, and the average number of animals per enclosure is 20 (which is equivalent to a density of 3 hectares per bull), although each farm distributes its animals in a way different. The average daily gain (GMD) is approximately 450 g/day (**Figure 1**), which means that in this period, the bulls gain about 150 kg of weight, 30% of their final body weight, considering a standard bull of 500 kg of weight at 4 years of age [7].

**Figure 1.** *Lidia bull growth estimation [9].*

The use of long feeders is common, especially in southern Spain, compared to the classic individual and small feeder used in farms located on the center of Spain (**Figure 2**). The distribution of food is done during the morning and the afternoon in most of the farms [21].

There is a critical point in the strategy of feeding management, due to the overfeeding carried out during the last year, prior to the fight, which causes an overload of weight in the bone structure, added to the state of obesity that causes a lack of strength and mobility of the animal that limits its behavior in the arena and, therefore, the show itself.

The problem lies in the overfeeding to which it is subjected in the final phase of its growth during variable periods of time (from 8 to 12 months) that generates a series of pathologies and inconveniences that negatively influence its productive aptitude: the behavior in the ring.

Several studies have been carried out on the effect of intensive bait on rumen physiology of Lidia cattle [16, 20, 22–31], and all of them point to ruminal acidosis, a primary pathology that predisposes the appearance of secondary lesions such as liver abscesses, gastrointestinal ulcers, ruminal parakeratosis, laminitis, anthill, and so on. Later we will address this pathology more widely.

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**Figure 3.**

*Live weight variation of a Lidia cow [23].*

*The Lidia Breed: Management and Medicine DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92008*

Lidia females reach puberty at approximately 12 months of age but must reach the two-third of adult body weight before becoming pregnant [7] at approximately 2 years of age, and the productive lifespan time lasts for 8–10 years with a calving-

Lidia bulls begin to show sexual activity from 6 months of age reaching puberty

at 10–12 months, having been necessary to separate them from females before 1-year olds [7]. At 2 or 3 years, the selected sires are tested with a small group of females, but they are not profusely used until their female offspring are tested, and the quality of their genetic is proved, once this happens, they could be 15 years

At present, in the majority of Lidia farms, the reproductive handling is very traditional with natural mating of one sire and 30–40 cows during several months. The outstanding difference with the past management is that now the fertility is greater due to a better cow's body condition that allows them to perform a success-

In Europe, the duration of the mating period in Lidia cattle is similar to that of other extensive bovine breeds, being able to reach up to 8 months (autumn–spring) in livestock farms with longer periods, but its duration is often shorter, from the end of winter to the beginning of summer (March–July), since at this time, the best results are obtained in heat of the cows and fertility, due to both photoperiod and feeding reasons. In countries as Colombia without reproductive stations, the cycle is continuous. There are relevant anatomical differences in the reproductive system of the female of the Lidia cattle: the cervix is longer in length than other bovine breeds; they present a uterine body very short, and it seems as nonexistent during transrectal palpation [34]. It is similar to the bipartite uterus in rodents, and the ovary has a very small size compared to other breeds of similar size presenting at the oviduct

At the same time, there are hormonal differences because the Lidia cow reaches puberty earlier and has a shorter gestation period than other breeds: 286 days [36]. The natural mating should last long enough to guarantee a good fertility rate, with a minimum recommended period of 3–4 months (each cow has at least three opportunities to get pregnant), but there are farmers who extend it more, and

contributing its genetic flow in natural mating to the cattle ranch [32].

level the largest infundibulum that surrounds much of the ovary [35].

ful gestation and lactation every year [33] (**Figures 3** and **4**).

**3. Reproductive management**

gestation interval of 2–4 months [32].

**Figure 2.** *Long feeder and single feeders.*
