Good management starts on DAY 1!
The key words to managing this crucial time both begin with the letter "C".
CLEAN and COLOSTRUM.
The extra effort you take in having the calf born into a clean environment and recieve adequate
colostrum (first milk), will pay BIG dividends with future growth and health.
Colostrum provides antibodies that are absorbed through the wall of the calf's stomach and into
the bloodstream within the first hour following birth. After 12 hours of life, very few antibodies can be absorbed.
So it is imperative that a new calf recieves colostrum A.S.A.P.!!!
How to freeze and Thaw Colostrum
Freeze colostrum in quart containers that can be thawed by placing them in hot water.
Frozen colostrum keeps for several years; it doesn't lose quality if kept well frozen and thawed
properly. NEVER overheat it or antibodies will be destroyed.
If you need to warm-up stored/frozen colostrum NEVER microwave it! ALWAYS re-warm the colostrum
in hot water, NOT BOILING!
Immerse it in a pan of water no hotter than 110 degrees.
NEVER heat colostrum itself to more than104 degrees.
If it feels pleasantly warm (just above your own body temperature), and not hot, it is about
right. Have it warm when giving it to the calf. If it's colder than his own body temperature, he won't like it.
Help the calf to nurse if need be.
The less antibody absorption, the lower the immunity of the calf for the next several weeks.
You can encourage a stubborn calf to nurse by squirting milk from the mothers teat into his mouth to give him a taste.
If that doesn't work, try rubbing the calf's buttocks (like the mother does when licking him
off, she pushes him toward the utter as she licks his hind end).
This will stimulate him to nurse and WATCH OUT! It may stimulate him to pass his first bowel
movement.
You can't say I didn't warn you!
WHY TRY SO HARD?
When a calf is born, it has no immunity. There is no resistance to whatever germs enter
it's body. If during the birthing proccess, the calf's mouth is forced into damp manure (or whatever is under
the birthing mother), that material will be forced into the calf's throat, respiratory tract, and digestive system.
The first few weeks of the calf's life require relatively intense management to minimize disease
and get some growth established. Another good idea is to provide isolation from other animals in a clean, dry,
well ventilated environment.
Calf Health Be Aware Of Nitrates In First Hay Feeding Ranchers who have harvested and stored potentially high nitrate forages such as forage sorghums, millets, sudangrass
hybrids, and/or johnsongrass, need to be aware of the increased possibility of nitrate toxicity. That's the advice of Glenn
Selk, extension cattle specialist at Oklahoma State University. This is especially important when the cows are fed this hay
for the first time after a severe winter storm.
"Cattle can adapt, to a limited amount, to nitrate intake over time,"
says Selk. However, cattlemen will often feed the higher quality forage sorghum type hays during a stressful cold wet winter
storm.
"Cows may be especially hungry, because they have not gone out in the pasture grazing during the storm," explains
Selk. "They may be stressed and slightly weakened by the cold, wet conditions. This combination of events makes them even
more vulnerable to nitrate toxicity."
Ranchers are correct in trying to make available a higher quality forage during
severe winter weather in an effort to lessen the loss of body weight and body condition caused by wind chill. But if the forage
provided to the cows is potentially toxic, his or her intentions can backfire.
The best approach would be to know
the concentration of nitrate in the hay prior to feeding. If the producer is confident that the hay is very low in nitrate
content, then use of the hay should be safe. If the nitrate content is unknown, precautions should be taken.
"Feeding
small amounts of the hay along with other grass hays during the fall and early winter days can help to 'adapt' the cattle
to the potential of nitrate," says Selk. "This is not a fool-proof concept. If the hay is quite high in nitrate, it can still
be quite dangerous."
Diluting the high nitrate feed with other feeds can reduce the likelihood of problems. If the
rancher has no choice but to feed unknown sorghum-type hays during a snow storm, he or she should plan to watch the cattle
carefully for 8-12 hours after feeding for signs of asphyxiation and be ready to call a veterinarian for the antidote.
NORTHERN PLAINS LACK COPPER & ZINC
Deficiencies of these two trace minerals can hurt reproduction and immune function in cows and bulls.
A MONTANA State University survey showed that both were dificient in forages sampled, especially in grasses.
Molybdenum, which interferes with copper utilization, was high in some of the samples.
And high sulfates in water also cut copper use by cattle.
A third of cattle sampled in 8 Great Plains states were severely deficient in copper.
In 5 states (Montana, North & South Dakota, Nebraska & Colorado), 41% of cattle were severely deficient. MONTANA
State scientists say it's important to suppliment with these trace minerals for best reproduction & immune function.
Have you tried "Fenceline Weaning"?
A University of California study shows that providing fenceline contact
between cows and their calves at weaning cuts stress and boosts weight gain!
Calves seperated from their moms only by a fence for the first 7 day's spent more time eating,
less time pacing and more time lying down than totally seperated calves. The fenceline calves also bawled less.
Consequently, calves seperated from their moms only by a fence gained an average of 47 pounds
in their first two weeks after weaning, compared with 24 pounds for those seperated by more distance. Even after
10 weeks, the totally seperated calves didn't make up the early losses in weight gain.
Slow 'em down little Joe!
New research shows that you'll lose money with calves that speed out of the chute.
A recent study of cattle temperment showed that in the 28 days after weaning, bad-tempered calves
lost 11 pounds per head while good-natured animals averaged gains of 30 pounds per head. That's a difference in value
of $40.00 per head!
If you have "wild cows" you may have good weaning weights but you will lose money backgrounding
their calves.
Reaserchers base their temperment ratings on exit speeds out of the handling chutes.
They use photoelectronic eyes to record travel speed in a 6-foot distance as cattle leave the chutes.
Differences in exit speeds were dramatic. Calves that gained weight had an average
exit speed of 5 feet per second. Animals that lost weight averaged exit speeds of 9 feet per second.
Everyone should have a standard for temperment in their herd. Everyone needs to breed away
from high-strung animals. Good observers can identify high-strung cattle without sophisticated equipment.
Breeding & Selection Early-Weaned Heifers
Showed Improved Reproduction University of Illinois researchers used 64 Simmental x Angus heifer calves to evaluate the
effects of weaning age and creep-feed protein levels on performance, reproduction and milk production of replacement heifers.
Weaning ages were either 89 or 232 days of age. Creep diets were either 12% or 17% crude protein (CP). All calves
were provided free access to the 12% CP diet until their dietary treatments started, which was 57 days after early weaning
(146 days). Calves remained on their respective diets until one month after normal weaning (262 days).
Early-weaned
(EW) heifers fed the 17% diet gained faster (2.78 vs. 2.60 lbs./day) and weighed more at normal weaning (NW) age than those
receiving the 12% diet. Feeding the 17% diet to NW heifers decreased their performance from 3.02 to 2.69 lbs./day.
The
EW heifers were lighter than NW heifers from puberty through breeding. Nevertheless, more EW heifers than NW heifers were
pubertal at 8 months of age (81.3% vs. 59.4%), but there was no difference at either 10 or 12 months of age, and pregnancy
rates were higher for EW than NW heifers (90.0% vs. 74.2%).
There were no significant differences between the 12%
and 17% diets in body weight at puberty, percent of heifers pubertal by 8, 10 or 12 months of age, or reproductive rate. Neither
weaning age nor creep protein level influenced heifer milk production or performance of their calves.
These results
indicate early weaning improved heifer reproduction without affecting milk production. Also, it appears that providing additional
protein in the diet of EW heifers can improve post-weaning weight gain.
In a companion paper, the Illinois workers
reported results of another study in which 136 NW heifers were fed creep diets of either 12 or 17% CP. The results differed
from the previous study in that milk production was depressed in heifers fed the 17% diet (10.8 vs. 12.3 lbs./day). It would
appear that nothing is to be gained, and milk production could be reduced, by feeding a 17% CP creep diet to NW heifer calves
destined to become herd replacements (Sexten et al. Midwestern ASAS, Abstracts 283 and 284). -- Michigan State University Beef
Cattle Research Update, Summer issue
Weaning time is harvest time in cow-calf country. This can be a stressful time for
the cow, the calf and the rancher. Probably the most critical weaning decisions a rancher needs to make are gauging when and
where to wean.
USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) reports that the average weaning
age of beef calves in the U.S. is a little over seven months of age. Over three-quarters
of these producers reported weaning calves between 5½ - 8½ months of age.
The interesting part of the NAHMS survey is that producers reported a lack of flexibility
in selection of weaning time. Relatively few ranchers indicated that cow condition, forage availability or market price drove
the decision of when to wean calves.
The objective of a weaning program is to get the calves separated from their mothers
and on their own as efficiently as possible. This should be when lactation declines and calf gain begins to decrease.
Diets for weaned calves can be purchased or ranch-developed. The advantage to purchased
feeds is they're more likely to be balanced for energy, protein, fiber and minerals. In addition, many of them can contain
medications or ionophores recommended by a veterinarian or nutritionist.
Some important considerations in weaning management include:
· Dust - Dust causes severe irritation to the respiratory tract. Sprinkle pens to
keep dust down.
· Heat - Cattle tend to hold their body heat through the day, so if it's hot, try
to work them in the morning as opposed to the afternoon or evening.
· Bawling - This is another irritant to the upper respiratory tract. To minimize
bawling - unless “fenceline weaning” - separate the calves from the cows so they can't hear each other.
· Dehydration - Some calves are not acquainted with water troughs and are so busy
bawling they don't take time to find the water and drink. Use of a water source similar to one they may have been around may
help.
· Feed change - A change in diet requires the growth of different organisms in the
rumen to digest the feed. This change can take up to two weeks.
Why is stress the most important challenge to overcome when weaning calves? The University of Minnesota's
Bethany (Lovaas) Funnell, DVM, explains that stress causes the release of the hormone cortisol - a catabolic steroid that
has negative effects on the immune system.
This not only makes a calf more susceptible to respiratory disease, but decreases the
calf's ability to respond to a vaccine. Because of this, it's important to get the first dose of vaccine into the calves while
they're still nursing, when stress levels are low.
There are two major groups of vaccines that should be considered to assist weaning
- those for clostridial diseases and those for respiratory diseases. If you're unsure which vaccines to use, contact your
herd-health veterinarian.
Weaning strategies
There are about as many weaning strategies as there are ranchers. Over the past 10-15
years, the beef industry has become more aware of the value of pre- and post-weaning calf health management and marketing
management. It's worthwhile to explore the various “cookbook” weaning programs and regimes available.
· One concept that's been getting a lot of attention is fenceline weaning, which allows cows and
calves to have several days of fenceline contact, but calves are unable to nurse through the fence. This requires adequate
facilities to allow for feeding and watering the calves, and the fence must be tight enough to prevent the calf from getting
back in with the cow.
· Early weaning is a management practice sometimes used during drought conditions, or when forage
quantity is less than desirable. Early weaning is often used to improve cow condition for rebreeding, particularly when forage
is limiting. Research shows mixed results on the economics of early weaning.
· Extended weaning may make sense in times when feed costs are high and when grazing forages aren't
a limiting factor. A Florida study shows that fall-calving
cows can nurse calves for up to two months beyond a standard weaning age of 7-8 months and significantly increase calf weaning
weight without affecting cow reproduction.
For more information go to:
· http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AN048
· http://beef.tamu.edu/academics/beef/pub/health/vac_vaccine.pdf
· www.extension.org/pages/Early_Weaning_Strategies
· www.beefcowcalf.com/pubs/Topics/Weaning_Management
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