You can feel it in the air, the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler. It will soon be the time that most producers do their fall processing. They will be running their cows through the chutes and for any spring-born calves they will be weaning them from their mommas.
Much like during the spring this can be a very busy time for producers. With all of the doctoring and separating that is going on can be hard to keep track of what is going on. However, now is not the time to slouch when it comes to your calf crop.
What you do here can determine the productivity of your fall calves. This will be a stressful time for them so whatever you can do to alleviate as much of that as possible will be helpful. Here are 5 steps that you can follow to get your calves going in the right direction.
How do you wean your calves?
Let’s go ahead and start with the most obvious one. The weaning strategy that you do will have a huge impact on how your calves perform. Weaning is considered one of the most stressful periods in the productive life of a beef calf. There are ways that you can minimize the amount of stress your calves will face. Here are some different strategies that you can use during this time.
Types of weaning strategies
Total Separation is where you remove the calf from the dam without any physical contact. Typically you will move the calves to a completely new environment such as being sold or to a drylot. A pro of this strategy is that it will allow the producer to sell the calf right off of the cow. It will also decrease the need to either reserve any forages or buy any feed for the calves. The problem with this strategy is that it is the highest stress for the calf which will often lead to many health problems.
Fenceline weaning is when the cow and calf have nose-to-nose contact through a fence for a period of time. This will allow for decreased stress because the calf will remain in a familiar environment. A problem with this is that a unique fenceline will need to be built to contain calves and cows. Also, a grazing management plan will need to be thought out in order to accommodate the animals.
Two-stage weaning is where a device is used to prevent the calf from suckling. In the first stage, a nose ring is fitted on the calf for 4-14 days. After that period the ring is removed and the calf and cow are separated. This will be less stressful than abrupt separation since the calf will stay with the dam. The calves are allowed a period of adaptation before they are removed. A huge problem with this strategy is the cost of labor involved.
Whatever strategy you go with you should look at all of the pros and cons. Also, look at what type of facilities and the amount of labor you can provide. Oregon State has a post that goes into a little more detail about what each strategy requires.
Vaccinating your calves
The best time to vaccinate your calves is when you are running them through the chutes in the fall. This will help them to build up any immunity they might need. At this time they are at risk for respiratory disease as well as some clostridial diseases. Because of their high amount of stress we need to protect their immune system as much as possible.
Of course, if we are being technical the BEST time to vaccinate your calves is 3-4 weeks before weaning. That would allow the vaccines to fully kick in by the time they are dealing with the stresses of weaning. All of the problems that they are facing at that time can lead to increased exposure to harmful pathogens.
Here are 3 vaccines that you are most likely to encounter in your area, but always consult your veterinarian:
- A modified live 5-way vaccine. This will cover things like Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD types I and II), Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV), and Parainfluenza3 virus PI3).
- A Pasteurella vaccine. These types are very common bacteria that can infect the lungs and cause severe pneumonia. You can get them separate from the modified live or included.
- A 7- or 8-way blackleg vaccine, depending on which part of the country you are in. A consultation with your vet will be able to tell you which one is best for you to go with.
if you are going to be banding your bull calves at this time you should consider giving a tetanus toxoid too. Ideally, you would give 2 rounds of this with the second being at banding time. If you are only able to give 1 that can work out for you too.
Implanting
Implanting is one of those that tends to be a love/hate type of thing with producers. There are some that swear by it and see it as valuable too. Then there are those that see it as being almost inhumane and unsafe for animals entering the food production cycle. Whichever side you fall into I suggest you do your homework and go with the option that best suits you.
With that being out of the way using implants can be valuable to you as they improve efficiency and profitability. They can increase an animal’s growth by up to 20% and improve feed efficiency by up to 10%. Again I urge you to run the numbers yourself to see if the investment is worth the return for you.
When going with implanting there are some things you can do to improve the outcome:
- Make sure you put the implant in the right place. The implant should go in the backside of the ear in the middle third.
- You should follow low-stress cattle handling while implanting. This will reduce overcrowding and the possibility of manure contamination of the head and ears.
- Make sanitation and cleanliness the 1st priority while doing this. This will reduce the risk of infection and ear abscesses.
- Have a bucket nearby with a stiff brush so you can gently clean the ear using a disinfectant.
Deworming your calves
Since you are running them through the chutes at this time now would be the time to deworm them. There are a few different options that you can go with: Oral, injectable, and pour-on.
In order to prevent parasite resistance to show up, you will need to rotate the type of dewormer that you use. This does not mean the brand but rather the drug class. Such as using Benziidazoles after using a Macrocyclic Lactone. I have included a picture that will give you some ideas of what to look for.
Courtesy of the University of Maryland Extension
The timing of when you use the dewormer is just as important. Ideally, you want to use it right after the first killing frost of the year. This will mean that the parasites enter hibernation and your cattle enter the pasture with a clean slate. But that is not always an option so during fall processing will work too. I go into a little more detail about deworming programs in a previous post “Controlling internal parasites for fun and profit”.
To know if your deworming program is working you will want to do a fecal egg count reduction test. Your veterinarian will be able to help you with this test.
Supplementation
Proper nutrition is key in weight gain and immune response in your calves. Usually, a higher level of stress means an increased need for energy, protein, and minerals. In the event that intake decreases, it will be necessary to provide a feed source that is highly palatable and digestible.
3 usual sources of supplements for calves:
- A high starch feedstuff such as corn, and barely provides highly digestible energy. In the absence of rumen adaptation, it may result in bloat and acidosis in calves.
- Forages such as grass hays and alfalfa can provide adequate levels of protein but can be marginal in the quantity of digestible energy. Since calves usually prefer forages over grain palatability and intake are generally not an issue.
- A third feedstuff source is non-forage fiber sources. These are things such as soybean hulls, distillers grains, or beet pulp. They are typically rich in digestible energy and contain good quantities of digestible protein,
