• Getting Ahead Of The Game

• Hurting Hooves

• Just 5 Questions

• Keeping It Together

• The World According
  To Hooter McCormick

EDITORIALS

• TRAILS
• RIDING THE GAP

If a producer doesn’t have the feed or facilities, it may not pencil out to wean calves ahead of selling. But feeders really like them because when they are weaned at home they are not exposed to so many new pathogens and stresses all at the same time. If a producer doesn’t have the facilities or feed to properly wean them at home, however, and they’ve had an adequate preconditioning health program, those calves will still do fine if handled with care on the receiving end. The most important thing is a good vaccination program and minimal stress.

Some backgrounders and feedlots have a lot less interest in calves whose health status carries more risk. Unless calves have had a 7-way clostridial vaccination and at least one round of modified live virus vaccine, most buyers don’t want them, even if they have good genetics—and calves that have 2 shots of modified live virus seem to stay healthier (and respond more quickly to treatment if they do get sick). Even if you keep them yourself, a good preconditioning program pays off in healthier calves at weaning time.

Good health and good genetics are the ideal combination to do well in the feedyard, but if it’s a choice between good genetics (with no preconditioning) and very plain calves with a good health program, many feeders will choose the preconditioned calves. Even if a calf has the genetic potential to gain 4 pounds a day, he can’t do that if he’s sick, and he won’t make any money if he dies. One feedyard in Nebraska figures death loss at half a percent for preconditioned, preweaned calves; one percent for preconditioned calves that were not weaned ahead of shipping; and 2 percent (plus higher medication costs) for calves that had no preconditioning.

Eric Dennis, who owns Dennis Charolais Farm in north Texas, says he tries to wean calves at about 205 days, the exact day depending on weather. Sometimes he creeps the calves for the last 2 weeks before he pulls them off the cows, to make their transition easier; then they already know how to eat concentrated feed.

“Before we wean, we give calves 2 doses of Cattlemaster 4-LV which includes lepto and vibrio as well as IBR and BVD, and is safe for calves nursing pregnant cows. We also give Ultrabac7 which contains Blackleg. Calves will be wormed once before we take them off the cows. We wean some across the fence from the cows.”

The calves get medicated feed to prevent coccidiosis. “This can head off problems, because they will be congregated for awhile (about 3 weeks) before turned out on grass. I still feed them and help them along, on the grass. On bull calves we shoot for an 1100 pound yearling weight, and 875-900 on the heifers. We hand feed them in troughs so we are always out among them and can keep close track of them,” says Dennis.

When he gives their first shots as calves, he also does any dehorning at that time, while they are still on the cow—while they are still small and weather is cool. “By summer it’s hot and dusty and they are healed up by then. We don’t like to dehorn just before weaning because it’s too dusty,” he says.

“The calves have 2 rounds of shots before weaning, nearly 3 weeks apart, with the final shot about a month ahead of weaning, depending on the weather and the grass we have. A lot of ranchers wait and give the shot at weaning, and we’ve tried that, but it stresses them again, running them back through the chute. If you use a modified live virus vaccine at that time it really stresses them; you get a lot of calves with snotty noses and a cough, and they go off feed for a bit,” he says. Dennis has better luck giving shots at least 25 days before weaning. This stresses calves less and they have strong immunity by weaning time—and weaning stress doesn’t affect them much.

The calves are also treated for worms and lice in the fall after weaning (after the first frost) with an injectable. When they were still on the cow in the spring the cows and calves all get a pour-on to knock the lice off. It not only helps the calves grow a little better, but makes sure the lice don’t get back onto the cows from the calves.

Another type of preconditioning program works for the Kempher Cattle Company, Deer Park, Florida. George Kempher doesn’t prewean his calves before shipping because weaning time is the rainy season and it’s too stressful to prewean them. The calves go to feedyards in a drier region (most of them under retained ownership) and are weaned on the trucks. “We vaccinate them ahead of time, hwoever, and our health records compare favorably with anyone’s,” says Kempher. He uses Brahman-Angus cross cows (with some Hereford and Shorthorn in the mix) and Charolais bulls for a terminal cross to produce feeder calves.
“In this part of Florida, feed costs are so high it pays to ship them rather than wean them. We can’t efficiently put much gain on them here. It’s hot and humid and we’re in a flat area with not much high ground. It’s hard to feed cattle when they are standing in mud or water. You can sell calves for more money by pre-weaning, but we don’t want to buy the feed here when it costs so much more than what we pay for it at the feedyard,” he says.

The calves stay healthy. “Rarely will we get a calf pulled for sickness in the first 45 days in the feedyard. We typically have less than 1 percent death loss, and our medicine cost is under $3 per head. We feel minerals are an important part of our health program, helping with a healthy immune system. We also give two rounds of IBR/BVD shots before weaning,” says Kempher.

Calves get their first vaccinations in March when marked and castrated—modified live virus IBR/BVD, and a Pasteurella vaccine. In early July they are given another round of shots, including blackleg, an IBR/BVD booster and Pasteurella. “These are all given a month or so before weaning, so it gives the calves plenty of time to build immunity before taking them off the cows and shipping them. We also spend a lot of money on mineral (for the past 30 years) and feel it more than pays for itself,” says Kempher.

“If we calved in the fall it would be more reasonable for us to pre-wean because they’d be weaned in a drier time. But with our early calving (December through February) weaning is in August during wet weather, sometimes hurricanes. We sometimes have a hard time getting our replacement heifers weaned because of storms. If you know there’s a storm coming you don’t want to pull off 200 to 300 heifer calves. You wait until clear weather.”

Feedlots that have never taken bawling calves are usually reluctant to take them. “We’ve had yards that the first time we sent them calves the yard managers didn’t want them because they were weaned on the truck, but we talked them into taking the calves and trying it, and when they don’t have to doctor a calf they are begging for more—because the calves are so healthy,” says Kempher.

“Our calves are not commingled with other calves, and that makes a difference, too. We have enough that we can put together loads ahead of time and have low stress at weaning and shipping. There is very little stress on shipping day; we just split the cows one way and the calves another. The calves that won’t fit the load have already been sorted out earlier, on horseback. We have scales here so we just sort off the calves, weigh and ship, with very little time and effort, and it’s easy on the calves,” he says.

Rick and Linda Anderson (Eagle Point, Oregon) have 250 head of Angus/Simmental cross cows and have good luck with preconditioning and shipping right off the cows. “We use the Pfizer program for vaccination; they receive 2 rounds of Bovashield Gold and 8-way and are wormed at branding time. The calves get their first shots the first of April (at about 2 months of age) and their second shots the first of May at branding time,” says Anderson. Thus they have a booster and this builds good immunity.

“We don’t pre-wean; we just sell them right off the cows. They come right off the cow and onto the trucks in late October or early November,” he says. But with a good vaccination program as calves, they stay healthy, and handle the stress of weaning and shipping very well.

“A lot of people only have them close up once, so they give the second shot when they wean. But I like to get the 2 shots in them earlier,” says Anderson. Then if a calf does happen to get sick, he bounces back quicker because he has a good basic immunity. He keeps the light end of the steer calves and his replacement heifers and has almost no health problems, so he knows that his health program works.

Justin and Sally Angell raise Charolais cattle and he runs a livestock auction market (Eastern Missouri Commission Co.) in Bowling Green, Missouri. “We have 110 registered cows, and we also background cattle (retaining ownership, sending them west to feed). Forty years ago there were many small, local markets. Calves were often purchased by someone locally to grow and feed for slaughter. Back then, being shipped a long way usually meant 200 to 300 miles. Today, cattle routinely travel 500 to 1000 miles, and stress is greater. Environmental stress—new feed, new water, different weather, etc.—is also greater,” says Angell.

“We’re weaning calves bigger and younger than we ever have. Many calves now weigh 600 to 700 pounds at weaning, whereas 20 or 30 years ago a yearling would weigh 600 to 700 pounds. The cattle industry has changed, and part of that change includes a greater need for vaccinating and weaning calves. Most feedyards today can’t handle unweaned, bawling calves or unvaccinated calves. High risk calves placed in a feedyard are potentially a wreck,” he says.

“Ten years ago I was hired by MFA Inc. (a Missouri based regional co-op) to help develop and implement a preconditioning program centered around a new concept called VAC 45 (value added calf, weaned 45 days). That program evolved into MFA Health Track, a comprehensive weaning and vaccination program,” says Angell.

“Just 10 years ago preconditioning was a new concept in many places. I did producer meetings all over Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma, and at several meetings I had to start by explaining what a vaccination program was. Because of the Texas Ranch to Rail program and other initiatives like MFA Health Track, there’s been a concensus reached about what a preconditioning program is, for these calves. That VAC 45 program (a protocol in which the calf has been weaned 45 days, with 2 rounds of shots) is now the industry-wide standard,” he says.

“When preconditioning, we need to keep in mind that there is a difference between just injecting cattle with vaccine and having an effective vaccination program. The goal is not to vaccinate, but to immunize.” If a calf is severely stressed at the time of vaccinating, for instance, he won’t build immunity.

“As marketing changed and calf value has become higher, the difference between the better calves that are properly weaned and vaccinated and cattle that aren’t has gotten wider. It used to be $2 to $3 a hundred, but now I’d say it’s at least $10, especially in the fall of the year,” says Angell.

Source and age verification is also important. “If a rancher is going through the steps to sort, wean and vaccinate, I recommend adding $2 to $4 a head to source and verify (if producers have the records). Anything a producer can do to open up new market options will help. Sometimes even one extra bidder can make a big difference on the price you get for those calves,” he explains.

“I think there will eventually be a place for hormone free (NHTC - non hormone treated calves) and natural cattle—whatever the definition for natural might be. This entails more management on the farm, and planning ahead. Regardless of program, all value added specialty cattle will be required to be preconditioned.”

The producer who puts forth extra management hopes to get paid a premium for his efforts. “I am a proponent of selling cattle at auction. But just like any profession, some people in the auction business are better at it or more motivated. If a producer strives for excellence, using good bulls and the best management techniques (including preconditioning), he needs a market that understands what he’s doing. The market agent should know the value of his calves to help him benefit from his efforts,” says Angell.

Genetics and good management are what enable a calf to reach best growth potential, either in the feedlot or on your own ranch. Part of that management includes a good preconditioning program for building strong immunity ahead of weaning, so these young calves are never set back by illness. They keep right on growing and never look back.