CATTLE TALK
Order buyers and end customers today are as critical on their
purchase of calves as they have
ever been. Why? They have to
be critical because of the value
of the calf. Stocker operators
and feedyards cannot afford low
performing, unhealthy cattle
in their operations, so they are
becoming more discriminate on
the purchase of “high risk” cattle.
How can you as a producer avoid
taking discounts on your calves
at the market and maximize the
value of your calf crop? Preconditioning and weaning the calf
crop offers producers the opportunity to not only capitalize
on the strong market, but benefit
from post-weaning gain.
Preconditioning calves postweaning has been a management and marketing strategy
employed by cattlemen for years.
However, the definition of preconditioning calves has varied
from producer to producer.
The purpose for most standard
preconditioning programs is to
get the calf acclimated to being
away from cow, started on feed
and vaccinated against the most
prevalent diseases and parasites.
For the purpose of this article,
preconditioning cattle refers to
the 45 to 90-day period postweaning during which the cattle
are placed on a strong animal
health program and are nutritionally challenged to ensure
economical gain. This prepares
a calf to succeed in a feedyard or
heifer development setting. Preconditioned calves are looked at
as value-added calves by buyers
because buyers know the risk of
health or performance issues in
these cattle is very low.
Well-designed preconditioning programs address both the
animal health and nutritional
needs of the weaned steer or
heifer calf. From an animal
health standpoint, respiratory
diseases, clostridial issues and
deworming should be the main
concerns. Brand-name, broad
spectrum BRSV/BVD and
clostridial vaccines should be
given at weaning and boostered
two weeks later. Deworm with
a brand-name injectable or
pour-on at weaning. In addition, do not forget treatment for
liver flukes if you are in an area
with high susceptibility. Finally,
depending on your end market
for your calves, implanting your
weaned calves is a consideration.
Designing a sound nutritional
program for your weaned calves
is of the utmost importance.
There exists a synergistic effect
between nutrition and immunization of weaned calves. If
either the nutritional program
or vaccination program is lacking, the other program will not
work as well or at all. Healthy,
well-vaccinated cattle are more
efficient and higher performing
in feeding scenarios, and cattle
on highly nutritious diets utilize
the vaccines better and establish
immunity more readily.
UE
When considering nutrition in
your preconditioning program, a
few factors have to be considered.
• Establishing a marketing
plan for the cattle from a timing
and end weight standpoint.
• Transitioning the rumen of
the animal from milk and forage
to a diet totally dependent on
forage and supplement or feed.
• Providing enough nutrition
immediately post-weaning to
avoid health issues.
• Using a program that will allow the weaned calf to effectively
gain immediately post-weaning
to avoid losing the weight gained
on the side of the cow.
Once the marketing weight
and time is established, the
nutrition program can be put in
place. Below, we will discuss two
researched and proven programs
that have worked very economically and effectively.
45-Day Confined
Backgrounding Program
The 45-day program is the
more aggressive program from
a weight gain and performance
standpoint. Cattle are weaned
from their mothers on day one
and vaccinated/implanted and
placed on Accuration Cattle
Starter with Aureomycin and full
hay for the first day only. Also,
it is recommended that a Wind
& Rain Availa 4 Mineral tub is
fed alongside the feed to help the
cattle obtain all the necessary
mineral requirements. After day
one, hay is no longer presented
to the cattle for the 45-day preconditioning period.
Purina’s Accuration Cattle
Starter with Aureomycin is a textured, complete feed that delivers
all the nutrients that weaned
cattle may need. The product
contains Purina’s Intake Modifying Technology that modifies the
SUPPLY
eating behaviors of cattle, changing them from eating large meals
to more freque