Early Weaned Calves WORK CALVES EARLY DON’T CHEAT THIS
… ALWAYS HAVE BACK IN HOME PEN BY 9 A.M. EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO START WORKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.
Processing -- extremely important to adhere to vaccination protocol
(WORK CALVES EARLY … BE FINISHED & HAVE CALVES BACK IN THERE HOME PEN BY 9 AM)
Weaning day (July 1st):
-4 wayMLV
(my choices would be Titanium 5 or Bovishield 4)
…Titanium might be a little severe … Vac4 & Bovishield ares borderline severe but OK.
-TSV-2 intranasal for quick coverage (TSV-2 is also my choice … I also use at 1st booster)
-Others to consider
-Pasteurella vaccine (Presponse is the Fort Dodge vaccine)
I have used lots of Once PMH - is it any good?
-Implant - most received Synovex C ~ May 15th
(No need to implant again since we are 45 days out on what I would see as a 90 day implant?)
14-21 days later (July 15th): (WORK CALVES EARLY … BE FINISHED & HAVE CALVES BACK IN THERE HOME PEN BY 9 A.M.)
-Boost with Titanium 5 or Bovishield 4 (I would add TSV-2)
(any advantage to switch between products for more broad coverage?) Yes, some advantage …
-Vision 7 (most got a first dose ~ May 15th)
-Ivomec (I think we should at some point, but is this an OK time?) Yes, a mild broad spectrum … calves need it early … I would not delay
45-60 days post weaning (August 15th-September 1st): (should this be sooner?)
If you booster at 14-15 days, do this booster at 60 post weaning, If you booster at 28 days do this booster at 45 days post weaning …
-Boost with Titanium 5 or Bovishield 4
-Implant (most calves would now be 90+ days on Synovex C)
(What do you think of using Synovex S on steers and Synovex C on heifers Implant projections:
For sure delay the moderate potency implant on heifers. As for the steers it depends on consumption, but the Syn-S has worked fine …
May 15 to Aug 15 = Synovex C (90 days) WHERE DID THE “MAY 15? COME FROM? Was that the branding implant?
Aug 15 to Nov 1 = Synovex S or C (75 days) If Aug 15 is the target for the steers … use a Synovex-C or Ralgro …
Nov 1 to Jan 20 = Revalor IS or IH (80 days) Rev-I seems to be very good and should work well here …
Jan 20 to Apr 10 = Revalor IS or IH (80 days) Why not a regular Revelor? …
Treatments: Micotil is drug of choice on light calves
Coccidiosis: Rumensin for prevention, Corid if treatment is required
Projections:
-Kill date April 10 to May 1 (April 10th will push it … I you don’t wean until July, May 1-15 may be the target)
steers = 1050 to 1150 (1025 to 1100 might be closer … and should easily get 70% to grade)
heifers = 950 to 1050 (good estimate … and should easily get 70% to grade … especially if MGA is used)
-70% or greater choice
-sell on grid to maximize benefit of high % choice cattle with few YG3+
-gains = 800# over 280 days = 2.9 adg? (Yes, maybe a little better)
Ration for weaning calves-- very important to closely follow program
Ask Gill or Lusby to help with the ration
First 30 days: HIGH QUALITY ... NO MOLD ... MINIMIZE FERMENTED FEEDS
-feed for adg of 1.5 to 1.75 (OK, but should make 1.75 without a problem … don’t push)
-no step up ration just go straight to52 NEG and leave them on it for 28 days... I think the CProtein will be in the 14-15% range
-Control the growth from 1.75 to 2.75 through the first75 to 90 days ...
the first 45days by increasing intake and 45 to 90 dayswith a new ration and intake adjustments
-52 to 54NEGmegacal ration (can we feed corn silage from the start? I would think haylage would be less palatable)
Silage will have a shorter bunk life... avoid haylage
I would discuss the ration with Gill or Lusby … but I think the ration should be HIGH QUALITY …
Because of the pour bunk life limit fermentable feeds
Second 30 days: (see comments above)
-move to adg of 2.0
-56 to 58 megacal ration
Feed in afternoon (Why ?) … Cattle eat better at night &I have never done it any other way. Visit with Gill & Lusbyto see what they think
Bunks that are too large or deep can be made shallower with 2' wide strips of plywood laid in bunk to slope towards calves
The available feeds are:
whole corn (mostdoesn't like to handle ground corn)
...whole corn willwork if you use aCOMPLETE supplement (protein, meds, etc)
corn silage (very little corn in it)
oat silage
brown midrib cane silage
alfalfa haylage
alfalfa hay (1st and 2nd cutting - mid bloom)
oat hay (boot stage)
pelleted protein supplement (he's hooked in with Moorman's and is not set up to handle lquid, although it is a possibility)
Good luck andkeep in touch, Dee.
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Dee Griffin, UNL-GPVEC,
State Spur 18D, PO Box 148,
Clay Center, NE 68933-0148
402-762-4504, (fax:4509)
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-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Lusby [mailto:
Sent: Friday, July 05, 2002 7:36 AM
To:
Subject: Re: FW: Early Wean
The vet has good questions. You have seen early weaning more than any vet in the country and already know what to tell him.
I would make the ration 48 to 52 MCal NEG and would try to closely copy the ration we listed in the article called Receiving and Growing rations in the book you put together for one of the classes Gill and I did at Clay Center. It is also in Circular E-900 from OSU. We had a fact sheet entitled Early Weaning for the Beef Herd (E-3264), that you mentioned last Wednesday. I would change a couple of things, the most important being that I would not use three rations as indicated in the fact sheet, but rather would just use the one called Ration III, which is basically the same as the one for light calves in E-900. That ration has worked very well for both early weaning and receiving of very light calves, which usually are "early weaned" anyway.
Ivan Rush, Rick Rasby, Terry Mader and others at Nebraska, would be good ones for these ranchers to consult about alternative roughage sources in these rations. Palatability is not an option.
I know you don't have cottonseed hulls and have to use a different roughage. You hit on the key elements for the first 30 days Wednesday. Keep these simple. Keep them relatively dry (not too much silage) and if they use silage, make sure it is good silage without mold. Even good silage turns moldy in the bunk if it is just piled in there and left uneaten. A pound or two of good grass hay per head is a good way to entice calves to find the feed bunks. The bunks need to be accessable by little calves, and the water source must look like a water source.
For the first 30 days, the ration should have energy and protein for about 2 lb/day gain. The 48-52 Mcal level with 15% protein (dry matter basis) does that with relative safety. I like to be sure the copper (15 PPM) - and zinc levels (60 PPM) plus selenium are adequate. I also think Vitamin E at 20 to 40 IU/lb of ration is warranted in these stressed calf rations. Basically trying to get about 100 IU / 100 lb of calf weight. All natural protein if possible. REally, these people probably need to get a good feed mill to make the ration, or baring that, to make a palatable 1 oe 2-lb supplement package with the protein, vitamins, minerals and additives. For additives, I believe there is no substitute for Rumensin - For coccidiosis, which may not be a problem in a hot drought area, but critically because it helps prevent overeating, bloat and acidosis, which WILL be a problem. The standard feeding rate of 30 grams per ton of feed (90% Dm air dry basis) is fine. That is about 33 Grams per ton of dry matter. Commercials aside, Bovatec does not do the important things of preventing overeating problems, which is why it is exclusively used in the feedlots.
Finally, they just need a common sense lesson in feed and cattle management. First, if possible, break up the calves into smaller groups of 25 to 30 calves. Put the smallest/youngest calves together. Put palatable, clean feed in lower bunks, and provide clean water. Do what you can to reduce dust, and don't drop the ball by killing the calves with heat stress. Feed a couple of times each day at the start with smaller amounts of fresh feed. Watch for sorting of ingredients. If they are obviously leaving supplement pellets, or some ingredient, you better remedy that post haste.
Once the calves are eating well at 2.5 to 3.5% of body weight, just adjust the energy and/or feed level to have them gain at what would be their normal rate on the cow. That could be 2.5 lb/day for large framed calves. You have been through that with Westcott's calves. Grow them normally until they are ready for the finishing phase.
I am sure I forgot something. Religion is also a key. Prayer helps during the first few weeks.