Managing Newly Received Cattle

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Managing Newly Received Cattle

• Critical to provide good transition for young,
  naïve calf
• Need to manage for minimal morbity/mortality
• A calf that became sick at receiving will have a
  hard time making money!

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Receiving Cattle Programs

• VERY source dependent
• neighbor vs saleyard
• yearlings vs calves
• Should expect at least 1-2 death loss
• Before receiving cattle
• need to prepare the lot

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Needs to be clean, comfortable, and dry but not
dusty need to rest
Long, narrow pens- 150 sq ft/head
Always close to bunk
Allow 18-24 bunk/head
Pens should be close to working facility- good
sorting capabilities
Want good clean water supply
Long trough or tank running over
If cattle have been on the road for a long time,
dont allow them unlimited access to water
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Processing

• Upon receipt of cattle
• watch carefully at unloading
• Splitting cattle into small groups may help
• lower stress at working
• more accurate temps
• able to detect sick cattle easier
• symptoms??
• When should you work cattle?
• Can process directly off of the truck

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Processing later for high risk cattle next day
or 2

• Should be 3-4 hrs after sunup
• 1st time through
• visually inspect cattle to identify definite
  sicks
• temp all cattle going through facility
• ID and treat sicks and cattle with temps above
  104 degrees
• keep good records
• could cut out sicks to special hospital pen (s)
• What about mass medicate?

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Receiving and Processing

• All animals get ear tag, ivermectin, IBR-PI3,
  clostridia MLV(?), and implant
• tip horns and check to see if all are castrated
• can get weights if possible or desired
• Heifers
• spay, abort or do nothing
• Need to observe cattle 2- 4 weeks
• yearlings less time than calves

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Feeding at receiving time

• Initially eating to stay healthy rather than gain
  weight
• Objective at this time is to get intake increased

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Nutrition of calves eating during 1st ten days
No calves ate on all days of the first week
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Receiving Nutrition

• Because of intakes this period is critical
• eating to stay healthy not to gain
• Usually feed long hay for a few days
• restore rumen health
• can work on to mixed ration gradually
• hay on bottom mixed ration on top
• Because of lower intakes need to increase
  nutrient concentration

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Receiving Nutrition

• Ration should be dry, not dusty, palatable, fresh
  and not ensiled - clean bunks regularly
• No moldy hay or unstable silage!
• If capable can include a little fat
• Energy- want to concentrate but not overdo it
  because of rumen problems
• 30-75 concentrate
• will sacrifice gain for morbidity and mortality

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Receiving Nutrition

• Protein 13-14 - can be lower for yearlings
• alfalfa is good for degradable protein and K
  (after animals are on feed)
• Escape protein could be beneficial early
• disrupted rumen
• palatability is a concern with this
• NPN???
• NEVER!!!

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Receiving Nutrition

• Minerals - important!
• Loss of body fluids and electrolytes
• K especially important
• 1.2-1.4 of ration for 2 weeks esp w/ gt4 shrink
• decreases MM increases 28 day gains
• Trace minerals?
• Vitamins
• A E can reduce MM
• B complex

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Receiving Nutrition

• Ionophores
• Helpful to prevent coccidiosis
• can also use Deccox for this
• Palatability
• Bovatec vs Rumensin
• Direct-fed microbials (probiotics)
• more stress greater potential response
• Restore favorable gut microbial ecosystem
• Add to feed - can oral dose in high stress cattle
• Antibiotics