Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science

1
Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science
Two a Half Year Calf to Beef System
2
Learning Outcomes....

• In this unit you will learn about
• A two and a half year calf to beef system
• Which entails...Feed, Housing/grassland
  management, Disease control for a beef animal
  from birth to slaughter.

3
Two Half Year Calf to Beef System

• In a beef herd calves are allowed suckle the cow
  until about 8 months.
• Calves are born without antibodies. NO Immunity-
  very subjected to disease
• Colostrum must be consumed within 6 hours of
  birth as this is when the ability to absorb
  antibodies is at its highest. If weak hand feed.
• Should be fed for 3-4 days as it is high in
  nutrients, very digestible and has a laxative
  effect.
• Animals that do not get colostrum will have very
  little resistance to disease

4
(No Transcript)
5
Purchasing Calves

• Points to look for when purchasing calves at the
  mart
• Conformation
• Shoulders wide
• Wide Hind Quarters
• Deep Barrel
• Health
• Eyes Bright and Clear (no discharge)
• Ears Pricked Up
• Nose Clear (no discharge)
• Naval clean, no swelling
• Anus should show no sign of scour.
• Generally lively and alert.

6
Care of Calves After Purchasing

• Care should be taken not to stress the calve
  during transport.
• Calves should only be fed water and glucose for
  the first 24 hours.
• This is done to clear the contents of the
  stomach.
• After 6 days the calve should be on full strength
  Milk Replacer.
• The calf will subsequently weaned onto Hay and
  Concentrates and later grass when available!

7
Weaning onto hay/grass etc

• A calves rumen is not fully developed,
  hay/silage/conc. Should be introduced gradually
  as soon as possible.
• The silage/hay introduce micro-organisms into
  their rumen which digests the cellulose
• His consumption of grass will increase as he gets
  older
• 4 weeks old 500g/day

8
(No Transcript)
9
Calf Housing Bedding

• Ventilation- good supply of fresh air- removes
  pathogens.
• Dry bed- 80 of its time lying down reduces
  heat loss- straw, shavings. Good floor drainage.
• Draught free-prevents pneumonia
• Floor space- adequate- according to their size
• Lighting
• Aspect- away from prevailing winds
• Dung Removal

10
Dehorning/Disbudding

• Disbudding must be completed within 3 weeks of
  birth unless buds have not developed

11
Disease Pest Control

• Newly purchased calves should be isolated from
  others to observe signs of ill health.
• Buy from known source- insure they were fed with
  colostrum
• Flush system out with glucose water gradually
  introduce on to milk replacer over a period of
  2-3 days
• Feed colostrum
• Dose
• Look for lice, etc
• Isolate sick animals
• Vaccinate- protect against

12
First Summer out on grass

• Turnout date depends on
• Weather.
• Soil conditions.
• Availability of Grazing.

13
Weaning on to Hay and Concentrates

• By the time the calf is four weeks old, he / she
  should be eating 300-400 g of concentrates daily.
• When the calf is weaned from milk replacer, he /
  she should be eating 500 g a day.
• At this time the calf is allowed onto grass, but
  is still fed concentrates, hay and water.

14
The Calves first summer on Grass

• Calves should be allowed onto grass until the
  weather is warm.
• The change from warm housing to cold outdoor
  conditions can cause a shock and can disturb the
  calfs growth.
• Meals should be fed for 2 3 weeks after being
  put onto grass, to help the calf adjust to the
  new diet.
• Calves are selective grazers, and should always
  be kept on fresh, palatable grass and certainly
  should not be left graze pastures bare.

15
The Calf on Grass Continued..

• They should graze under a leader follower
  system.
• They should always graze in advance of older
  cows.
• This also inhibits the spread of stomach and
  lungworms.
• When grass is scarce at the end of the summer,
  concentrates should be fed.
• When calves are housed for the winter, they
  should weigh 200kg.

16
Stocking Rate

• May/June 25 calves/ha
• July/August 12 calves/ha
• September 5 calves/ha
• October 2.5 calves/ha

17
Feeding

• Creep feeding- access to both cow fresh grass
  Conc.
• When grass is scarce should be fed conc. again.
• Small weak calves should be separated fed
  better to achieve target weight

18
Parasite control

• Leader follower system
• Calves first out onto grass followed by weanlings
  followed by yearlings, etc
• Calves are more susceptible to picking up
  diseases than older cattle so calves are
  introduced first to avoid stomach worms etc
• Rotational grazing- pastures are rested 3 weeks
• Wormed vaccinated before turnout

19
Rotational Grazing
20
1st Winter Weanlings 1st Nov

• When to house
• Weather
• Breed
• Soil type
• Stocking rate
• Grass supply
• Housing mid November
• 1.4m2 Floor space
• 0.7 m3 Air space
• Slatted unit, cubicle,etc
• Adequate space
• Good flooring, as before

21
Feeding

• Weaned off milk/milk replacer
• Silage 0.75 tons/month
• Good quality silage is capable of giving 0.5g/day
  weight gain
• Conc fed if poor quality silage
• 0.5g conc. good silage
• 2kg conc. bad silage
• Should be grouped according to size for ease of
  feeding.

22
Parasite Disease Control

• While out on grass calves will pick up stomach
  worms, liverfluke, mange Lice cause setbacks
• Dosing parasite control
• Lice infestation can cause 30 setback
• Lameness can be a problem due to overcrowding,
  poor floor conditions, etc.

23
2nd summer out in grass- Yearlings

• As before
• Grass growth has be fertilized, N is spread once
  animals are removed
• Soil sampling

24
Disease Parasite Control

• Less susceptible to disease than younger animals
• Rotational grazing
• Liverfluke
• Stomach worms
• Dosed
• Vaccinated
• Tested for TB Brucellosis

25
Feeding

• LWG 0.8kg/day
• As before

26
Housing Feeding for 2nd Winter

• 2.0 m2 floor space
• 10m3 air space
• Silage
• Disease pest control as before
• Ready for slaughter

27
Selecting Cattle For Slaughter

• Weight.
• Fat Cover, Excess is wasteful and expensive.
• Condition Scoring is carried out..

28
Abbatoir

• Animals are fasted to
• Allow the rumen to be emptied prior to slaughter.
• Decrease the chances of meat hygiene risk.
• The glycogen in the muscle turns to lactic acid
  if the animal is stressed, this results in poor
  meat quality.
• Hanging the carcass
• Allows the blood to drain.
• Also the enzymes breaks down tough fibres in
  meat.
• Overall it results in better meat quality.

29
Killing Out

• Is the dead weight of an animal expressed as a
  percentage of its live weight.