CALF_News_December_2020_January_2021
27 CALF News • December 2020 | January 2021 • www.calfnews.net Continued on page 28 EpisodE #1: A BluePrint Media podcast highlighting industry innovators. B lue P rint M edia Join us on our journey to chronicle the stories of agriculture’s many trailblazers! introduc ing Featuring Betty Jo Gigot, CALF News publisher. Available on www.blueprintma.com and wherever you listen to podcasts. Lessons from a Cattle Feeding industry Veteran • Inbound, Outbound and Content Marketing • Website Development • Publications • Social Media Management and more! mediA by desigN (970) 498-9306 www.blueprintma.com info@blueprintma.com “It’s usually inserted and left for about 14 days to break the suckling bond and allow time for the cow to stop lactating. It doesn’t require abrupt separation and can facilitate vaccina- tions and processing on the day of application.” Since calves will be placed back with their mothers, they receive vaccines and receive other procedures done without being abnormally stressed. Gill said nose flaps would work for producers eager to own a calf at the farm or ranch but don’t have additional grazing or feeding capacity. Two-stage weaning using nose flaps: In this process, nose flaps are usually inserted and left for five to seven days to break the suckling bond. “After the five- to seven-day period, the calves are removed from the cows and can either be placed in weaning pens or paddocks to compete the weaning process,” Gill said. Natural weaning: Of course, this is normally the least stress- ful of weaning options. There’s no human intervention.“Cows normally kick off a calf shortly before or at the time of her next parturition and when the calf is around 10 months old,” Gill said. “If natural weaning does not occur two months prior to parturition, colostrum quality may be impaired for the new- born calf. This process may lead to inadequate body condition on heavier milking cows. There are marketing programs that require the use of natural weaning in order to participate in these programs.” Regardless of the weaning option used, Gill offers these tips: Get calves accustomed to the feed or forage they’ll be weaned on. This may require creep feed, or cubes fed to cows and calves to teach calves to eat before weaning. Make sure they’re trained to consume the supplement prior to initiation of the weaning program. If novel forages are to be used in the weaning phase, make sure cows and calves are adapted to them before starting the weaning process. Avoid changes in the diet at the same time of weaning. Changes in the diet will alter rumen pH and increase the chance of digestive distress and reduced energy metabolism. The immune system requires readily available energy in order to function properly. “The lowest cost type of feeding will normally be forage- based grazing,” Gill noted.“Although not practical in all sce- narios, weaning calves on pastures they’re more familiar with would be the least stressful way to manage their nutritional needs.” Health protocols, such as a VAC-45 program, are likely required in a value-added, certified-calf program to meet cer- tain market requirements. Most protocols require a dewormer and a clostridial vaccine. “From a welfare standpoint, implementing an appropriate vaccination and immunization program is a high priority,” Gill said.“As a minimum, a calf should receive some immuniza- tion against the viral pathogens associated with BRD prior to weaning. “But this is only a minor component of overall management needs at reducing mortality of weaned calves. And remember, you don’t have to vaccinate calves when you strip them off. If calves are stressed, the chance for vaccine working is pretty low.” Ron Gill recommended you don’t make weaning “a cutting horse contest.”
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