4 – Winter Management of Cow-Calf Herd

Question 1

Weaning

Answer 1

• Often at 6-8 months of age
• Many sell calves at time of weaning (same day)
  o Ideally want to spread out stressors and vaccinate 2-3 weeks prior to weaning
• *ideally want to vaccinate 2-3 weeks prior to weaning

Question 2

Early weaning

Answer 2

• Help cows improve body condition before coming off pasture
  o help reduce winter feeding costs
• spread out stressors before moving to feedlot

Question 3

Fence-line weaning or 2-stage weaning

Answer 3

• Weaning=big stressor
• *These can reduce the STRESS

Question 4

Pregnancy checking

Answer 4

• Feeding an open cow through winter=significant expense
• Provides early detection of repro failure problems
• Allow separation and grouping based on pregnancy status or BCS
• Allows producer to guarantee pregnancy on females being sold
• Usually give endectocide in fall for parasite control (lice)

Question 5

Cows lifespan in herd and amount of calves

Answer 5

• Most not in herd for longer than 11 years
• Average is 5-6 calves in lifetime
• Minimum of 15% usually replaced yearly

Question 6

Culling cows

Answer 6

• Primary reason=reproductive failure
• Age, cancer, udder problems, lameness, worn teeth, prolapses, temperament
• *voluntary culling based on GENETIC MERIT is difficult to accomplish in herds w/o excellent reproductive performance
  o Since just getting in the open cows

Question 7

Overwinter beef cows

Answer 7

• Winter feed=#1 expense
• **Extending grazing season through use of swath grazing or alternative crops (ex. grazing corn, or bale grazing) can LOWER winter feed costs
• Separate in groups based on age, BCS
• Feed analysis for least cost rations
• *target 2.5-3 at time of calving

Question 8

Why extend grazing vs. bringing them into a pen?

Answer 8

• Less labour
• Manure and urine can go back into soil RIGHT AWAY

Question 9

How can you determine profitability for a cow-calf herd? (4 factors)

Answer 9

• Calf crop percentage (reproduction)
  o Number of calves weaned/cow exposed to bull
• Average weaning weight of calves (growth)
• Annual cow cost
• Selling price of calves (carcass quality)

Question 10

How can you increase profit in cow-calf herds?

Answer 10

• Increase lbs of calf weaned/cow exposed to bull
  o Biological productivity (reproduction and calf growth)
• Increasing market value of calves weaned
• Reducing expenses of maintaining cow her
  o Lowering cow costs
  o FEED COSTS (we need to be better at this!)

Question 11

What difference did a study show between a low cost and high cost producer?

Answer 11

• $200/cow ($260-490)

Question 12

Example of green flax screenings: all you see is an eye lesion, what killed them?

Answer 12

• Cyanide
  o ‘suffocate’: O2 bound to Hg and can not release it
  o BRIGHT RED CHERRY BLOOD
• If in drought season=accumulate more of it
• *those that died had very low copper levels
  o Already had anemia maybe?

Question 13

What are the top 5 ways low-cost producers reduce costs?

Answer 13

1. Reduce supplemental feed costs
2. Rotational grazing and pasture management
3. Right genetics
4. Reduce labour costs
5. Strong herd health program

Question 14

What are GOLD indicators?

Answer 14

1. G: growth of calves: 570lbs
2. O: open cows (7%)
3. L: length of calving period (63 days)
4. D: death losses (less than 4% pre-weaning)

Question 15

Calving distributions

Answer 15

• *only easily accessible physiological event in a beef cow=calving
  o Other events parallel with that
• Goal 65% of herd to calve in first 21 day period

Question 16

Calf crop %

Answer 16

• Overall biological productivity
• Reflects management of reproduction and calf mortality
• Requires simple inventories
• TARGET: 85%
• Lbs of calf weaned/cow is slightly more sophisticated version of calf crop%

Question 17

Weaning weights

Answer 17

• Can be used to measure a cow’s producing ability
• Can be used as measure of sire’s genetic potential

Question 18

Why can weaning weights be misleading?

Answer 18

• Bull calves > heifers
• Calves from cows > calves from heifers
• Older calves > younger calves

Question 19

Adjusted waning weights

Answer 19

• Estimates weaning weight as if all calves were weaned at 200 or 205d of age
• ADG=(weaning weight – birth weight)/age of calf
• 200 adjusted weight=ADG x 200 + birth weight
• *artificial number
  o Gives ‘unfair’ advantage to late calves cows
• *tells you genetic growth potential of the cow, but if she still calved great=not great

Question 20

Adjust for sex of calf

Answer 20

• Do by multiplying ADG by a certain factor
  o Heifer: 1.05
  o Steer: 1
  o Bull calf: 0.95
• *can also do age of cow adjustments

Question 21

Software programs

Answer 21

• Some very basic and others more expensive
• *HerdTrax: common
  o RFID and goes on computer
  o Set up fee + $1-2/cow/year
  o CLOUD based: accessed on many electronics
  o Can incorporate genetic testing

Question 22

DNA testing

Answer 22

• Needs to be linked with production records
• $12-20/sample
• Use 120SNPS to determine bull sired a calf
• Blood or hair follicles
• Can also use for breed composition=get a vigour score
• Additional for maternal, performance and carcass trait genetic info

Question 23

What are the 4 major bovine vaccine companies

Answer 23

• Boehringer
• Elanco
• Merck
• Zoetis
• *new vaccines and combos are always being developed

Question 24

Viral vaccines

Answer 24

• Many for against 5 important reproductive/respiratory pathogens
  o IBR, PI3, BRSV, BVD1 and 2
• MLV injectable OR MLV intranasal OR killed version
• *if FP=fetal protection (cow vaccine)

Question 25

Variations of viral vaccines

Answer 25

- Companies add other antigens to viral vaccines to make combos to protect against SOME bacterial causes of abortion - #=number of stains - Ex. vibrio (Cambylobacter) + Lepto

Question 26

Respiratory bacterial vaccines

Answer 26

- Mannheimia hemolytica - P. multocida - *can be added to viral vaccines

Question 27

H. somnus vaccine

Answer 27

- Single or combined with virus or clostridial vaccines

Question 28

Clostridial vaccines

Answer 28

- Lots - 7/8=number of strains - Only ONE with tetanus: Merck (COVEXIN PLUS) - Some in combo with H. somnus

Question 29

Scours vaccines

Answer 29

- Vaccinate cow in late gestation - Various timing

Question 30

Cow-calf vaccination protocols

Answer 30

- Many variations depending on combo of vaccines possible

Question 31

Calving: vaccination protocols

Answer 31

- Weigh and tag calves - Vitamin E/Selenium - (some apply vaccines to calves)

Question 32

Branding (pasture turnout): vaccination protocols

Answer 32

- 7-way clostridial +/- H. somnus - Respiratory vaccines o Intranasal vs. injectable - Growth implant - Castrate - Dehorn

Question 33

Prebreeding: replacement heifers vaccination protocols

Answer 33

- Will need a booster of Clostridial vaccines - Respiratory - Campylobacter/Lepto

Question 34

Prebreeding cows: vaccination protocols

Answer 34

- Respiratory - Campylobacter/Lept

Question 35

Weaning: vaccination protocol all calves

Answer 35

- Respiratory - P. multocida/M. hemolytica - Pour on endecticide - Weigh for weaning weights

Question 36

Pregnancy examination: vaccination protocol

Answer 36

- Pour-on endectocide (lice) - 1st dose of scour vaccine (heifers) - ID culls

Question 37

Pre-calving: vaccination protocol, heifers + cows

Answer 37

- Cows: o Scour o Vitamin AD? - Heifers o 2nd dose of scour o Vitamin AD?