Herd Health Management

[mjrogers]

I'm seeking advice on my commercial herd management. Over the past few years we let our herd management deteriorate due to working several hours from home. We are trying to "get back on the horse" and take control of our herd again. We have culled most of the old/non producing cows and give the standard yearly vaccinations. Some ideas that we have and would like some advice on are: Fly management- I have seen that some people feed fly control mineral. Is this an additive to the mineral that repels flies and how good does it work? Fly control dust bags sound like a great idea but how do you force the cows to rub on them especially when they're in a large field or drinking from a creek? Vaccinate cows for pink eye? We typically only vaccinate calves. Creep feeding- We have never creep fed before but are considering it to increase calf weight/profit. When are you exposing calves to creep feeders, what are you feeding, and how is it working for you? General Herd Health- I know we should supply free choice mineral year round, to be honest we don't do a good job of keeping the tub full, but what other supplements are you giving your cows? Range cubes just get too expensive to feed on a routine basis. Obviously in the winter we are feeding hay, and in the summer they are basically on green grass with salt blocks in the field. Any other herd management ideas.


Secondly what advice do you have on pasture rotation? Do you put your herds on very small fields and rotate them quickly? Do you use grass height to determine the time for rotation?

I really appreciate the advice I've recieved on this web site on my previous posts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[dun]

The fly control stuff in the minerals is a insect growth inhibitor. Basicly it keeps the larvae from passing out of that stage.
There is no one bullet that will do the job when it comes to flys. Manure managment is one aspect that is addressed by pasture rotation. A rub might help with the flys but getting consistant useage would be the problem. How to get them to pass through or use the rub location when watering from a creek is a toughy. We use specific water points so the cows have to pass throguh a gate that has a mop hanging over it, that won;t work with your scenerio and I have no idea what you could do.
For pature roation we basicly use the take half leave half method. When a pasture has been grazed down half of the starting growth we move them to another pasture. In the spring when the flush is on it's recommended that you move them more often (supposed to keep the grass vegetive longer).
The length of time they're on any given pasture changes with each rotation and some pastures get skipped so we can hay them for winter feed. Others are skipped in the early fall to stockpile growth for the winter.

 

[backhoeboogie]

My operation is commercial. Flies are a real issue here. 7 other herds adjoin my pastures and it would help if everyone treated at the same time but that will never happen. Twice a year worming and periodical spraying with permethrin seems to do the most good for me. Ear tags help and I have tried the rubs. Minerals with Rabon are good.

I don't creep feed. Don't ever intend to. Cows on grass had best do the job or else the cows will be changed. You noted the expense of range cubes. I view creep as the same scenario. You're money ahead putting the investments into pasture. My opinion for my climate.

I don't vaccinate exclusively for pink eye but keep a close watch. LA200 works and pink eye is about the only thing I use LA200 for. I might get a case of pink eye about once every 5 years and get on it quick when I notice. They get 3 cc oof pen in the eye lid (I hear that is old school now) and LA200 per directives on the bottle, isolation in another pasture.

Calves get all vaccinations and booster follow ups.

The pasture rotation is regular and it is a mob grazing situation for me. The smallest pasture is 33 acres and they can take it down in a week at the peak of growing season. I believe parasite control is best when you take them all off of the pasture in the rotation. For the most part I am rotating through 4 pastures with 3 others reserved exclusively for hay production. The longest they are ever on one pasture is a month. I'll take them off of that one and cut hay at least once a year on it for my own use unless we have a drought situation.

My herd is currently young as I culled heavy during the drought. As a rule of thumb, when I start noticing lighter calves out of a cow I'll check her teeth. She may be good for a couple of more calves but I'll cull her at that point. Age has nothing to do with the ability to raise a good calf. It is all in the teeth in my opinion.

Loose minerals absolutely. Makes no sense to have nice stock trailers, 4 wheelers, high dollar equipment and then skimp on minerals and forage. Healthy cows reproduce a calf at about 10 1/2 to 11 months for me regularly with no issues. I keep tight birth records and watch closely.

My goals are to get to 150 market calves a year and keeping overhead less than $30K. I am not a full time cattle man. Get some income from hay sales to offset fertilizer expenses.

 

[bse]

I feed a mineral with altosid in it for flies it works well for me but if there are alot of other cattle around it may not work as good. I do creep feed just a commodity feed costs about .07 cents a pound on 25 calves averaged a little over 4 lbs a day gain with them eating 16 pounds per day which is $1.12 a day sold them for $1.01 average in a special sale which is $2.92 profit not taking into cosideration what they would haved gained on grass alone.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

a lot of people out west use ear tags for flies

I personally don't like the idea of feed through insecticides as I WANT the manure to be broken down and reincorporated into the soil. We don't have the rainfall to accomplish that most of the year so depend on insects, especially dung beetles, to help.

 

[dun]

a lot of people out west use ear tags for flies

I personally don't like the idea of feed through insecticides as I WANT the manure to be broken down and reincorporated into the soil. We don't have the rainfall to accomplish that most of the year so depend on insects, especially dung beetles, to help.

If you do a little research you'll find that the IGRs are specific to horn flys and has no effect on other insects including dung beetles

 

[dun]

There also parasitic wasps that are available that lay their eggs in the fly larvae and when they hatch eat it from the inside out.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

If you do a little research you'll find that the IGRs are specific to horn flys and has no effect on other insects including dung beetles

Did not know that, thanks! I remember an ad for some feed-thru a while back that showed a dung pile and made it look like stone - labeled it "tombstone for flies" or something like that. It made me shake my head. Nope I don't want petrified muffins all over the place, I want it to work back into the soil the way nature intended.

Flies are part of the process so my philosophy (and honestly the environment - it's pretty dry here so they are only bad for a month or two anyway) guides me in the direction of not using these kinds of products unless it is an animal I'm keeping confined like a saddle horse or dogie yard calves.

In the past we have used back rubbers that are made like a big tube of fabric you soak with oil and insecticide that you hang in a gate or between two posts - the cattle will use them even if it's not a forced situation (where they have to go through a gate to get to water or something) - set two STURDY posts 8 to 10 feet apart near a mineral feeder and hang it there. They learn.

 

[SRBeef]

What you are asking could fill a book - and probably has filled several.

Briefly, as a fellow newcomer to cattle with lots of good teachers:

Rotational grazing is the key to pasture management, weed control and increasing your stocking rate, in my opinion. You might want to get familiar with the concept of a "cow-day" worth of grass. There was a discussion of "Cow-day" on these boards recently. I find that the ideal rotation is three days but because of my day job I usually end up giving them 7 days/1 week's worth of grass at a time. Lots of reasons to not go longer than 7 days.

I have found that right after I move my cattle out of a paddock it helps to drag the whole paddock. this spreads the manure patties so they dissolve in the first good rain reducing the grazing avoidance area, controlling the flies somewhat and spreading the grass fertilizer value of the manure. The grass comes back quicker and more uniform. Certain times of the year I will clip the pasture right after moving them out (and before dragging) if there are tall weeds that did not get eaten. If you rotate often enough, the cattle will eat smaller weeds and you have less weed problems. The key is to keep the weeds from going to seed.

As far as flies go, I am in Wisconsin, not Kansas, but the combination of dragging the pastures right after rotating the cattle out and the placement of a rub across the lane to the waterer and keeping the rub juiced up with a diesel/insecticide mix really works well for me. I hate to see cattle covered with flies. I think there is an economic cost to flies also....

Here is some information on the rubs: http://www.phwhite.com/

Here is the type drag I use: http://www.wingfields.com/ I use a 10 ft 3-point mounted drag for manueverability.

"Herd Health" is another book length question. One approach and what I do is to try to focus on preventative medicine. My vet and I have a standing schedule for 2 visits per year, one in mid May, one in mid Nov. In May he vaccinates all of the March/April calves for the first time, everyone else gets booster shots as my vet recommends. Spring bull calves get cut. All calves get tagged. Everyone gets pour-on. The only exceptions are animals to be harvested in the following 90 days or so (if any) who get nothing done.

During his November vet visit everyone gets pour-on again, any booster shots vet feels needed for our area, any heifers to be kept get bangs vac, tattoo and tag, and calves get sorted to the weaning pasture as they come out the chute. All females get a palp preg check. Any not pregnant get sold and not carried over the winter.

Vet gets a chance to look them all over and make suggestions twice a year. The key here is a good handling facility. My job is to get them all in the corral before the vet gets here and help as required. My vet can then do his job and usually is in and out in about an hour to 2 hours. Annual cost of these two visits averaged over the number of head through the chute is about $25./head per year including travel and all materials (supplied by my vet). I look at that as a good investment.

My bull gets a separate BSE in May by another vet since my primary vet doesn't do BSE's. I think that cost $65. or $75. last year but again seems to be a good investment compared to the cost of the bull shooting blanks due to a cold winter, etc. (Bull goes in about June 15 to 20th.)

I provide the ear tags. Every head is weighed during each of these two vet visits and several other times through the year. I am paying close attention to calf 205 day adj weaning weight to cow weight at weaning. There is a large variation between cows on this ratio. Getting late.

Good luck. Jim