Sale barn precautionary action

[BobbyLummus]

I buy all my replacement cows/heifers at the local stockyard and doubt I'll be convinced not to . Some go back and I cull hard . For the guys that introduce new animals week to week what steps to you take to prevent spread of virus/disease/issues

I know I can google this and get some textbook answers but I like this forum so hoping I can get some real life experience answers to help sum things up

 

[Rafter S]

I occasionally buy weaning age heifers from the auction barn. The local vet clinic has what they call a "heifer package", which consists of deworming with Ivomec Plus, and vaccinating for Brucellosis, all clostridials, IBR, BVD, P13, BRSV, and Lepto 5 Vibrio (I don't know what all that is, I just copied it from the receipt). Sale barn heifers and heifers that I raise get that within a week of buying /weaning.

I don't buy mature cows there, but I'd suggest talking with your local vet to see what they'd recommend. They know (or at least should know)what diseases are prevalent in your area. Their recommendation may include keeping sale barn cows isolated from your other cows for a certain period of time, but you may not want to or be able to do that.

 

[kenny thomas]

I buy all my replacement cows/heifers at the local stockyard and doubt I'll be convinced not to . Some go back and I cull hard . For the guys that introduce new animals week to week what steps to you take to prevent spread of virus/disease/issues

I know I can google this and get some textbook answers but I like this forum so hoping I can get some real life experience answers to help sum things up

I buy some year round and here is what I do after talking to several vets and taking good advice from Lucky_P here on CT.
As soon as they are unloaded they get worked. I give an inter-nasal Inforce 3 and a shot of Presponse. They also get wormed with injectable wormer and a 7-way injection. Calves also get implanted, and castrated if bulls. Ear tagged so I can keep records and then out into a lot on good grass hay where they stay 3-5 days. Most are not introduced into the herd for 2 weeks just in case. If there is a shipping fever issue it will almost always be within 10-14 days.

 

[Bigfoot]

I keep walking around to a minimum, and I was really surprised that Kenny doesn't as well. Makes me think I'm not doing things right. An un weaned calf can do a lot of walking around in a large area. To me it makes them more susceptible. Plus, I think they find, and start on feed faster.

 

[kenny thomas]

I keep walking around to a minimum, and I was really surprised that Kenny doesn't as well. Makes me think I'm not doing things right. An un weaned calf can do a lot of walking around in a large area. I to me it makes them more susceptible. Plus, I think they find, and start on feed faster.

Bigfoot, my weaning lot is small. I agree, I want them very close to food and water. A large % of the calves I buy are already weaned and that takes a lot of the issues away. The way my lots are set up nothing is larger than about 10 acres so after they quit bawling they go out into a larger area. When times are good I want each group bought on Monday to be out of the lot by Saturday so I can put more there on Monday again.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

As far as cows go I buy them and they get put in a pipe pen overnight , then out in a 100x200 pen for a few days then they go in with weaned calves I have on feed for about a week.

The day after I buy them they get Calvary 9, type A and vira shield 6vl5. They tell me it takes the lepto in the vira shield about 2 weeks to work so that's where I got my timeline, all my other cows get vira shield every year so the lepto shouldn't be a issue, I'm just careful about it.

 

[kenny thomas]

Bobby, one thing I really believe is that they need to be vaccinated as soon as possible. Where I unload they can go through the chute before they go into the lot so all the stress is over the same day. If that does not work for you vaccinate them as soon as you can.
I had a 5 month old calf that was born here on the farm get sick this week. Nothing has been put in with that herd since October. It just happens sometimes.
Got him up the same night and gave a dose of Excede and he is fine today.

 

[dun]

For anything other then baby calves we isolate them from the others for 4-6 weeks then vaccinate and turn them in. For baby calves (back when we used to buy them) we isolated them for 4-6 weeks and hit them with Nuflor or something similar as soon as we unloaded them. Before we did that we were constantly having to treat most of the new calves for pneumonia anyway. At the vets suggestion we started hitting them with it right away and never had to treat anymore calves. That is the one time I am/was willing to give antibiotics withou a clear need for them.

 

[BobbyLummus]

My vet keeps telling me my handling facility that's been around 70 years needs some work before he comes back . We work them at the stockyard before I take them home . His clinic and my farm are close to barn so it works most weeks . Plus they have a nice handling facility . We vaccinate / worm / tag / band all in minutes for not too much $ . Should have been doing this for years . I think respitory is the biggest concern in my area

 

[kenny thomas]

My vet keeps telling me my handling facility that's been around 70 years needs some work before he comes back . We work them at the stockyard before I take them home . His clinic and my farm are close to barn so it works most weeks . Plus they have a nice handling facility . We vaccinate / worm / tag / band all in minutes for not too much $ . Should have been doing this for years . I think respitory is the biggest concern in my area

Thats even better. Check out the inter-nasal vaccine and talk to your vet about it. Together with the presponse it has almost done away with any sickness I had before.