One of the most critical times for cattle coming into the feedyard is within the first two weeks. Feedlot owners and cow-calf producers can use best practices for helping those cattle get off to a good start when entering the yard.
“The biggest thing we’re trying to do is reduce stress the whole time,” says John Hepton, a cattle nutritionist and feedlot owner in Idaho. “We want them to come in and be handled quietly and correctly. We want them to come to a clean pen with plenty of space and dry conditions.”
Hepton says typically they let cattle sit one day and process them the next day, which is something he’s learned from experience.
“For example, let’s say they were long-haul calves; we might let them go two days before we process them. Basically we’re wanting them to rest and be comfortable. And we’re always looking for early signs of pneumonia or BRD.”
Hepton says they typically we’ll feed them hay a day or two before introducing a ration.
“We’ll then introduce a palatable starter ration and avoid feeding too much starch early,” he adds.
Jessica L. Sperber, Nebraska Extension Feedlot Specialist says it’s important to offer familiar feedstuffs in the first seven days to “bunk break” cattle. She offers these suggestions:
- Offer long-stem grass hay
- High quality forages are essential to get adequate energy into the animal while their intakes are depressed.
- Feed a natural protein source that is adequate in rumen undegradable protein (RUP) content to support calf protein requirements.
“The most likely source (and presumably cheapest) is distillers’ grains, which are approximately 30% protein, with 65% of that protein as RUP,” Sperber says. “RUP is required most in rapidly gaining, young animals.”
Additional feed consumption considerations:
- Provide bunk space of 16-18” per head as a target
- Low intakes on newly received calves are common and generally improve in the weeks following receiving.
- In week one, cattle will generally consume 1.0 to 1.5% of body weight (BW) on a DM basis
- Stressed calves may consume lower than 1.0% of BW, exhibiting signs of anorexia.
- Target intake to reach 1.5% of BW (DM basis) by day 14 to reduce morbidity/mortality.
- By week three, calves should be consuming 2 to 2.5% of BW (DM basis).
- A 21- to 28-day transition or “step-up” period is often required to get cattle to consume greater than 1.5% BW (DM basis) and to transition calves from a high-forage to a high-grain diet.
- A low energy density diet (high-forage diet) improves rumen health early in the feeding period.
Water intake
Access to plenty of water is important, Hepton says.
“It’s nice to have overflow tanks to where they can hear water running if you can,” he adds.
Sperber points out water intake drives feed dry matter intake.
“Newly received cattle will walk the perimeter of their pen, so a common thought is that cattle will find the water tank if placed around perimeter,” she says.
She also says to ensure water tanks remain free from algal growth and feed residue.
Initial processing
Processing depends on if the cattle have been preconditioned yet.
“If we don’t know the background, then we assume they haven’t had anything,” Hepton says. “I think there is value in working with ranchers to know what their vaccination program has been, if calves were vaccinated and with what products.”
Hepton says pre-weaning protocols do matter.
“Everybody wants a pre vaccinated, weaned calf,” he explains. “That’s the very easiest thing to bring to the feed lot. Even a good vaccination program, but right off the cow, certainly works. If we know the producers and we know the program, then we may not have to re-vac, or we may do things a little bit different.”
Sperger says processing may include vaccination, parasite control, identification (feedyard tag), implantation, weighing (to determine initial BW), and initial sort.
“Vaccination protocols are critical and should be discussed with your veterinarian, who will consider what is appropriate to each operation and will determine whether and when to administer 5-way viral, 7-way clostridial, and a de-wormer.
Furthermore, Sperber advises that while sorting cattle may improve uniformity in the pen, keeping cattle from similar origins together for the first few weeks on feed may reduce disruption of hierarchy in the pen and reduce health challenges from commingling.
For the yards Hepton consults for and puts cattle in he wants to have very high grading cattle.
“Our target is 90% or better to be choice or prime, which involves both genetics and nutrition,” he says. “It’s also health and management as well, which means less sick events.”
When it comes to receiving those cattle, Hepton reminds buyers and ranchers to use good transportation sources.
“Whether you’re buying them through the sale yard or picking them up off the ranch, it’s important to get them on a truck right away and getting them to the yard,” he says. “We want to have good drivers that are not tossing the cattle around and don’t stop for unnecessary causes. We want to get the cattle to where they need to be so we can get them off the truck and into a comfortable environment.”
Your Next Read: The Ultimate Guide for Training Ranch Employees
