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Post by bulltrader on Nov 3, 2019 18:44:39 GMT -6
I buy a few market calves every week and almost none of them have ever been through a chute.
I give Inforce 3 and Presponse as soon as I get unloaded. Been a few years since I have had to Dr one. I have very good results with this.
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Post by the illustrious potentate on Nov 3, 2019 20:32:17 GMT -6
If you're going to use killed, they need a booster in 2 to 4 weeks after the first round, and then a 3rd a couple weeks before weaning/stress.
MLV has better immunity I think, but you have to make sure the cows have been vaccinated with a year with MLV or they can potentially slip a calf if pregnant.
Once you start MLV use, it makes sense to keep going to me because it's one less trip through the shoot and hassle doing it.
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Post by tcranch on Nov 4, 2019 7:12:46 GMT -6
If you're going to use killed, they need a booster in 2 to 4 weeks after the first round, and then a 3rd a couple weeks before weaning/stress. MLV has better immunity I think, but you have to make sure the cows have been vaccinated with a year with MLV or they can potentially slip a calf if pregnant.
Once you start MLV use, it makes sense to keep going to me because it's one less trip through the shoot and hassle doing it. This is what scares me and another reason I didn't use a mod live. Retained heifers get a 5 way VL5 when they get their BANGS and pelvic measured at 11 months but other than that, all vaccines are killed. |
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Post by tillhill on Nov 4, 2019 10:04:28 GMT -6
I used to have bunch of issues. At birth calves get First Defense, once they get kicked out of yard they get Inforce and 7 way blackleg + Pinkeye shot, then cut calves when I was breeding then we weaned and vaccinated same day. Same day is what was causing my problems more than anything. Have now switched to weaning shots tocalves at least 3 weeks prior to weaning/selling and they get Inforce at that time. Then at weaning or prefer 2 weeks later another round of shots. Usually don't get another Inforce but some years we have. Since running that program and even mixing different pastures at weaning we have treated less than 1% of calves. Takes time to sort and work them but has been well spent for us! We originally worked the calves a few weeks prior to weaning but it became complicated to get my crew's schedules in sync to round 'em up again a couple weeks later - everybody's busy with their own cattle. Plus I pay them well & it gets expensive. Those are excuses. In reality, all the cattle could be worked, calves turned back out with their mamas and I could catch/wean a few calves at a time by myself. Keep them at the barn a couple days then trailer them to the west 80. But working/weaning at the same time has worked well for the past 7 years with only a few calves getting sick - total, not each year. Well, until last year. My vet said more people lost calves than he can ever remember so it really was primarily an epic weather disaster. So clearly there are some things I can do differently in my management and vaccinations and a mod live seems the way to go. BTW I can't remember the last time I had to treat a calf for scours with First Defense. Love it! Understand, have same things happen sometimes here to. Perfect isn't always easy! First Defense yes great product. We also vaccinate cows with Scour Boss 9. My beef cows calve next to our Holstein weaned to breeding age heifers. And we get crowded at calving and have weather to deal with. Since First Defense I don't treat scours. |
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Post by tcranch on Nov 12, 2019 18:33:14 GMT -6
Bringing this thread up again. Over the hump with my calves and they're doing great. But going through my records I noticed I treated twice as many steers as heifers, same as last year. Prior years treated maybe one calf or two for the entire year, not just after weaning, and they were almost all steers (one heifer).
Weird coincidence or are steers (or even bulls) more prone/have a lower resistance?
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Post by angusrancher on Nov 13, 2019 10:26:44 GMT -6
Bringing this thread up again. Over the hump with my calves and they're doing great. But going through my records I noticed I treated twice as many steers as heifers, same as last year. Prior years treated maybe one calf or two for the entire year, not just after weaning, and they were almost all steers (one heifer). Weird coincidence or are steers (or even bulls) more prone/have a lower resistance? Glad you got your calves straightened out. I think if the heifers were bringing more than steers, they would be the ones getting sick more often. Just the way it goes. |
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Post by tcranch on Nov 13, 2019 13:45:30 GMT -6
Bringing this thread up again. Over the hump with my calves and they're doing great. But going through my records I noticed I treated twice as many steers as heifers, same as last year. Prior years treated maybe one calf or two for the entire year, not just after weaning, and they were almost all steers (one heifer). Weird coincidence or are steers (or even bulls) more prone/have a lower resistance? Glad you got your calves straightened out. I think if the heifers were bringing more than steers, they would be the ones getting sick more often. Just the way it goes. Evidently I didn't get it straightened out. Found a dead heifer this morning. She is one I treated a few weeks ago and appeared to have made a fast, full recovery. No signs of sickness at all, even eating cubes out of my hand yesterday and I check them twice a day. She was from a first calf heifer - maybe didn't get enough quality colostrum even though she was up & nursing within 30 minutes, system just compromised? Or maybe the freaky weather was just too much. She was right by the path they take from the woods where they bed down to the bales/bunks - didn't go off by herself and looked like she just dropped dead. Dunno, but it sucks. |
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Post by angusrancher on Nov 13, 2019 20:16:04 GMT -6
Glad you got your calves straightened out. I think if the heifers were bringing more than steers, they would be the ones getting sick more often. Just the way it goes. Evidently I didn't get it straightened out. Found a dead heifer this morning. She is one I treated a few weeks ago and appeared to have made a fast, full recovery. No signs of sickness at all, even eating cubes out of my hand yesterday and I check them twice a day. She was from a first calf heifer - maybe didn't get enough quality colostrum even though she was up & nursing within 30 minutes, system just compromised? Or maybe the freaky weather was just too much. She was right by the path they take from the woods where they bed down to the bales/bunks - didn't go off by herself and looked like she just dropped dead. Dunno, but it sucks. Sorry to hear it. If you have an animal that just drops, doesn't hurt to look for a source of lead. A fragment from an old battery will kill them just like that. Might be completely off base but doesn't hurt to keep it in mind. About the Monensin mineral....we feed it to everything year around, and will put out free choice salt besides if they are consuming too much. Too much mineral gets expensive if nothing else. The directions say to mix it with feed, but we've fed it free choice for quite a while. Calves will start licking at it when they're pretty young, and it just seems to help their immune and digestive systems. Remember, opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. After we got done with some dead ones from the weather last calving, sickness has been absolute minimal clear through weaning. We go through a pallet every week approximately.  |
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Post by tcranch on Nov 14, 2019 9:33:33 GMT -6
The active ingredient in the mineral I've been using since April is CTC. It does say for beef cattle over 700 lbs but my vet knows the calves start on it when they're small/a month+ old (and at least a third of my weanlings are already over 700 lbs). I only have 2 bags of the mineral/CTC left and not sure what all is in the "regular" mineral I feed when it's not tick season. I'll have to ask my vet about the Monensin. Presumably that also requires a VFD?  |
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Post by angusrancher on Nov 14, 2019 12:08:50 GMT -6
No VFD needed for Monensin.
Haven't fed anything with the antibiotic Chlortetracycline in it for ~20 years.
Glad I rechecked this post. Autocorrect just changed VFD to VD.
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Post by tcranch on Nov 14, 2019 18:29:18 GMT -6
No VFD needed for Monensin. Haven't fed anything with the antibiotic Chlortetracycline in it for ~20 years. Glad I rechecked this post. Autocorrect just changed VFD to VD.Damn autocorrect. But VD is prevalent in some herds. . . . .  Thanks for the info on the Monensin, will check with the local CoOp's. One may have it, the other can prob get it. Just got a cow in I've been watching for a week. No visible/obvious symptoms other than she looks thin and today she was a little drooly. Temp 107.8. What?!? Took it twice. Hit her with Resflor Gold, keeping her at the barn, see how she does over the weekend (I'm out of town tomorrow) but will prob take her in Monday. Still has a voracious appetite, was with the herd, no droopy ears, snotty, watery eyes, coughing. I got nuthin. She did have an abscess a couple months ago and I flushed, gave her penicillin and it healed beautifully. Or did it? Systemic infection or asymptomatic pneumonia? I'm sooo over the sickness!!! Just in time for the real brutal winter - and calving  |
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Post by angusrancher on Nov 14, 2019 18:37:56 GMT -6
No VFD needed for Monensin. Haven't fed anything with the antibiotic Chlortetracycline in it for ~20 years. Glad I rechecked this post. Autocorrect just changed VFD to VD.Damn autocorrect. But VD is prevalent in some herds. . . . . Thanks for the info on the Monensin, will check with the local CoOp's. One may have it, the other can prob get it. Just got a cow in I've been watching for a week. No visible/obvious symptoms other than she looks thin and today she was a little drooly. Temp 107.8. What?!? Took it twice. Hit her with Resflor Gold, keeping her at the barn, see how she does over the weekend (I'm out of town tomorrow) but will prob take her in Monday. Still has a voracious appetite, was with the herd, no droopy ears, snotty, watery eyes, coughing. I got nuthin. She did have an abscess a couple months ago and I flushed, gave her penicillin and it healed beautifully. Or did it? Systemic infection or asymptomatic pneumonia? I'm sooo over the sickness!!! Just in time for the real brutal winter - and calving Gosh.....good luck with her. Let us know. |
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Post by tcranch on Nov 15, 2019 8:30:32 GMT -6
Checked my cow last night and she was plowing through the hay. She looks great this morning, no drool and devoured her cubes. Will take her temp again tomorrow and go from there. Seriously have no clue but cautiously optimistic. Happy, healthy looking calves this morning!
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Post by tcranch on Nov 18, 2019 12:46:27 GMT -6
Dang! Anaplamosis. But hopefully caught it early enough to recover (other than she'll be a carrier). Temp normal, heart/lungs sound great, due Mid March. Treated with LA and let her join the herd. Still cautiously optimistic - been down this road before.
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Post by angusrancher on Nov 18, 2019 19:03:12 GMT -6
Dang! Anaplamosis. But hopefully caught it early enough to recover (other than she'll be a carrier). Temp normal, heart/lungs sound great, due Mid March. Treated with LA and let her join the herd. Still cautiously optimistic - been down this road before. Did a quick read up on that. It's eye opening the management challenges of the different regions, and what doesn't effect other areas. How do you think it was transmitted? Drovers says likely a wood tick. |
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