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Central Texas | When calves (150-300#)are received they a put into a pen with fresh water, free choice grass hay and a small amount of a corn gluten/soy hull blend. after 1 or 2 days they are moved to a grass trap where they still have free choice hay and the cg/sh blend. for the first 2 weeks they receive all the cg/sh pellets they will eat. after 2 weeks they are limited to 1-1.5% of body weight so they will not get too fat for grazing. each weeks group of calves are kept separate from the others for the first 3-4 weeks. When all calves in a group are healthy and eating well they are added to the other started calves.
calves are not processed until day 5 (day 1 = sale day) At processing they are given blackleg, killed respiratory vaccines. wormed and bulls are banded and given tetanus toxoid. Also each calf is given a shot of Excede antibiotic at the base of the ear, as per the label. the reason for waiting 5 days to process is most infections have a 5-10 day incubation period and an earlier antibiotic administration could play out before infection sets in. Since I have been using Excede, my treatment rate is less than 5% and death loss from all causes is less than 2%. BRD has become a minor issue with this program.
I hope you find this info helpfull. | |
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Advice on starting lightweight calves
