Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! In this week’s episode of Cattle Chat, the team is joined by Dr. Billy Brown, assistant professor in dairy cattle nutrition. They start the episode with a debate on when the best time is to calve out cows. Next, the crew answers a question from a listener who had a calf diagnosed with overeating disease. Finally Billy talks about some of his research on supplements and calves.
2:33 Calving Season Debate
12:13 Listener Questions: Overeating
17:21 Starting Calves with Distillers Grains
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! This episode starts off with a research update from BCI student Jordana Zimmermann. She talks about her project on rate of consumption. Next the experts discuss how to monitor herd health in a pasture. Finally the crew is joined by parasite expert, Dr. Brian Herrin to discuss the New World screwworm. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
3:28 Research Update: Consumption Rate
11:09 Pasture Herd Health
16:55 New World Screwworm
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! In this week’s episode of Cattle Chat, the team is joined by special guest Dr. Haley Larson , assistant professor of animal health at K-State Olathe. She shares her research on drones using thermal imaging to improve cattle management. Dustin Pendell continues the series on tariffs this week covering the impacts on the animal health corridor. Finally Larson discusses her research on rotating ionophores and their impact on cattle performance.
3:50 Drones for Thermal Imaging
12:03 Pasture Turnout
17:18 Rotating Ionophores
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Introducing the newest edition of Bovine Science, Pasture Pulse. For this edition Dr. Brad White is joined by Dr. Matt Miesner to discuss cattle health cases. On this episode a cow appears sick shortly after having the calf, but the cause is not easy to identify. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! In this week’s episode of Cattle Chat, the team discusses pros and cons of rotational grazing. The experts then take a listener question about a mysterious rash on their herd. Finally Dr. Conrad Schelkof gives a research update. Thanks for tuning in!
3:18 Continuous vs. Rotational Grazing
12:10 Listener Question: Rash or Herpes?
18:45 Conrad Schelkopf Research Update
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
On this episode of Bovine Science Dr. Bob Larson brings a case study where a producer had only their purebred cattle open and not crossbred. Dr. Larson and Dr. Brad White will go through how they got to the bottom of this case. They will also look at what the producer can do to keep from having this problem again.
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! In this week’s episode of Cattle Chat, the team is joined by special guest Dr. Justin Waggoner, KSU Beef Extension Specialist, to dig into the big question: When input costs rise, where can you cut without hurting your herd or your bottom line? The experts will also tackle feeding mineral after turnout for the summer. Dr. Waggoner will wrap up the episode by sharing a little about his research regarding navigating the nutritional limitations of cool season grasses.
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! In this episode we are switching things up by answering a myriad of listener questions to get producers ready for the coming season. The experts will discuss prolapses, mastitis, grass tetany, bulls and more. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
2:18 Prolapses
7:20 Mastitis
11:53 Magnesium
17:32 Bull Management
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! In this episode we are joined by Dr. A.J. Tarphoff, extension specialist at Kansas State University. The experts discuss investing in facilities and keeping them updated. Next, they answer a listener question about crossbreeding versus owning a purebred herd. Finally, Dr. Brad White asks the panel for their thoughts on giving mineral to your herd. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
2:14 Facilities
5:50 Crossbreeding
17:10 Mineral Supplementation
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! On this episode the experts dive into options producers have when faced with open cows. Next, they discuss acute interstitial pneumonia, Dr. Lubbers brings some new findings in research and the experts decide what could be coming in the future. Finally, Dr. Pendell answers a listener question which asks the amount of producers who have switched to growing row crops.
2:21 Open Cows: Loss or Treasure
10:58 Acute Interstitial Pneumonia
15:56 Listener Question: Crops
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
What causes 30-40% of pregnancies to not have a live calf? Dr. Bob Larson brings a research report article which summarizes a lot of information on pregnancy in beef cattle. Dr. Brad White and Dr. Larson will discuss new information that could be applicable when dealing with pregnancy loss in a herd.
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! On this episode the Jacob Schumacher is here to talk about his research on castration and pain. Next, Dr. Bob Larson answers a listener question regarding narrowing the calving window. Finally, the experts answer another listener question from a producer who wants to convert to a registered herd. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
3:13 Jacob Schumacher Research Update
9:34 Listener Question: Calving Window
17:40 Listener Question: ET vs. AI
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
In this episode of Herd Health a Bovine Science podcast Dr. Bob Larson and Dr. Brad White breakdown open cows. They talk about how to figure out what causes a cow to not be pregnant. They also discuss what to do once you find the problem.
Bob Larson, DVM, PhD Reproductive physiologist and Epidemiologist Beef Cattle Institute Kansas State University RLarson@vet.k-state.edu
A disease associated with lush early-season grass in many parts of North America is Grass Tetany. This disease is also called Grass Staggers or Hypomagnesemia and is caused when blood levels of the mineral magnesium become low due to a combination of plant and animal factors. Observed most frequently in the early spring when soil temperatures are low and forage is growing fast, the grass has low levels of magnesium and sodium and high levels of potassium. This combination can lead to low blood levels of magnesium and the affected cattle can show signs of nervous systems problems such as staggering, convulsions, and being down and unable to rise, and if not treated within a few hours, can result in death.
Although young, growing animals can occasionally be diagnosed with Grass Tetany (particularly if grazing grasses associated with grain production such as wheat, rye, or barley), lactating cows are the most commonly affected. Milk contains relatively high levels of magnesium and cows in late pregnancy and early lactating cows have a high dietary requirement for the mineral. In addition, deficiencies of calcium or phosphorus, which are also required in high amounts in lactating cows, will increase the risk for Grass Tetany. If a heavy-milking cow is grazing forages that are low in magnesium, it can easily become deficient in magnesium.
In cases of Grass Tetany, soil levels of magnesium are typically not deficient. But soil temperature affects magnesium uptake into the plants, and grass tetany is associated with early spring before soil temperatures are consistently warm or occasionally when warm spring weather is followed by several days of cold weather. Cool season grass pastures, particularly if fertilized with nitrogen or a spring application of potash are most commonly associated with Grass Tetany. However, even cows on unfertilized native grass pastures can have the disease if heavy spring rains promote rapid early forage growth. Forages that are prone to causing grass tetany are deficient in magnesium and sodium and have an excess of potassium. Potassium, which can be very high in lush, early-growth forage, interferes with magnesium absorption from the gut, further decreasing the amount of magnesium available to the cow.
The first signs you might see in a cow with Grass Tetany is nervousness, appearing overly-alert, and a stumbling gait. These signs progress to more evidence of restlessness and possibly aggressiveness. An affected cow’s gait may vary from being stiff-legged, to high-stepping, to staggering. An animal that has fallen and is unable to rise and has convulsions must be treated soon to prevent death. And in fact, because of the rapid course of the disease, simply finding dead cows with no previous signs of illness is commonly the first indication that you have a problem.
If cattle are identified early enough in the disease, treatment with a solution containing magnesium given into the vein will likely prevent death. If a cow has been down several hours, the outlook even with treatment is not as positive. A cow that was down or staggering but that was treated successfully by injecting a solution with high levels of magnesium and other minerals directly into a vein can appear better for a few hours and then the condition can return. To avoid these relapses, additional magnesium is usually
given by another route such as an oral paste, an enema with a magnesium sulfate or magnesium chloride solution, or subcutaneous administration of a high-magnesium solution.
As a preventive strategy, cattle (particularly late gestation and early lactation cows) grazing wheat, rye, or other cereal grain pastures or lush early-grow cool season grasses should be fed a mineral supplement that is high in magnesium for about 30 day prior to turn-out and while they are grazing forage that has a high risk of inducing Grass Tetany. It is important that cattle have a daily supply of high-magnesium mineral while Grass Tetany is a risk; so check mineral feeders frequently to avoid cattle running out of their magnesium source. Magnesium oxide is the most common source of magnesium used in cattle mineral mixes, but cattle don’t like the taste and it must be mixed with molasses, grain, soybean meal, or other palatable feed. Magnesium supplementation should continue until soil temperatures remain consistently high and forage growth has slowed.
Grass Tetany is a serious disease of cattle that can result in rapid death in a few to many cows in a pasture. It is important to know the situations, forage types, and fertilization strategies that are most likely to be associated with Grass Tetany, and to have a plan to prevent problems with appropriate mineral supplementation.
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! We are joined this week by Associate Professor Dr. Pedro Fontes sponsored by ESTROTECT. He and Dr. Bob Larson start the episode by discussing common synchronization problems. Dr. Brad White then asks Dr. Fontes about some of his research on sire nutrition and fertility. The experts finish the episode by discussing what causes pregnancy loss in the first trimester. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
3:41 Common Synchronization Problems
11:38 Sire Nutrition and Fertility
17:43 Pregnancy Losses in the First Trimester
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Dr. Bob Larson brings us another mysterious episode of Herd Health a Bovine Science podcast. In this episode we have 20% of a herd come up open. Dr. Brad White and Dr. Larson discuss how this happened and what you can do to prevent this occurring in your own herd. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show!
Bob Larson, DVM, PhD Reproductive physiologist and Epidemiologist Beef Cattle Institute Kansas State University RLarson@vet.k-state.edu
Having a highly productive herd that optimizes reproductive efficiency and forage and feed resources should be the goal of every cow-calf operation. Achieving this goal requires attention to many aspects of herd management including: heifer development, bull management, breeding soundness examinations of both bulls and heifers, forage management, forage supplementation strategies, and control of diseases that can cause infertility, early embryonic death, abortions, or the birth of weak calves.
When a fertile bull mates a fertile cow, many times a live calf is not born from that mating. If the bull and female are both fertile (i.e. producing fertile eggs and sperm), nearly 100% of matings will result in the start of a new embryo. But reproduction is complex and there are many opportunities for problems to arise that halt the normal progression of the pregnancy. In fact, it is estimated that about 30-40% of embryos are lost very early in pregnancy. If the pregnancy is lost in the first 14 days, the cow will usually be in heat again 21days after her last heat and if the bull is still in the breeding pasture, she will be bred again and have another 60% to 70% likelihood to initiate and maintain a pregnancy. This early loss is considered unavoidable and is due to the complexity of reproduction and the loss of imperfect embryos.
Because only 60 to 70% of fertile matings will result in the birth of a live calf, it is important that all or most of the cows in the herd have the opportunity to be bred three times before the bulls are removed from the breeding pasture. Using a 65-day breeding season as an example, cows that cycle within the first three weeks of the breeding season have the opportunity to re-cycle by day 42 if they lose an early pregnancy from the first mating and again by day 63 if they lose a second pregnancy – resulting in three opportunities to get pregnant and maintain a pregnancy all the way to calving. In contrast, cows that do not start cycling until the second 21 days of the breeding season only have one more opportunity to be bred if they lose the first pregnancy early enough to re-cycle. Using an average of 65% successful births of a live calf from fertile matings, 95% of cows that have three opportunities to become pregnant will give birth to a live calf. In contrast, only 88% of cows that only have two opportunities to become pregnant are predicted to give birth to a live calf.
To ensure that a high percentage of cows with calves at-side and first-calf heifers are cycling at the start of the breeding season, it is critical that they calved early in the calving season in good body condition. Remember that pregnancy in cattle lasts about 283 days; which leaves only 82 days between the birth of a calf and a mating that results in a successful pregnancy for next year’s calf if the cow is to maintain a one-year calving interval. Although there are herd-to-herd and year-to-year variations, most herds require about 50 to 70 days after calving for a majority of mature cows in good body condition to resume cycling. First-calf heifers require more time to resume fertile cycles
after their first calf than mature cows – often about 80 to 100 days. Both first-calf heifers and mature cows require additional days after calving to resume cycling if they are less than a body condition score of 5 on a 9-point scale. Once cows begin lactating, it is very difficult to add body condition; therefore, if cows are thin during gestation, you must adjust their diet so that weight is added before they calve. Careful attention to body condition during late pregnancy is critical so that necessary ration changes such as giving access to high-quality forage or lower-quality forage supplemented to meet protein and energy needs can be accomplished to guarantee good body condition at calving.
Because heifers take longer to resume fertile cycles after their first calf than after later pregnancies, it is nearly impossible for a group of heifers to have an average calving date for their second calves as three-year olds that is as early as the average date for their first calving as two-year olds. This problem can be addressed by scheduling the heifer breeding season so that heifers will calve before the cows begin calving; or at the latest, during the first few weeks of the calving season. In order to make sure that heifers reach puberty prior to their first breeding season, herd managers should measure body weight periodically from weaning to the start of breeding and make adjustments to the diet to ensure that an adequate number of heifers in the replacement pool have reached the herd-specific target weight for puberty (usually 55 to 65% of mature weight). Additionally, prior to the breeding season, a veterinarian can palpate the reproductive tract of all potential replacement heifers to determine if nearly all the heifers have palpable corpus luteum (CL) and a mature uterus indicating sufficient maturity to become pregnant to an A.I. mating or early in the breeding season. If estrous synchronization and A.I. are utilized, palpating reproductive tracts to ensure that nearly all the heifers are cycling before the time and expense of synchronization and A.I. are sunk will help protect against disappointing results.
Bulls must be able to breed all the cows that are in heat each day of the breeding season in order to achieve good reproductive efficiency. It is critical that bulls be examined for breeding soundness before the start of the breeding season. A complete breeding soundness examination will evaluate the bulls’ health, ability to move freely, and semen quality. Bulls that fail any of these criteria should not be used for breeding. In addition to a breeding soundness examination before the start of the breeding season, bulls must be observed closely the first few days of the breeding season. Some bulls have problems with movement, mounting, or breeding that are difficult or impossible to detect in a squeeze chute or small pen. Therefore, even bulls that pass a breeding soundness must be evaluated closely in the breeding pasture to make sure that they successfully breed the cows showing heat. Both bulls and cows should be examined throughout the breeding season to make sure that fewer cows are showing heat as the breeding season progresses indicating successful establishment of pregnancy, and that bulls do not develop any visible problems with feet, legs, penis, testicles, or body condition that impair breeding performance.
A number of diseases can cause cows to fail to become pregnant or to lose the pregnancy before a live calf is born. Different diseases that cause pregnancy loss act in different ways. Some attack very early in pregnancy, others are more likely to cause problems in mid- or late-pregnancy. Some are spread to pregnant cows from other cows, calves, or bulls in the same herd or from cattle in adjacent pastures. Other diseases expose the herd through contaminated feed. A plan to use available vaccines, isolation of the herd away from high-risk cattle, proper feed harvesting, storage and delivery, and appropriate use of diagnostic tests should be developed with your veterinarian to address the most important risks to your herd.
Herds that have excellent reproductive efficiency do so because herd managers and their veterinarians and other advisors address many details that affect heifer development, cow body condition, bull fertility, and disease control. The result of a reproduction management strategy that prioritizes all these aspects of animal husbandry is a herd that has early calving replacement heifers, cows that enter the calving season in good body condition, nearly all the cows resuming fertile cycles within the first 21 days of the breeding season, bulls that are fertile and able to breed all the cows that come into heat, and little or no loss of pregnancies due to disease.
In this episode of Herd Health Dr. Bob Larson brings an article studying Doppler ultrasounds on cattle. Dr. Brad White and Dr. Larson discuss what this technology could mean for the future of analyzing cows. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! On this episode we have a very special guest, Dr. Marshall Stewart, the Executive Vice President for External Engagement and Chief of Staff here at K-State. Dr. Larson begins our episode by asking the experts about the importance of outreach and extension. Next they answer a listener question concerning senior cows. Finally, Dr. Stewart and the experts give some advice on those wanting to get into ranching and where to begin. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode!
2:12 Outreach with Marshall Stewart
10:06 Listener Question: Senior Cows
14:24 Starting a Ranch
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @ksubci, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Bob Larson, DVM, PhD Reproductive physiologist and Epidemiologist Beef Cattle Institute Kansas State University RLarson@vet.k-state.edu
Every businessperson must keep his/her customers in mind in all management decisions. The cow/calf producer has two customers to please: 1) the owner of the calves once they leave the ranch and 2) the beef-eating consumer.
Once calves leave the ranch, ideally they should adapt quickly to the new environment and ration so that health problems are kept to a minimum and growth and efficiency are enhanced. Supplying calves that have been properly immunized and adapted to concentrate rations will fulfill the needs of the feeder. Lingering health problems, over-conditioning, drug or physical adulteration that will carry through to the beef-eating consumer, or injection blemishes that carry through the feeding period are concerns of your feedlot customers.
The beef-eating consumer wants a product that is safe, free from drug residues, free of injection blemishes or abscesses, and flavorful. It is every producer’s job to ensure that every steak, hamburger and roast that comes out of his farm or lot can meet the customers’ demands. Avoiding violative drug residues starts with a plan and record keeping system that emphasizes the proper treatment of disease and identification of treated animals. Proper treatment for any disease begins with using the correct drug at the correct dosage for the proper length of time. In order to ensure that you are meeting these requirements, a close working relationship with a veterinarian is essential. A commitment to keeping animals with drug residues off the consumer’s plate means identifying and delaying marketing of animals treated with a drug until such a time as they have been untreated for the minimum number of days stated on the label if the drug was used exactly as specified on the label; or for an extended period of time, as determined by your veterinarian, if the product was used in any extra-label fashion.
In addition to being assured that the beef they purchase is free of residues, consumers have every right to expect their meat to be free of injection blemishes. By following simple standards of sanitation and animal handling, the incidence of injection site blemishes should be extremely small. Animals should be properly restrained and the syringes and other dosing equipment should be clean and functioning properly. Needles should be changed every 10 head or more frequently, and no more than 10 cc should be administered in any one sight. Any product that is labeled for subcutaneous administration should be given by that route, and any products labeled for intramuscular administration only should be given into non-prime cuts, such as the neck muscles.
Cattlemen, their employees, veterinarian, nutritionist, and any others involved with the ranch must each examine what could go wrong from their prospective in the delivery of a safe, wholesome and desirable product to the consumer. Once potential problems are identified, strategies or production practices are put into place to avoid those problems from ever occurring. Methods of record-keeping, employee training, and daily practices are instituted to check and verify (and document) that you are accomplishing what you intended to do. A well-planned BQA program is designed so that everyday management activities act to eliminate potential problems.
A good place to start when planning your herds program is with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s BQA guidelines. http://www.bqa.org/
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! Dr. Brad White, Dr. Brian Lubbers and Dr. Bob Larson are joined this week by Cambree Schmaltz and Dr. Ted Schroeder. They discuss some exciting new innovations in record keeping for cow calf producers and Cambree talks about her research project looking into the economics of beef-dairy cross and serial slaughter.
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on X at @The_BCI, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! This week’s episode sponsored by ESTROTECT and brings Dr. Ken Odde to bring some insightful knowledge into some of the research he has done. Dr. Odde starts the episode by talking about selecting semen based on sex and doing so commercially. Dr. Dustin Pendell then brings some questions to the group regarding meat consumption. Finally the experts discuss twinning, and the opportunities involved in purposefully birthing twins.
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on Facebook or X and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
With new genomic technology being used for Holstein cattle in the dairy industry, will this technology assist with fertility in the beef cattle industry? Dr. Bob Larson and Dr. Brad White discuss this topic along with a review paper that looks at using these technologies on beef cattle. They also discuss how to use omics to help select cattle and improve herd fertility.
Article Discussed: N.C. Kertz, P. Banerjee, P.W. Dyce, W.J.S. Diniz. Harnessing genomics and transcriptomics approaches to improve female fertility in beef cattle – A review. Animals 13:3284, 2023 https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/20/3284
Castration is one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures done on beef cattle. The reasons that bulls are castrated include: controlling which males are allowed to breed females, to produce animals that are easier to manage due to decreased aggressive and sexual behavior, and to produce a carcass that is higher quality.
A variety of simple surgical techniques can be used to castrate a bull. Young bull calves less than 250 lbs. are usually castrated lying down or in a calf cradle. Older and larger bull calves are generally castrated in the standing position in a squeeze chute. Regardless of the position, proper castration technique and good sanitation are important to minimize problems following castration.
For commercial producers, bull calves should be castrated as young as is practical for the farm or ranch. Purebred producers castrate a smaller percentage of bull calves than commercial producers and prefer to delay castration until the calves have an opportunity to express growth and other traits. Weight gain of bulls castrated at a young age and treated with a growth-promoting implant will equal that of calves left as bulls until weaning – thus removing an economic incentive to delay castration. One reason it is recommended that castration be done at a young age is that bulls castrated at weaning age (i.e. 6-8 months) will gain very poorly or will lose weight following the surgery and are at higher risk for post-castration infection or excessive bleeding than younger calves. In addition, castration is starting to receive more attention from an animal welfare standpoint.
The reason that producers need to consider the welfare aspects of castration is that all physical methods of castration cause pain. The extent and duration of pain probably differs between castration methods, and more work needs to be done to identify the least painful procedures. Age at castration also appears to affect the pain response in castrated bulls, with some research trials demonstrating fewer indications of pain in calves castrated at less than a week of age compared to older calves; and other trials show apparently less pain response in calves castrated less than 21 days of age compared to 42 day old calves.
As we look at other countries and how they view castration of bulls – in England, regulations require that any bull greater than two months of age be given local anesthesia to deaden the ability to feel pain at the castration site and the surgery must be done by a veterinarian. Anesthesia and pain medication are required for castration in several northern European countries. Anesthesia is also required for castration of bulls in Switzerland and the use of rubber rings is prohibited. Regulations in Ireland require use of anesthesia for castration of cattle older than six months of age. In the United States, few drugs are approved for use to control pain in cattle and while research has not clarified the best combination of products, utilizing one or more methods of pain control at the time of castration is becoming common in the U.S as well.
Welcome to BCI Cattle Chat! This episode begins with our experts answering a listener question about laminitis and ways to treat it. The show progresses with a conversation concerning coccidiosis and how to tell if it’s affecting your herd. To wrap up this edition of Cattle Chat, Dr. Brad White asks the experts some commonly asked questions in their expertise
2:13 Listener Question: Laminitis
8:17 Coccidiosis
13:04 Variety Questions
For more on BCI Cattle Chat, follow us on Twitter at @The_BCI, Facebook, and Instagram at @ksubci. Check out our website, ksubci.org. If you have any comments/questions/topic ideas, please send them to bci@ksu.edu. You can also email us to sign up for our weekly news blast! Don’t forget if you enjoy the show, please go give us a rating!
