Purchasing weanlings: preparing your health strategy for a successful winter

Weanlings are, in general, running a little more expensive than last year – all the more reason to ensure that you buy healthy animals. Unfortunately, bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is still the number one killer of adult cattle in Ireland and one of the greatest sources of worry for farmers buying or preparing weanlings at this time of year. BRD in weanlings has many contributing issues, involving the animal, the environment and the various agents that cause lung infections (lungworm, viruses, bacteria and mycoplasmae).

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is still the number one killer of adult cattle in Ireland and one of the greatest sources of worry for farmers

Though much emphasis is placed on the agents that cause BRD, it is important to realise that successful disease management will only result from a control programme that includes a variety of aspects. Like training for football, a farmer must prepare for the “Home” match and the “Away” match when deciding on a strategy for weanling purchase and management.

The “Home” match

Before you travel to view potential purchases, ensure your home farm has been adequately prepped. Having a dry, sheltered paddock with easy access to clean water and feed troughs is essential. Ensure grass coverage is good and that there are similar follow on paddocks for subsequent days when supply becomes tight.

Having these paddocks close to handling facilities would be an added bonus to minimise handling. This preparation will allow your purchased animals to rest and recover from the transport and will afford you time to dose animals with vaccines and anti-parasitic products before you house them in a low stress environment.

Ideally, purchase animals at least three to four weeks before housing, but even two weeks would allow you to start these treatments at grass.

This preparation will allow your purchased animals to rest and recover from the transport and will afford you time to dose animals with vaccines and anti-parasitic products

Prepare your housing well in advance. The sheds should be power-washed, disinfected and dried before use. Housing should be conducted on a dry day onto loose straw bedding at a low stocking rate. Easy access to water and creep-feed is essential to minimise stress in their new environment. Good ventilation while avoiding draughts is crucial.

Light is also very important – not only to allow animals to find water, feed etc, but also to ensure the stockperson detects disease early. Minimise mixing of groups (especially of different ages), moving animals between groups, or stress to animals prior to housing (transport etc).

Different age groups should be housed separately, preferably in different air spaces, as older animals that were previously infected can shed organisms and infect younger animals. Stocking density should also be monitored to avoid humidity problems.

The “Away” match

When standing in a mart or purchasing livestock directly, it is hard to determine if weaning has been carried out correctly or not. All farmers have their own weaning process, varying from abrupt total weaning to staged partial removal of cows. Creep access to new pasture facilitates the reduction of the calf-cow bond, lowering weaning-related stress.

Aside from the standard advice of avoiding dehorning or castration at weaning time, vaccinations should be administered at least two weeks either side of weaning, as the stress involved may interfere with vaccine effectiveness. Ensuring animals are consuming at least a kg of meal prior to weaning means that the production hit of milk removal is lessened.

A quick visit to see the weanlings in their home environment can help to enlighten the purchaser if the above procedures are in place. If purchasing direct, find out the source of the meal used, as using the same feed (quantity and type) after they arrive on your farm will minimise nutritional stress.

Watch how they move and match the age to weight ratio – animals that have suffered a setback may be well behind target versus age, though this can be quite variable in accuracy and reliability

Mart purchasing is a little more challenging, though animals bellowing, sweating or showing great unease are better avoided, if possible. Have a protocol for examination and follow it every time or you increase the chances of missing something – I start with the skin, including the eyes, and examine all over for lumps, ringworm etc, moving from head to tail. Gut fill (whether the hollow in front of the hook bones is deep or not, whether the animal’s abdomen bounces up and down easily if they run) and breathing rate are worth assessing.

Observing the animals in the pen for their general demeanor, coughing, nasal discharges, runny eyes, presence of scour in the pen or on the animals, lameness, correct castration and hernias can make a visit to the pen well worthwhile beforehand.

Watch how they move and match the age to weight ratio – animals that have suffered a setback may be well behind target versus age, though this can be quite variable in accuracy and reliability. If you know the seller, find out what they were fed (brand of meal etc) as outlined above. In this “away” match, you are fighting against the threat of poor weaning practices and variable disease exposure history.

Minimise the latter by buying from as few sources as possible – ideally from only a single farm.

The “Second Round Home” match

So, now your purchases have arrived on-farm. What are the next steps in successful management? If it is possible, pass the animals gently through a race on arrival, to implement parasite treatment and take their temperature.

Any animal with a fever of 104°F or greater warrants further attention

Any animal with a fever of 104°F or greater warrants further attention. Temperature assessment will help in early identification of disease for animals that are not overtly ill.

It is advised to release the animals for a short time into small, secure paddock, to unleash any pent-up energy and avoid them over-exerting. Having meal in the trough may help them to settle.

Allowing them to rest for a few days before beginning vaccination is probably worthwhile. Carrying out a cough count (an assessment of how many coughs you hear in the group over a two-minute period in resting animals) each day may help in early detection of deteriorating disease status.

Careful herding like this for a few days may identify animals earlier for a further temperature assessment and those that need treatment.

Long-acting novel antibiotic injections, have been licensed over the past number of years for both treatment and prevention of pneumonia. Antibiotics, however, are really only useful in controlling losses in the early stage of a potential outbreak, or as a preventative when animals arrive after extended transport.

Antibiotics, however, are really only useful in controlling losses in the early stage of a potential outbreak

Their usage should be minimised, as indiscriminate use encourages the development of resistance and increases the risk of residue violations.

Any impending outbreak of pneumonia should involve immediate consultation with your vet, as they are best placed to advise you on all the treatment options available.

Parasite control

Lungworm should always be eliminated by the use of an effective anthelmintic dose on arrival and again at housing.

Consider also using a fluke dose on arrival, which is repeated six to 10 weeks after housing, with another dose administered six weeks later for animals sourced from high-risk areas.

Seek advice from your vet to ensure that the flukicide product you use is effective against early immature fluke.

Rumen fluke control may also need to be considered in animals from some farms. It is not advisable to rely on faecal testing alone to guide the need for treatment for either liver or rumen fluke.

A product that is effective against sucking and biting lice is also worthwhile on arrival, repeated again at housing.