Well, Fall is here. Considering the economics of the industry, dry areas, and lowered calf prices, many ranchers and owners are contemplating retained ownership of calves to finish them out in feed yards, adding value to their product, and hopefully recapturing lost profits. Decisions to retain ownership were postponed until recently, and there appears to be an attempt to "catch up" with ranch based programs used to avoid losses in feed yards due to pneumonia.

Most ranch origin calves fall into the "high risk/unexposed" category, meaning they are naive and susceptible to disease upon entry into feed yards. These animal often come in, walk and bawl for three days or so, find the waterers and feed bunks, then show good feed consumption until approximately day eighteen to twenty-five, and then show dramatic increase in morbidity for up to thirty days more, and related death loss increases. When considering cause of death in feedlot cattle of naive, ranch type origin, pneumonia is the number one cause of sickness and death loss over seventy per cent of the total.

If ranch based vaccination and management procedures have not been consistently followed throughout, results we are hoping for can be less than desirable. The most successful ranch based programs rely not only on timely vaccinations of susceptible calves, and maintenance of immune function in cows, but also genetic and nutritional management of both groups throughout the entire year. The most common vaccine programs are typically begun at working/branding time in the Spring or early Summer, when calves are given Clostridial vaccine, Leukotoxoid based Pasteurella vaccine, Chemically altered modified live IBR vaccine also containing PI3, BRSV, and BVD fractions, branded, castrated, dewormed, and heifers calfhood vaccinated. Note that mere vaccination in the absence of these other programs will result in disappointing immune function of calves when received into feed yards, where stress and exposure levels are very high. Bear in mind that there is a difference between vaccination and immunization, and vaccination does not always guarantee immunization.

At weaning, when calves are separated from their mothers, full vaccination using modified live IBR/PI3, BRSV, and BVD products, along with another Pasteurella vaccine. The calves should then be put in a grass trap, fed a starter pellet according to manufacturer’s recommendations, and shipped to the feed yard at not less than thirty days.

Now, in the imperfect world in which we live, what can we do during the short time left? First, if the calves have not yet been vaccinated against common respiratory diseases, it should be scheduled as soon as possible. The procedures below have been most effective, although local conditions may change the selections. Best bet is to call your local veterinarian.

1. Bovishield 4® (Pfizer), or BRSV Vacc 4® (Bayer) modified live IBR/PI3/BRSV/BVD viral vaccine. Note that these products are not cleared for use in calves nursing pregnant cows, nor in pregnant cows themselves, but have been used successfully when weaning. These area 2 ml per head products that should be given in the neck. Being modified live, it must be mixed, and should be kept out of the sun, away from excessive heat or chemical sterilants (Nolvasan, Bactrasan, Lysol, Chlorox, etc), and given with a syringe that has not been exposed to the above.
2. Give a Leukotoxoid type of Pasteurella vaccine. This should be given in the neck, away from the viral vaccines.
3. If no Clostridial vaccinations have been given, give 2 ml of Seven way vaccine (Fortress ®or Vision®) under the skin of the neck at weaning.
4. Deworm the cattle if in indicated.
5. Wean the calves, supplement with minerals and feed to keep them healthy, and then ship to the feedyard after 30 days has elapsed. Sooner than this will result in secondary breaks – later is better. When received in the feed yard, use the standard high risk vaccination program, making mass treatment and revaccination optional, depending on the appearance and health performance of the cattle.
6. Treat sick calves on the ranch as necessary following weaning using label dose antibiotics.
7. Record all that you have done, and send with the calves.

To sum it up, we can’t solve problems using products alone. Timely management of anticipated health problems is the best method to contain feed yard animal health costs in high risk naive calves.

C.E. Deyhle, Jr., DVM