Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass Characteristics

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Terry J. Engelken, DVM MS
• Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal
  Medicine
• Iowa State University
• College of Veterinary Medicine

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Death loss is increasing despite new vaccines
  and antibiotics
• NAHMS 2.1 death loss in 2000
• NAHMS 2.5 death loss in 2005
• Vet Life Heifers death loss 1.3 2000
• Vet Life Heifers death loss 1.6 2005
• TCSCF 0.75 death loss in 2000
• TCSCF 1.04 death loss in 2005

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Bovine Respiratory Disease
• Largest cause of loss in the cattle feeding
  industry
• Direct losses
• - morbidity / medicine
• - chronics and deads
• Indirect losses
• - feeding performance
• - carcass losses

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• What does morbidity cost feedyards in terms of
  both direct and indirect losses?
• - medicine and death loss
• - feeding performance
• - carcass traits
• Discussion of intervention strategies
• - suckling calf management
• - postweaning management

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Texas AM Ranch to Rail (2000)

• Treated Healthy
• Head 218 1080
• Death Loss () 5.5 0.7
• ADG (lbs) 2.65 3.08
• Total COG ( / cwt) 62.32 49.03
• Medicine (/hd) 26.78 0.00

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Texas AM Ranch to Rail (2000)

• Treated Healthy
• Quality Grade
• Choice 37 54
• Select 53 43
• Standard 10 3
• Net Return () 23.21 146.17
• Sick calves were worth 20.34 / cwt. less at
  arrival

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Effect of morbidity on feedlot gain and feed
efficiency

• Number of treatments
• NT ST 2T
• ADG, lb 3.19a 3.01b 2.93c
• FG 7.15a 6.99b 6.86c
• NT not treated ST Single Treatment
  2T Two or more treatments

Busby, TCSCF (2006)
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Effect of Morbidity on Mortality
NT
ST
2T
Busby, IBC (2006)
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Effect of morbidity on USDA yield grade
distribution

• NT ST 2T P-value
• YG 12 () 56.9 67.7 73.12 lt0.01
• YG 3 () 40.7 31.11 26.54 lt0.01
• YG 45 () 2.29 1.18 0.34 lt0.01

Busby, IBC (2006)
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Effect of morbidity on USDA quality grade
distribution

• Number of treatments
• NT ST 2T P-value
• Prime, 1.61 0.90 0.9 lt0.02
• Premium Choice, 21.6 19.1 14.5 lt0.01
• Low Choice, 51.0 44.6 42.1 lt0.01
• Select, 23.5 30.4 33.1 lt0.01
• Standard, 2.2 4.9 9.2 lt0.01

Busby, IBC (2006)
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Difference in Dollars Returned per Head Relative
to the Number of Treatments

• Number of treatments
• NT ST 2T
• Death loss discount, PAR 31.07 100.04
• Treatment cost, PAR 20.60 48.43
• ADG reduction, PAR 24.49 35.71
• Yield grade premium, PAR 2.90 4.59
• Quality grade discount, PAR 10.39 19.41
• Light carcass discount, PAR 1.55 1.58
• Dark cutter adjustment, PAR 0.18 0.58
• Total difference, PAR 85.02 201.16

Busby IBC (2006)
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Effect of Lung Adhesions
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Effect of Lung Adhesions

• 25,861 carcasses TCSCF (2002-07)
• 1,105 carcasses had lung adhesions
• - 808 head were NOT treated in the feedlot
• - 297 head were treated in the feedlot
• Animals with lung lesions
• - ADG reduced (3.3 lbs vs. 3.08 lbs)
• - fewer choice and more select and standard
  carcasses
• - fewer CAB carcasses (decreased 6)
• - pull rate and treatment cost nearly doubled
• Busby (2008)

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Considerations for Suckling Calf Management

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Colostral Intake and Lifetime Health Performance
• FPT and PFPT will affect lifetime performance
• - evaluate cow herds for risk factors for FPT
• a) dystocia age and genetic selection
• b) nutritional management via BCS
• c) calving area management
• d) gestational disease weak calves
• e) mastitis

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Colostral Intake and Lifetime Health Performance
• Increased losses during the suckling period
• - FPT results in 9.5 times more preweaning
  morbidity
• - FPT results in 5.4 times more preweaning
  mortality
• - morbid calves weighed 35 lbs. less at
  weaning
• Inadequate plasma protein at 24 hours of age
• - 3.0 times form likely to be pulled with
  respy disease
• - feedyard ADG reduced 0.09 lbs. per day

Perino et al (1996)
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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Preweaning Morbidity and Subsequent
  Performance???
• Formation of lung lesions seen at slaughter
• - seen almost equally in treated vs.
  nontreated
• - subclinical disease or formed prior to
  feedlot
• Marbling is a lifetime event
• - calf that never has a bad day
• - number of times treated
• - timing of treatment compared to weaning
• - diagnosis based on body system affected

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Suckling Calf Management

• Weaning Beef Calves
• Traditionally calves are pulled off and go into
  dry lot
• - cows back to original pasture
• - no contact between cows and calves
• - get bawl out of the calves over the next
  week
• Recent research supports fenceline contact
• - calves may stay in original pasture or
  paddock
• - cows will eventually move away and not
  return
• Preweaning introduction of feed as short as 10
  days

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Suckling Calf Management

• CA research supports fenceline weaning
• Compared fenceline contact with total separation
• - fenceline calves gained more weight
• 23 lbs. advantage at two weeks postwean
• 28 lbs. advantage at 10 weeks postwean
• - fenceline calves exhibited less stress
  behavior
• walked and vocalized less
• spent more time eating and laying down

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Postweaning Considerations for Calf Health

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Animal Health, Feeding Performance, and Carcass
Characteristics

• Preconditioning has been discussed for a long
  time
• Provide a higher quality calf to the next owner
  ???
• a) Health performance normally improved
• b) Feeding performance may be better or worse
• c) Genetic base or phenotype
• Cant baste a turd!!!
• Need to include an assessment of overall
  management
• a) Weaning program and marketing options

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Effect of Weaning Status and Feedyard BRD
Faber, et al ISU, (1999)
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Vaccine Type and Morbidity
Faber, et al ISU (1999)
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Source of Cattle and Morbidity

• Single source cattle have better health
  performance
• 15,349 head in 144 lots in the TCSCF program
• Commingled at backgrounding yard prior to
  feedlot vs. preconditioned and then commingled at
  feedyard
• - single source vs. multiple sources in each
  pen
• - compared feeding and health performance

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Source of Cattle and Morbidity

• Single source and backgrounded performed the best
• - pulls reduced approximately 50
• - compared to single source preconditioned
  cattle
• a) 2 or 3 sources were 7X more likely to get
  sick
• b) gt 4 sources were 4.3X more likely to get
  sick
• c) backgrounded calves were 2.8X more likely
• - single source had better quality and yield
  grades
• a) multiple source cattle discounted 8.00 /
  cwt

• Abidoye and Lawrence (2006)

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Time it takes to Fill the Pen??

• Try to fill pen within 2 to 3 days if at all
  possible
• Morbidity is increased
• - number of sources
• - continual exposure to new pathogens
• - pulls are drawn out
• - pecking order
• Add on pens can be a real nightmare

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Routine Revaccination?
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Routine Revaccination ?

• Limited amount of data on routine revaccination
• Feedlot study on 2,600 heifers
• - 526 lbs. at arrival
• - no revacc vs. revacc at day 10 or
• day 28
• - animal health, feeding performance, and
  carcass
• - Overall 32 morbidity 7.5 deads
• Boehringer Ingelheim (2006)

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Routine Revaccination?

• Revaccination Comparison (none vs. RV10 vs. RV28)
• Control RV10 RV28
• 1st Morbidity 27.7 32.4 34.8
• Treated gt once 47.0 47.3 44.3
• Mortality 6.1 7.5 9.1
• CFR 19.3 19.8 21.7
• DMI (deads In) 14.81 14.41 14.24
• ADG (deads In) 2.43 2.35 2.31
• Carcasses lt 550 lbs 0.3 0.9 2.60
• Boehringer Ingelheim (2006)

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Routine Revaccination?

• Need to Evaluate Routine Revaccination?
• Improved animal health vs. cost of additional
  chute trip?
• Musculoskeletal injuries and injection site
  reactions?
• Best allocation of labor?
• Better to set up criteria for revacc of
  individual groups?
• View revacc as a form of mass medication?

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Pen Morbidity Pattern
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Summary

• Animal health performance can dramatically affect
  feeding performance and carcass quality
• Health performance is impacted by management of
  the calf during the suckling phase
• Must make sure that our preconditioning,
  receiving, and treatment protocols work to
  decrease morbidity

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