Weighing Your Options Evaluating variables and options for spring weaning health by Bruce Derksen for the California Cattleman Weaning time for fall calving operations is around the corner and the list of health and management decisions seems to grow each year. Selections need to be made on vaccine types and details to manage repetitive health concerns require finalization. Should implants be a component of the plan? Does castration and dehorning still need to be accomplished? What about parasite controls or defenses against more unusual disorders? Before the answers to these concerns can be put into action, the weaning process itself brings its own questions says Gabriele Maier, Extension Specialist for Beef Cattle Herd Health and Production at the University of California, Davis, (UC Davis). Timing and manner both play a large role in how well the transition is made from mother’s care to the next stage in a calf ’s life. While no one knows how much precipitation the current winter will bring, if conditions are dry and resources scarce, early weaning should be considered. It can reduce nutritional demand on cows helping them regain condition before the next breeding season. “For the calves, immediately post weaning, it’s important to observe them for signs of sickness. Check their manure. If it’s too dry, they are not eating and drinking well enough. Too runny or with blood could be a sign of coccidia. Are they interested in their surroundings? If not, it could be a hint of sickness.”
Vaccination Choices Maier says vaccinations should be a part of the conversation and urges producers to administer them two to three weeks before. “It’s a very stressful day in the life of the calf. Especially if that is the 40 California Cattleman February 2021
only vaccine a calf gets, if it’s on the same day as weaning, you really have to ask, how effective is it going to be?” Choosing the type of vaccine, modified live or killed is also important. “The advantage of the modified live is you’re giving an antigen for a bigger response to a virus. It’s the real thing.” If respiratory diseases have been a significant issue in the past, she believes it makes sense to stay with the modified live. “The main factor for every vaccine is to look at the benefits and the circumstances.” But she cautions producers to never say, ‘I don’t have any disease, so I’m going to quit.’ “That would be risky, because it’s not a problem until it is. Then it might be a train wreck.” Maier notes it’s essential to keep gram negative vaccines in mind when planning inoculations. Veterinarians will provide guidance, but essentially certain vaccines given in too close a time period or handled improperly sometime ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 42
