With persistent dry conditions across most of the country, there will be a large imperative to wean beef calves early during the summer months. While this will help to ease the pressure on the feed budget, it will come with risks to the health of the calves.

There two basic ways of approaching the risk. One will be to reduce stress during the weaning process, and the second is to increase their levels of immunity to diseases that commonly manifest after a stressful weaning.

Some key factors to consider:

Good nutrition:
Have feed available in yard as soon as weaners are drafted.
Feed high quality ration, as hay alone is not enough.
Provide 20-30cm trough space/head to prevent bullying.
Ensure plenty of access to fresh water.
Avoid sudden changes in type/amount of feed. Ease on and off to allow adaptation of rumen microorganisms.

Environment:
In seasonal calving herds, don’t mix mobs of weaners together in the yards. If you plan to mix them, do this after the yard weaning. Exceptions to this rule will be year-round calving extensive beef herds segregating weaners based on size.
Reduce dust in the yards using sprinklers.
Ensure good hygiene by not feeding them on the ground. Use feed troughs, and elevated feeders.
Accustom weaners to human contact – calmly work them though the yards for 5-7 days.

Vaccinations:
Vaccinate for clostridials (7-in-1) and pneumonia with Bovishield MH-One, plus drench for internal parasites using an injectable drench like Dectomax.
Have a pestivirus management plan to prevent an outbreak during the weaning.

Worm egg counts are used to guide the optimal time to drench. The threshold to when drenching is economical has a few considerations that are good to know:

Age of the animal
Focus on young animals <12 months of age.
Age-related immunity will produce lower WECs as animals age.
Depending on the worm species, significant immunity develops to worms between 12-24 months of age assuming exposure from birth.
Older cattle will be susceptible if relocated from low rainfall to high rainfall zones until they have had an equivalent period to develop immunity.

Faecal consistency
Liquid faeces are likely to yield fewer eggs, even when expressed on a per gram basis. This is particularly true for Ostertagia spp where animals can be dying from the infection with few eggs detected.

WEC vary from day to day
Correlation of WECs with worm burdens is less accurate as the animal ages and are an indirect measure of parasite load.
A WEC does not assess the immature, non-egg laying stages.

Life cycle of internal parasites
It’s best to sample at least 6-8 weeks after rain to allow worms to get to the egg laying stages of their lifecycle. Cattle may be at significant risk of developing Type 2 Ostertagiasis with a high load of inhibited larvae in the abomasum lining but zero or very low WEC. When the risk of this is high, a blood test assessing ‘pepsinogen’ detects abomasum inflammation.

Available feed
Pasture length and quality are important.
Feed restrictions increase the impact of relatively low burdens.
Larvae have limited ability to climb grasses, so the longer the feed cattle are grazing, the lower the re-infection rate.

This is a happy time of year when many young foals are joining us. However, a thing that is often overlooked, especially in non-racing breeds, is the conformation of their lower legs. Some limb deformities can, if untreated, become permanent disabilities rendering horses unsound for life.

Common angular limb deformity (ALD) sites include above the fetlocks and above the carpi (knees). These abnormalities of the bone can cause the leg to angle into or away from the body.

Preventing ALD can be difficult in many cases. Feeding foals a balanced diet, and restricting feed intake and exercise during periods of fast growth can be beneficial. Remedial farriery early in life can help, and often resolve, minor ALD.

In cases not responsive to conservative management we recommend surgery. This may involve a periosteal elevation (strip) or a trans-physeal screw. These surgeries work by either increasing or decreasing growth on one side of the limb and absolutely need a functional growth plate to work. Strict timeframes apply and performing surgery early gives a much better chance of complete resolution.

Fetlocks must receive a strip by one month of age, or a screw by 4.5 months of age. Knees must receive a strip by 3 months, or a screw by 15 months.

If you are concerned about the conformation of your young foal please call us to have it assessed by one of our experienced veterinarians. Waiting for them to ‘grow out of it’ is highly discouraged because some of them never will!