RESUMO
A total of 80 crossbred, high-risk heifers (initially 250 ± 4.2 kg BW), were transported from an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma sale barn to the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Research Center. Cattle were unloaded and randomly placed into one of four receiving pens and provided ad libitum hay and water. Each pen was randomly assigned to one of the four rest times before processing: (1) immediately upon arrival (0); (2) after a 6-h rest period (6); (3) after a 24-h rest period (24); and (4) after a 48-h rest period (48). After all cattle were processed, heifers were allotted into individual pens with ad libitum access to a receiving ration and water. Heifers were weighed individually on d 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 to calculate average daily gain (ADG). Feed added and refusals were measured daily to determine dry matter intake (DMI). A fecal egg count reduction test and analysis of blood serum metabolites were also conducted. All data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS (v. 9.4, Cary, NC) with individual animal as the experimental unit. Processing time did not impact (P > 0.05) heifer BW or ADG. From d 0 to 35, DMI decreased linearly (P = 0.027) as rest time increased. The number of days for heifers to reach a DMI of 2.5% BW was linearly increased (P = 0.023) as rest time increased. There was no evidence of differences (P ≥ 0.703) among rest times for feed efficiency. While morbidity did not differ between treatments (P > 0.10), mortality increased linearly (P = 0.026) as the time of rest increased. A significant processing time × day interaction (P < 0.0001) was observed for the prevalence of fecal parasites, where the percentage of positive samples was significantly lower 14-d after anthelmintic treatment, regardless of the processing time. Serum IBR titer for heifers processed at either 0 or 6-h upon arrival was significantly higher (P < 0.01) on d 35 compared to d 0. Heifers processed after a 48-h rest period had significantly higher glucose values (P < 0.01) on d 0 compared to heifers processed at 0, 6, or 24-h. In summary, rest time prior to processing did not impact receiving calf growth performance. A 6-h rest period upon arrival appeared to be most beneficial to DMI. Anthelmintic treatment at processing reduced the parasitic load in heifers processed at all times. Vaccine titer did not increase after initial processing in heifers processed 24- or 48-h after arrival, indicating the seroconversion of IBR antibodies during the longer rest period.
RESUMO
Practicing veterinarians (n = 148) who service commercial beef cow-calf herds responded to a survey describing general recommendations made to their clients in terms of vaccine protocol, health, and production practices. Responding veterinarians represented 35 states in the United States and 3 provinces in Canada. More than 50% of responding veterinarians devote over 50% of their practice to service commercial cow-calf producers. The largest group (33%) of veterinarians have been in practice for over 30 yr. Thirty-nine percent of responding veterinarians serviced more than 10,000 cows. Genetic advice is provided by 54% of practicing veterinarians. When vaccinating at branding, the most common recommended vaccines are clostridial (96%), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR; 94%), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV; 91%), parainfluenza-3 (PI-3; 90%), and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) Types 1 and 2 (78 and 77%, respectively). When vaccinating before weaning, the most common recommended vaccines are IBR (99%), BRSV (98%), BVD Types 1 and 2 (96%), PI-3 (93%), clostridial (77%), and Mannheimia haemolytica (77%). When vaccinating after weaning, the most common recommended vaccines are BVD Type 2 (97%), IBR (97%), BVD Type 1 (96%), BRSV (96%), and PI-3 (91%). Over 60% of responding veterinarians recommended that the last preventative vaccine should be administered to cattle 7 to 21 d before shipping. The largest number of respondents (38%) recommended that the earliest age their clients should wean their calves is 90 to 120 d. Castrating bull calves at an age of 0 to 7 d was recommended by 34% of respondents. Calf nutrition is considered as extremely important during a preconditioning program by 82% of responding veterinarians.