HOW MUCH FEED DO I NEED? by Mike Mehren Ph.D.

These programs all are centered on a vaccination regime. Texas A&M provides the names of the different products that fit with the specific option you choose. The others recommend the vaccines that they manufacture.

The other components of preconditioning – low stress management, high quality feed and feeding equipment to mix the ration, easily accessible bunks for the calves to eat from, and water management are every bit as important as the vaccine. Dr. Greg Lardy of North Dakota State U. provided us with some facts about feed and eating. Research that he cited showed that on day 1, the average # of calves eating was 21.7%; by day 10 the average had improved to 85%. A calf that isn’t eating is a prime candidate to succumb to any disease that might be present. What can you do to encourage the calves to eat? Grass hay is the closest in smell and taste to what the calves have been eating. Ideally, that should be the basis for your ration. We also try to get the calves to eat some extra energy, vitamins, and minerals. This can be whole corn, cracked wheat, rolled or ground barley, and some source of vitamins, minerals, and salt. I have found that using highly digestible fiber sources and products high in fat are preferable to grain as the source of extra energy. Examples of these products would be beet pulp, soyhulls, wheat by-products, and distillers by-products. This portion of the ration can be all incorporated into a pellet. Some folks use a special Starter liquid supplement. Some feed the grain and hay in a bunk and put the vitamin-mineral-salt mix in a mineral feeder in the pen. Feeds like high quality alfalfa may be too rich for the calves and cause some scouring. Silages and other wet feeds present a new and different smell and taste than anything a calf has ever encountered. Of course there is an exception to every rule and in this case that would be wet corn distillers grain with solubles. Calves seem to love this feed and eat it readily the very first day. We used to use apple pomace for this same purpose. The feed must be kept fresh at all cost! Don’t force the calves to eat the feed tomorrow that they wouldn’t eat today. I like to incorporate a feed additive such as Deccox for coccidiosis prevention in the preconditioning ration. This is done even when we have not had an outbreak before. Other items included in the starting ration are chelated trace minerals and products such as yeast, enzymes, and cell wall fractions. These latter products are used to stimulate the bugs in the paunch, which in turn helps to encourage the calf to eat.

The ration needs a higher concentration of nutrients than would normally be fed during a calf wintering or backgrounding program. This is due to the lack of feed intake especially during the first week or two. A good receiving, creep, or preconditioning ration has the following:

NUTRIENT	PERCENT OF DRY MATTER
Crude Protein	12.5 – 14.5
Dry Matter	80+ or higher
TDN	63-68
Calcium	0.6 -0.8
Phosphorus	0.4 - 0.5
Potassium	0.8 – 1.4
Magnesium	0.25-0.30

Water can be an issue. If a calf has never drunk from a pond, trough, or tank he may not recognize your water tank. You might have to let it run so he can hear it. Water trough cleanliness is a must. If possible, it’s best that pens not share water troughs; that helps prevent the spread of disease from one pen to another.

Dust control reduces irritation to the eyes, nose, and mouth of the calves. This and good pen surface condition are part of the overall calf comfort program.

Waggoner and others at New Mexico State Univ. conducted a study on the length of preconditioning on feedlot performance and carcass. They compared a 20 day vs 21 to 40 day vs 41 day to 60 periods. They found that net income increased as the length of preconditioning increased. The improvement from 41 days to 60 days was much less than the improvement from 21 to 40 days. This study provided good support for the 45 day preconditioning program that was first promoted by Texas A&M. This study didn’t look at health during the preconditioning period or the finishing period, however since health is so closely related to profit, I’d assume that the calves on the longer periods were healthier. We want to get things done as fast as possible, whether it’s running cattle through the chute, sorting, or weaning. In this case, it looks like the slower the better.

In years past, buyers did not pay a premium for preconditioned calves, which seriously hurt the progress of this process. After all, if I don’t get any reward, why go to the expense and bother of this special treatment? However, that has changed dramatically and will become even more important in the future. Right now calves that are in a ‘certified’ preconditioning program bring more money than calves with no treatment.
In the future, not only will the calves need to be source and age verified, but they will need to be preconditioned if you hope to get ‘full’ market value for your calves. There is no doubt about the value of preconditioning if you plan to retain ownership of your calves through slaughter. The reduction in sickness and death, and improvement in performance have been validated many times.

Preconditioning feed does not have to be expensive. Simple rations made of hay and whole corn or other source of energy work just fine. Since the length of time is relatively short, changing rations is not advised. The cattle are under enough stress without the added stress of a new smell, different texture, wetter/drier, etc. The supplement portion of the ration can all be put in a loose mineral, a liquid, or pellet. I prefer to feed it mixed in to the ration; however any means of getting it fed to the cattle will work. If you plan to retain ownership I recommend that you extend the preconditioning period to 40 days.

Mehren’s politically incorrect dictionary defines Compudunce as a person not too handy with the computer.

Michael J. Mehren, Ph.D. is a livestock nutritionist who claims his laziness is actually stress management. He may be contacted in his laboratory at mehrens@eotnet.net.