I apologize for being absent from the website and facebook over the last few weeks, things have been pretty hectic. We started filling the feedlot on October 19th and are now at over 2500 head. It was a whirl wind of cattle arriving and processing but we managed to power through and the feedlot is full. Now if mother nature would just pick a temperature! With new calves in the feedlot, their health is fragile and the static temperatures are causing weakness and illness. Pneumonia is a major problem this time of year with changes conditions and stress from shipping, weaning, and processing. The calves are very susceptible to many illnesses and the vaccines given during processing take at least 14 days before they become effective. Giving Draxxin during processing allows us about 10 days of defence for the vaccines to kick in. Hopefully we can keep the overall health in check and get them through until the vaccines are in full effect.
The cows are still out grazing on our rental pastures. We have been lucky enough to gain access to stubble fields and other land to extend their grazing time away from the home land. We will likely have to bring them home in the next two weeks. Once back home, we will be able to wean off the calves and move the cows onto some corn grazing for a while. Hopefully this storm doesn't hit too hard and accelerate that time line too much! This weather is hard on this years calf crop as well so checking your cow heard is vital in catching the symptoms early enough. Such a shame to lose any calves right before weaning.
Hopefully with the feedlot full and cows coming home soon, I will be able to get a few more blog posts out regarding nutrition and how the rumen functions. Please let me know if you have any topics that you would like me to cover. Wishing everyone a safe and healthy winter! Let's hope we get some moisture in the ground before it gets too cold!
Comments