There has possibly never been a greater focus on healthy animals in recent years as there has been this year due to one primary factor – their value.

Martbids analysis shows that the average bull weanling is somewhere in the region of €900/head ahead of last year, and while as farmers we always look to take the best care of our animals as is possible, it is critical this year that whether we are retaining stock or selling them on to other farmers or exporters that these animals continue to thrive and develop with low mortality levels.

This focus on health was one of the key topics at last week’s mart events, with the Irish Farmers Journal along with our partners MSD Animal Health, XL Vets, Munster Bovine and FBD Insurance hosting two mart events in Ballinasloe mart in Co Galway and Castleisland mart in Co Kerry.

On Tuesday in Ballinasloe, local vet Conor Geraghty, of FarmGate Veterinary, and Cara Sheridan of MSD discussed how best to keep beef cattle, particularly suckler weanlings, healthy this autumn.

Correct weaning

“If animals get some creep [meal] before weaning, they are less likely to suffer stress at weaning” stated Geraghty.

“Looking at a calf this time of the year, they are getting three to four litres of milk from the cow and plenty of grass. If they are getting creep, at least when they are weaned, the creep is the constant there pre and post weaning.

“Historically, calves might have been pulled off cows, put into a shed and put on silage, and then maybe some meal thrown out in front of them. On top of all this change, calves could maybe eat too much meal then and get sick.”

Creep grazing calves ahead of cows “once you have good fences” and using paddle devices that restrict the suckling of calves were cited by Geraghty as two ways in which stress at weaning could be reduced alongside creep feeding.

“In the two weeks before or after weaning we are trying to avoid any stresses such as dehorning or castration”.

Housing

“If you put eight weanlings in to one pen and 10 weanlings in to another, you are generally going to see the same liveweight gain per pen; the 10 are going to put on less weight [per animal] than the 8. If you over stock pens, calves aren’t going to do as good.”

The three key parameters set out by Geraghty with regard to cattle housing were that sheds should be:

Outlet spacing per animal was required to be 0.1m², with the inlet spacing being between two and four times this amount, with the outlet being made up of either a covered canopy or space sheeting in the roof.

“If you’re in a shed with space sheeting in it with no cattle, the rain will come through, but in a shed filled with cattle, the warm air rises due to the stack effect and it will keep the rainfall out.”

Stale air in a shed will generally lead to respiratory problems, stated Geraghty.

Outlet spacing is generally not the issue, according to Geraghty, with inadequate inlet spacing being a more common problem.

“Walls are too high, they should be 6ft but they are 8ft because that is the size of the [shuttering] pans. A lot of vented sheeting used on the sides is only 5% porous, in comparison to space boarding which is 25%.

“Again, if we are building a shed on to a shed on to a shed, we are taking away a lot of this inlet spacing altogether.”

Pneumonia and identifying it

Respiratory diseases, primarily pneumonia, are the most common cause of mortality in cattle above six weeks of age, according to data from the regional veterinary laboratories across the country. The common signs of pneumonia include:

“If weanlings have a temperature of 39.5°C or over, they probably have pneumonia,” stated Geraghty, with correct treatment and following the treatment protocol for its duration essential.

“The best way to handle weanlings after buying them or weaning them is to feed them a small amount of meal twice a day” added Geraghty, with a simple, straightforward scoring system easily identifying sick calves, with early identification and treatment essential.

“Whatever treatment they are on [if sick] needs to continue for at least three days after their temperature goes down.” The scoring system, Geraghty pointed out, was an easy way for people who might not be seeing their cattle every day to simplify sick animal identification for whoever is feeding the cattle for them.

Vaccination

MSD’s Cara Sheridan highlighted research data that showed that sub-clinical cases of pneumonia, where there were no obvious signs of sickness in an animal but they shared a pen with a clinical case, resulted in animals taking one month longer to fatten.

While vaccination is not a replacement for the good animal husbandry and handling mentioned beforehand, it does complement it.

“It takes a bit of pre-planning, as the last thing you want is having to house cattle that haven’t been vaccinated” stated Sheridan.

“Where a two-dose vaccination protocol was being implemented with a six-week interval in between the doses, then it was essential that farmers worked backwards from their planned weaning and housing dates to ensure that calves had full immunity from the vaccine before either event.”

Reading the data sheet and calibrating the vaccination gun beforehand is essential.

“If it’s a 5ml dose or a 2ml dose, ensure that they get the correct amount. Sheridan advised farmers to carefully handle vaccines and to change needles as advised with bacteria on the skin of animals a risk in reducing efficacy.

A 1” long 18-gauge needles should generally suffice.

Picking the correct vaccine for your farm was something that should be discussed with your own vet regarding your own circumstances, stated Sheridan.

While some farmers chose to give the two shots six weeks apart for their own cattle before weaning, farmers buying in unvaccinated weanlings obviously did not have this option, with many opting for a live vaccine for rapid coverage after weanlings had been rested for 24 hours after arrival, though this also depended on facilities, the help available and the temperament of the cattle.