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Careful management of purchased animals is essential to prevent health issues taking hold and ensure animals hit the ground running, without experiencing any setback in performance. The aim is to get purchased animals settled quickly into their new environment once they arrive on the farm. Ideally, animals should be housed in a well-bedded and ventilated shed, or released to a dry, sheltered paddock.
If animals arrive late in the evening or at night, they should not be released outdoors until the next day.
Weanlings that have been taken straight off the cow pre-sale may require a few days longer indoors before being released outside, while a decision may be taken if weather conditions deteriorate further to immediately house heavy bulls that will be finished intensively.
Ideally, animals should be housed in a well-bedded and ventilated shed, or released to a dry, sheltered paddock
Where housing permanently, try and group animals evenly and ideally in the batches they will be slaughtered in. Avoid sudden changes in diets – if weanlings are not accustomed to meal feeding, offering creep-feed or cooked ration will increase palatability and encourage animals to eat faster. Ensure weanlings have access to roughage in the form of hay or silage and free access to water. If transferring forward stores or bulls onto an intensive finishing diet, allow animals to settle first and then build meal intake gradually over a two to three week period.
Early detection
Early detection of health issues is critical to ensuring animals make a quick recovery, but also to prevent the spread of infection. This is most prevalent with respiratory issues. Quarantining animals for at least one week after arrival and avoiding mixing with other cattle on the farm, where possible, will help achieve this goal.
In general, routine health treatments such as worm and fluke treatment should be delayed until animals have settled
Be vigilant for tell-tale signs of ill health, such as dull, lethargic animals or poor appetite, for example. Isolating sick animals for treatment in a shed where the air space is not shared with healthy animals will help limit disease spread.
Releasing animals outdoors, even for a short period, will help their overall health status. Take note - animals should not be released into large fields where subsequent monitoring or herding will be difficult. Try, where possible, to release animals early in the day and in small groups.
Stress avoidance
Avoiding additional stress is central to reducing the risk of more serious health problems taking hold. Castration or dehorning should be delayed for at least two weeks after animals have settled into their new environment.
This will also allow sufficient time for a clostridial disease vaccine (tetanus or blackleg) to be administered in advance of any management procedures. Timing of health treatments post-arrival differs between farms. In general, routine health treatments such as worm and fluke treatment should be delayed until animals have settled. Worm treatment should also be delayed in animals that are going through the weaning process.
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