Improved nutrition reduced health problems twofold and raised average daily gain (ADG) substantially in a morbidity study at Montana State University, Bozeman.

The research came about because of concern over health problems and the negative publicity about antibiotics, said Dennis Fennewald, who did the research for his master's degree in animal science. Fennewald is now director of marketing for the American Gelbvieh Association.

Nationally, 30 percent of feedlot calves get sick. "What we are trying to do is raise the productivity of animals during backgrounding and minimize the use of antibiotics," he said.

An earlier study at Oklahoma State University reported that medicine costs alone accounted for 25 percent of reduced returns from morbidity (illness), with the remainder due to decreased carcass value . A Colorado State University study found that hot carcass weight, marbling scores and yield grades are reduced for cattle treated more than once compared to cattle not treated.

The 1,800 calves in MSU's study were housed among privately owned ranches that used backgrounding in their own operations. All calves had vaccinations at least three weeks prior to weaning and boosters at weaning.

Diet was the only difference between calves in the study and the control group.

For the first 28 days after weaning, calves in the MSU protocol were fed 16 percent crude protein pellets at 4 lb./day that contained 100 to 150 percent of the National Research Council's requirements for vitamins and minerals. John Paterson, a Montana State professor also involved in the research, worked with six Montana feed companies to develop the pellet.

For the remaining 17 days calves received whatever the rancher housing them wished to feed. This was also what the control group was fed for 45 days.

Fennewald said researchers were pleasantly surprised that sickness levels were so low in the study. While 2.7 percent of finished steers in the MSU protocol had health problems, that was less than 4.5 percent in the control group. The difference was slight, but significant. "All were held for 45 days--no difference in that time. All had the same health protocol, the same vaccinations. The difference in the two protocols was the pellet or their (ranchers') own feed for the first 28 days," Fennewald said.

ADG for 0-45 days was 2.46 lb. compared to 2.29 lb. for the control group, a difference Fennewald called "statistically significant." ADG for the 0-28 day was not as notably different, with 1.91 lb. for calves on the MSU protocol and 1.76 lb. for those in the control group. Overall, morbid calves had 19 percent slower ADG through the 45 days at 1.96 lb. ADG, compared to 2.42 lb. ADG for healthy calves.

Calves in the standardized health program had an average weaning weight of 506 lb., compared to 475 lb. in the control group.

Because some ranchers are concerned about sickness and stress during 45 days of postweaning, Montana State's study also sought to identify how much occurred during that time. "We looked at whether the risk of owning cattle another 45 days would be offset by the gain in those 45 days," he said.

Results showed it is. Fennewald explained that the study's goal was to feed calves for 2.5 to 3 lb. ADG, considerably higher than the 1 to 1.5 lb. industry average. Although 2.5 lb. was not reached, calves receiving the pellets came very close.

"By utilizing the system of time (45 days), vaccinations and a sound nutritional program, we helped ensure the success of backgrounding," he said. ©