by Jill J. Dunkel

Generally, the fall is always a busy time for receiving cattle. This year, with calf prices reaching near-record highs, more and more ranchers are electing to sell their calves after weaning instead of retaining ownership or growing the calves. So what does this mean for a feedyard? Some believe high calf prices could bring an influx of freshly weaned calves into cattle feeding operations.

“Hopefully a lot of cattle coming in are already preconditioned,” says Dr. Charles Sourk of Sourk Veterinary Clinic in Scott City, Kansas. “But we could see more calves come in this year.” Sourk is a consulting veterinarian for a wide variety of cattle feeders in Western Kansas.

How these calves are handled upon arrival can make or break a pen of cattle. Sourk says he generally mass treats any groups of high stress calves as they enter the feedyard. He also uses a nasalgen or TSV2 on calves in addition to the viral vaccines if calves are under a lot of stress or are very naive. “A nasalgen or TSV2 work on a different part of the immune system than the vaccines do,” he explains.
“Sometimes we change up the vaccination schedule as well, just depending on the cattle and their background,” he says. After giving newly arrived cattle a day to rest, Sourk vaccinates the cattle with viral vaccines. “Sometimes I drop the 7-way clostridial out of the arrival processing regimen and instead give it at revaccation time, seven to 14 days later.”

Sourk says by dropping the clostridial vaccine, you decrease the load for the immune system to work with, putting a bit less stress on the calves. He also believes the clostridials are painful and make cattle more uncomfortable.

One important aspect of receiving cattle is getting them to eat. Sourk recommends offering a lot of grass hay on arrival. “If cattle are eating and were not mass treated, sometimes I recommend topdressing feed with an antibiotic on the third or forth day if necessary. But a lot of cattle that aren’t sick won’t eat, so they won’t get the antibiotic. It really depends on the set of cattle.”

There are many ways to receive cattle, Sourk says. Overall, it’s important to consider the cattle’s background and stress level, then develop a receiving routine that best fits those calves. ©