Calf Management
Cow-Calf Management
 Definition-
breeding of cows and raising of
calves.
 commercial or purebred
 stockers
 facilities
 shelter
 fence
 working
equip. and facilities
From Birth to the Bank
 The
most important item in the beef cattle
industry is insuring that a cow weans a calf
& is able to rebreed in a reasonable time
 Yet, first make sure the calf is born alive
 keep the calf alive and healthy to weaning
 provide favorable environment to manage
the calf at weaning to reduce stress
 market the calf to its advantage
Keys to profitable production
of calves
 Provide
adequate forage
 common
causes of inadequate forage is
overgrazing and poor stocking rate
 Care
at calving
 Dystocia
 Use
a maternity pasture
 calving shed, clean pasture
 provide assistance only when needed
Calf Management
 1/2
the calf loss occurs at calving
 most of the trouble is with heifers
 size and weight is important, not age
 breed to easy calving bulls
 Immunization
 Vac
45 program
 Growth
Promotants- ralgro, synovex,
compudose, etc.
Feeding and Management of
Calves
 Orphans
 whole
 Early
milk, replacer, or whole with a starter
Weaning
 Creep Feeding
 Replacement heifers
Calf Management
 Management
Practices
 Identification
 Weaning
 castration
 vaccinations/
 dehorning
 implanting
immunization
Calf Management
 creep-feeding
 weaning
management / pre-conditioning backgrounding
 Backgrounding - feeding and managing calves
for 45 + days after weaning in order to be more
healthy and bunk ready
 Pre-conditioning- a way of preparing a calf to
withstand the stress and rigors of weaning
Calf Management
 Pre-conditioning
 use
minimum excitement
 work early (dehorn)
 wean 30 days early
 creep
 vaccinate
 control parasites
 health certification
Dehorning, Castration and
Identification
Dehorning

What is dehorning?


process of removing or preventing the growth of horns.
Why?
improve appearance
 reduce injuries
 increase feeder space
 improve value.


Two methods
non-invasive
 invasive

Restraint
 Very
important
 Remember safety
 Restrain
head
Non-Invasive
 Bloodless
 Young
animals
 Types
 Chemical
 Hot
iron
paste
Invasive
 Blood
flow
 Older animals
 Involves cutting or scooping the horn off of
the animals skull.
 Types
 Barnes
dehorner
 Scoop dehorner
 Keystone
dehorner
Reasons for dehorning
 Less
barn, shed or feeding space
 less injuries
 easier to handle
 feedlots prefer dehorned cattle
 sometimes bring more money
Disadvantages
 sets
the animal back due to stress
 cost and labor as well as equipment
 death loss due to bleeding
 disease spreading
 scurrs may occur if not properly done
Time to dehorn
 genetically
 calves,
early as possible
 older cattle, colder weather
Dehorning yearlings or older
 clippers,
saw or surgical wire
 Clippers
 restrain
the animal
 stand on the opposite side of the head from the
horn to be removed
 spread the clippers open and place over the
horn with the bevel next to the head.
 remove 1/4 “of the hide and tissue below the
base of the horn
Clippers
 advantages
 fast
 neat
job
 disadvantages
 severe
bleeding
 danger of cracking the skull
Saw
 restrain
the animal
 stand in front of the head and a little to one
side
 saw into the skull removing 1/4” of hide
and hair
 if anesthetic is used, use a 1”needle and
place in the hollow spot above the eye
Saw
 Advantages
 smooth
job
 less bleeding than clippers
 Disadvantages
 much
slower
Surgical Wire
 cut
the wire at arm span length
 restrain the animal
 place the wire at the base and back side of
the horn
 start with short strokes until wire is imbeded
 use long smooth stroke to remove the horn
Surgical Wire
 advantages
 smooth
job
 less bleeding
 less set back
 disadvantages
 cost
of the wire
 slow
 may need more than one piece of wire/animal
Control of Hemorrhage
 perform
dehorning early in the morning
 handle quietly as possible
 use forceps or hemostats to pull out the
veins or use a hot iron to sear them
 stuff cotton in the hole
 use sterile equipment
 never dehorn when cows are eating sweet
clover
Dehorning calves
 polled
bulls
 chemicals
 bell irons
 tube
 spoon
 barnes
 elastrator
Chemicals
 basic
substance such as KOH or NaOH
 restrain the animal
 remove hair around the button
 scrape button so that it is raw
 put ring of mineral oil around base of button
 apply chemical on button in liquid, paste, or
stick form
Tube
 different
sizes
 Tube
 restrain
the animal
 place the tube over the horn
 start at clockwise motion and push
 get below the tissue and pry out
Spoon
 restrain
the animal
 cut skin with spoon with back and forth
motion and get below the tissue
 gouge it out
 much more slowly and causes more
bleeding
Hot Iron (Bell Iron)
 restrain
the animal
 place iron over horn and press with rotating
motion
 when the entire circle around the button is
not brown in color, quit
 button will fall off in a couple weeks
Barnes type
 secure
the animal
 place the barnes over the horn at the slope
of the head
 press down and quickly spread the handles
 adv. - fast, can dehorn larger calves
 disadv. - more bleeding, danger of infection
and easier to make slips
Castration
 Inactivation
of primary sex organs for the
male
 the younger the better
 methods:
 surgical,
emasculator (burdizzo), elastrators,
ethiopian style
Castration
 What
is castration?
 process
of removing the testicles from a male.
 Why?
 prevent
mating or fighting,
 improve carcass quality
 gentle them
 Two
Methods
 Non-invasive
 Invasive
Restraint
 Calves
 On
side
 Older
 In
bull calves
chute
 Young
 On
lambs and kids
back
 Assistant’s arms
 V-shaped table
Non-invasive





Bloodless
Tetanus antitoxin
Crimps or contracts the blood vessels and spermatic cord
resulting in loss of blood supply.
Young calves or weanlings
Types:
Burdizzo
 Elastrator
 Calicrate bander
 Short-scrotumed
 Chemical castration

 Burdizzo
 Elastrator
 Calicrate
smart bander
Invasive
 Blood
flow
 Sanitation is key
 Do
not reach into the wound because it could
cause infection
 Types:
 Knife/Scalpel
 Emasculator
 Knife
 Scalpel
 Emasculator
Surgical Method
 restrain
the animal
 examine the calf to see if testes have
descended in to the scrotum
 disinfect equipment, hands, and scrotum
 grab the end of the scrotum with one hand
and pull down. cut off the lower 1/3 of the
scrotum
surgical cont.
 pull
testicles down one at a time / scrape if
necessary
 trim excess fat and membrane carefully
 disinfect the area again
 Incision method is performed much the
same way, but make an incision on each
side of the scrotum first, then pull down
each testicle through the incision
Burdizzo
restrain the animal
 do one at a time
 push teste down into scrotum and over to the side
 place the lips of the instrument over the cord 1/2
the distance between the teste and abdomen
 push handles together until the cord is crushed

Elastrators
bloodless castration method
 restrain the animal
 place the rubber band over the prongs
 spread the rubber band and push both testes down
through it
 release the band above the testes
 check later for the scrotum to fall off
 disinfect

Animal
Identification Systems
Identification Systems
• Branding
 cattle
• Ear Tagging
 cattle
 goats
• Ear Notching
 swine
• Tattooing
 cattle
 rabbits
Branding
 Used
mainly for cattle
 Two types
 Freeze
Branding
 Hot Iron Branding
 Uses
a metal instrument to burn or freeze a
mark on the animal’s hide
 Originally used to show ownership
Angle Brand System
Angle Brand System
What would be the
number of this
animal?
Answer:
95
Angle Brand System
Answer:
What would be the
number of this
animal?
140
Angle Brand System
120
What would be the
angle brand of this
animal?
Answer:
Ear Tagging
 Use
special pliers to attach pieces with
numbers on them
 Easy
to read from the front view
 Not permanent
 Can be lost or removed
Ear Tagging
Tattooing
 Uses
a special tool to put inked numbers in
an animal’s skin
 Most commonly found in the ear
 Can be used on the lips or other locations
 Permanent
 Simple and relatively painless
 Hard to read from a distance
Tatooing
Tatooing
Ownership ID- Branding
 Branding
- hot iron
 Chemicals
 Cold Branding - freeze
Branding
 heat
the irons to red hot
 restrain the animal
 place brand on hide
 check it until the surface of the brand is a
shoe brown color
 selection of the brand should be simple and
ventilated with the face smooth
Fluid Branding
 uses
potash or acids
 kills the hair follicles
 must be more careful because their is more
room for accidents and error to animals and
humans
Freeze Branding
super cold iron will burn
 dry ice and alcohol or liquid nitrogen or spray can
 restrain the animal
 clip the brand area
 clean the area and place irons to get cold
 place iron firmly until the area is sl. Harden

 Usually
50 seconds for dry ice /alcohol method
 25-30 seconds for liquid nitrogen

3-4 weeks hair will grow back
Tatooing
Rotary type- nos. are on a roller
 Standard type- nos. are loose
 secure the calf
 clean the ear
 check the numbers
 place the instrument between the first and second
ribs of the ear and clamp down
 place ink on the ear

Other Methods of ID
 Eartags
 Horn
Branding
 Earmarking
 Wattles - cutting a strip on the jawbone and
letting it hang down
 Dewlaps - cut a strip on the brisket
 Buds - cutting on incision through the nose