What is Preconditioning? A 45 to 60-day program (vaccination, nutritional, and management) designed to prepare young cattle to best withstand the stresses of adjustment when weaned off of the cow and entering the growing phase. Weaning typically occurs at 205 days of age but can be as early as 90 days. For a spring born calf, weaning occurs in the early fall (September – October) and mid-summer for fall born calves.
Preconditioning calves is a way that an operation can add value, whether those cattle stay on the farm or are moved into a stocker or feedlot scenario.
Nutrition Component
A good nutrition program supports growth during this period as calves’ transition from a forage and milk-based diet to a forage and concentrate-based diet.
Feed Bunk Management
- Must train calves to use a feed bunk or watering trough which can be accelerated by placing feed bunks with high quality hay top-dressed with supplemental feed perpendicular to the fence lines. This allows the calves to easily find feed when they walk the fence.
- Calves should have between 1.5 to 2 feet of bunk space per head to prevent crowding.
- Feed for weaned calves can vary and may consist of grazed or harvested forages with or without supplemental feed.
- Calves must have access to free-choice hay or grazed forages and mineral, free-choice or mixed into supplemental feed.
- Must have access to clean water
Distillers Grains Benefits
- Application for distillers coproducts
- Cooler diets (less starch, more fiber)
- Pelleting option for reduced shrink potential
- Palatability, identify sick animals in herd (not come up to feed)
- Drought conditions
° Extending forage inventory
° Increase dietary crude protein and energy - Begin by offering distillers grains at 0.5% of body weight
(~2-3 pound) and increase by 0.5-1.0 pound every day
as needed. - Provides a consistent source of digestible protein and energy.
Main Goals
- Acclimate calves to eating from a bunk and drinking from a waterer
- Provide time for complete vaccination and booster program
- Allow calves to re-gain lost weight due to weaning stress.
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*These results are not a guarantee of nutritional value, as laboratory results are influenced by factors beyond the control of POET Bioproducts.
