Basic Calf Management Practices - Beef Quality Assurance Demonstration

Joe C. Paschal

Professor and Livestock Specialist

Texas Cooperative Extension

I. Plan Cattle Work

A. Review corrals and chutes (repair as necessary)

B. Decide on what is to be done (make a list) and get equipment ready (syringes cleaned, branding irons shaped, sharp edges on dehorners and castration devices sharpened)

C. Order supplies (pharmaceuticals and biologicals) and read the labels for dosages, routes of administration, withdrawal dates and keep a record of the products used and how and when they were administered and to what

II. Pen Cattle (reduce stress)

III. Sort cattle to be worked (calves separate from cows and bulls, open or dry cows from wet)

IV Prepare for working

A. Clean area to place equipment (implant gun, syringes, ear tags and tagger, etc)

B. Ice box with cool packs to keep vaccines and bacterins away form light and heat

C. A "sharps" container to place needles in after 10 or less uses

D. A bucket with disinfectant to clean dehorners, emasculators, knives, etc of blood

IV. Work cattle (slowly, minimize dogs, canes, ropes and hotshots)

A. Calves

1. Restrain calf - chute, table, or ground (use a halter to immobilize head)

2. Give vaccinations

a. Subcutaneous (under the skin) in the neck (or in any loose skin fold)

b. Intramuscular (in the muscle) in the neck area

c. Never more than 5 cc in one place for calves

3. Ear tag (can be identification or an external parasite control tag or both)

4. Castrate steers (give a tetanus toxoid but do not place anything in the wound)

a. Knife or emasculator - cut bottom 1/3 - ½ of scrotum and pull or serrate cords holding testicles until they separate

b. Burdizzo - place both testicles in the bottom of the scrotum and crimp parallel to the body half way up the scrotum and slightly offset (left and right)

c. Place both testicles in the bottom of the scrotum and place the opened band close to the body (remember to hold the elastrator with the open end toward the calf's body)

5. Branding (if you hot iron brand make sure you do it before you use an alcohol or petroleum based external or internal parasite control product)

a. Stretch the tail up directly over the calf's spine,acts as a spinal block

b. The branding iron should be gray (not pink and certainly NOT red!)

c. Place the iron flatly and firmly on the brand location and rock the brand slightly up and down and left to right for a good clean brand

d. A good brand should look like a new leather sole

6. Deworm calves (if using an injectable product use the proper route and dose)

7. Dehorn calves (do not put anything on the wound, especially a hot iron!, as it delays the healing process. You may want to pull "bleeders" but it is NOT necessary)

a. Paste - at an early age this works well, place on the horn buds and do not let it run into the ears or eyes of the calf

b. Electrical (Buddex) or hot iron - at an early age these methods burn a ring around the horn bud and kill it's growth

c. Scoop or spoon - at an early age these can remove the horn buds with minimal blood loss

d. Barnes dehorners - these come in different sizes for different size calves to cut the horn away from the skull (one size does not fit all), make sure you take a ring of hair with the horn.

B. Adult animals

1. Same principles apply as with calves except that you should make sure that you are going to keep the animal for at least the longest withdrawal date of the products you are using before you apply anything (for example working a cow that you find open and decide to sell)

V. Completing the Work

A. Allow cows to "mother up"with their calves before turning them out.

B. Pick up trash and dispose of it properly.

C. Update your cow working records.