ture with his mama. Some ranchers castrate at birth, but I sure like to see that newborn get up to nurse and bond with the dam fi rst. When castrated at 2 months or younger, they heal quickly, have less hemorrhag- ing, less pain, less stress and still have the mother’s care and comfort. They are a little sore for 24 hours or so, but never miss a beat. Weight loss is minimal.” Another common management practice is the de-
horning or debudding of calves. Chemicals, a hot-iron or surgery destroys the horn bud’s horn-producing cells. Used in older animals, dehorning removes the horn and horn-producing tissue after horns have formed. Although some ranchers may elect to keep horns
intact, dehorning or debudding stock reduces the risk of injury to other cattle, employees, horses and dogs. Dehorning prevents fi nancial losses from trimming
damaged carcasses caused by horned cattle during transport to slaughter. In addition, these animals re- quire less space at the feed bunk and usually bring more at auction. Wirtz recommends debudding or dehorning while
the calf is still nursing — as soon as horn growth is evident. Dehorning at a young age is safe and the calf experiences less pain and stress. Early debudding de- creases weight loss, while older calves may experience loss of productivity. Another practice that causes discomfort in cattle
is branding. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) routinely recommends brand- ing as a means of preventing theft. After fl ooding or other serious weather events, wandering cattle with a readable brand can easily be identifi ed and returned to owners. Wirtz prefers to brand his calves at weaning. “Steers are given a holding brand (TZ) to deter theft
while growing, prior to going to the feedlot,” Wirtz says. “If we were not individually identifying [each animal],
Although some ranchers may elect to keep horns intact, dehorning or debudding stock reduces the risk of injury to other cattle, employees, horses and dogs.
it would be best done at 2 months or younger. Most large ranches brand calves at 2 months with only the holding brand. When done correctly in a good chute, pain and stress are at a minimum.” Freeze branding was developed in 1966 in the Pacifi c
Northwest. This technique requires irons made of copper or bronze, hair clippers and a supply of liquid nitrogen or dry ice and alcohol. This branding method works be- cause the pigment-producing cells are damaged by the extremely cold temperatures of the iron cooled in liquid nitrogen. Outdoor temperatures have to be cool as well, without winds that may warm the irons, causing them to lose their effectiveness. This identifi cation method works best on cattle with dark hair coats.
MORE
KANSAS STATE PATENTS TECHNIQUE TO MANAGE CATTLE PAIN By Gilda V. Bryant
Kansas State University has a patent for technology that improves the health and welfare of beef cattle and other ruminants. U.S. Patent No. 8,791,105 covers giving meloxicam alone or with gabapentin to help with acute and chronic pain. Although these human medications have not been approved by the FDA for livestock use, researchers found that these drugs improved the animal’s welfare by reducing the severity of lameness.
Meloxicam appears to improve weight gain after dehorning and limits the incidence of bovine respiratory disease after castration. It also decreases the reliance on antibiotics to treat and control disease in cattle, which then reduces the risk of antibiotic resistance.
tscra.org August 2015 The Cattleman 87
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