Good Nutrition Key to Backgrounding
by Nancy Carver Singleton
Improved nutrition reduced health problems twofold and raised average
daily gain (ADG) substantially in a morbidity study at Montana State
University, Bozeman.
The research came about because of concern over health problems and
the negative publicity about antibiotics, said Dennis Fennewald, who
did the research for his master's degree in animal science. Fennewald
is now director of marketing for the American Gelbvieh Association.
Nationally, 30 percent of feedlot calves get sick. "What we are
trying to do is raise the productivity of animals during backgrounding
and minimize the use of antibiotics," he said.
An earlier study at Oklahoma State University reported that medicine
costs alone accounted for 25 percent of reduced returns from morbidity
(illness), with the remainder due to decreased carcass value . A Colorado
State University study found that hot carcass weight, marbling scores
and yield grades are reduced for cattle treated more than once compared
to cattle not treated.
The 1,800 calves in MSU's study were housed among privately owned
ranches that used backgrounding in their own operations. All calves
had vaccinations at least three weeks prior to weaning and boosters
at weaning.
Diet was the only difference between calves in the study and the control
group.
For the first 28 days after weaning, calves in the MSU protocol were
fed 16 percent crude protein pellets at 4 lb./day that contained 100
to 150 percent of the National Research Council's requirements for
vitamins and minerals. John Paterson, a Montana State professor also
involved in the research, worked with six Montana feed companies to
develop the pellet.
For the remaining 17 days calves received whatever the rancher housing
them wished to feed. This was also what the control group was fed
for 45 days.
Fennewald said researchers were pleasantly surprised that sickness
levels were so low in the study. While 2.7 percent of finished steers
in the MSU protocol had health problems, that was less than 4.5 percent
in the control group. The difference was slight, but significant.
"All were held for 45 days--no difference in that time. All had
the same health protocol, the same vaccinations. The difference in
the two protocols was the pellet or their (ranchers') own feed for
the first 28 days," Fennewald said.
ADG for 0-45 days was 2.46 lb. compared to 2.29 lb. for the control
group, a difference Fennewald called "statistically significant."
ADG for the 0-28 day was not as notably different, with 1.91 lb. for
calves on the MSU protocol and 1.76 lb. for those in the control group.
Overall, morbid calves had 19 percent slower ADG through the 45 days
at 1.96 lb. ADG, compared to 2.42 lb. ADG for healthy calves.
Calves in the standardized health program had an average weaning weight
of 506 lb., compared to 475 lb. in the control group.
Because some ranchers are concerned about sickness and stress during
45 days of postweaning, Montana State's study also sought to identify
how much occurred during that time. "We looked at whether the
risk of owning cattle another 45 days would be offset by the gain
in those 45 days," he said.
Results showed it is. Fennewald explained that the study's goal was
to feed calves for 2.5 to 3 lb. ADG, considerably higher than the
1 to 1.5 lb. industry average. Although 2.5 lb. was not reached, calves
receiving the pellets came very close.
"By utilizing the system of time (45 days), vaccinations and
a sound nutritional program, we helped ensure the success of backgrounding,"
he said. ©
