Page 25 - MWC 2-23-2023s
P. 25
Calf Scours and Calving The Midwest Cattleman · February 23, 2023 · P25
Pasture Rotation By Mark Z. Johnson
Calf scours results in sick- calves born in pasture two a week of each
ness, poor performance, med- remain as pairs in pasture other. Cow-calf
ical expenses, and death. two. pairs from dif-
Scours is a complex disease 4) Each subsequent week, ferent pastures
with many inter-related the remaining bred cows are can be commin-
causes. Agent, host, and envi- moved to a new pasture and gled after the
ronmental factors collective- the pairs remain in their pas- youngest calf is
ly explain scours and these ture of birth. four weeks of age
factors interact dynamically This results in pairs in at which time all
over the course of time. In- multiple pastures each con- Calf scours results in sickness, poor performance, medical
fected calves typically be- taining calves born within continued on expenses, and death. Photo- OSU
page 27
come ill or die from diarrhea
by one or two weeks of age.
Regardless of what causes
the disease, the first seven to PARAMOUNT
14 days of age defines the age
of susceptibility as well as
the age calves are most likely
to become infected and shed
the agents in their manure. Elevate to a more valuable female.
This is important because in
many (if not most) calving
systems the number of po- For over a decade, Red Angus females have
tentially infected calves may commanded more at auction than all other breeds,
outnumber the number of including Angus. According to Superior Livestock data,
susceptible calves resulting
in high potential to trans- Red Angus heifers brought nearly $17/cwt more –
fer a disease causing dose of that equates to a $92/head premium
pathogens. on a weaned replacement female.
Although the cow herd
serves as the source of calf
scour pathogens from year to To learn more about
year, the average dose load of industry-leading
pathogen exposure to calves
is likely to increase over time stayability, visit
within a calving season be- RedAngus.org
cause calves infected earlier
serve as pathogen multipli-
ers and become the primary
source of exposure to young-
er susceptible calves.
The management plan
defined as the “Sandhills
Calving System” works by
segregating calves by age
to prevent transmission
of pathogens from older to
younger calves through the
scheduled movement of preg-
nant cows to clean calving
pastures which have been
unoccupied by cattle for sev-
eral months.
1) Initially, pregnant cows
are turned out in the first
calving pasture where calv-
ing season runs its course for
two weeks.
2) After two weeks, cows
that have not yet calved are
moved to a second pasture
while the pairs stay in the
first calving pasture.
3) After a week of calving
in pasture two, the remain-
ing bred cows are moved to
a third pasture while the