Standard feeding normally means the cattle consume feed ad libitum (all they want). Some attempt to moderate daily intake fluctuations can be done with bunk management. Cattle can be put on forage, hay-based, silage-based or moderate gain level diets to grow at moderate rates of gain. These systems are well suited to many producers who are limited by facilities or by having abundant supplies of forages to use. After the cattle have grown to about 750 lbs, they are placed on high grain, finishing diets. These programs are best suited to medium frame cattle. This will allow them to finish at heavier weight. Large frame cattle are better suited to high grain finishing diets following weaning. Although large frame cattle can perform very well on forage-based diets, caution should considered since they will also finish at greater than desirable weights. Type of cattle, price margins, and feed supplies will dictate the optimum system for each producer.
Limit feeding strategies have two potential applications for cattle feeders (Loerch, 1995). Backgrounders can limit intake of a high grain diet to achieve any rate of gain desired. This strategy should be considered when corn is a less expensive source of energy than hay. Limit feeding can also be used for finishing cattle to improve feed efficiency and increase carcass leanness.
LIMIT FEEDING BACKGROUNDING CATTLE: Corn grain is the least expensive harvested feed per unit of energy available to cattle feeders in Ohio. As a result, it may be economically advantageous to feed high energy corn based diets at intakes which are restricted (Murphy and Loerch, 1993; Loerch et al., 1995). Research at Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) indicates that cattle which are limit fed corn to achieve gains of 2.0 pounds per day until they reach 750 pounds have similar performance during the finishing phase (full feed of a high grain diet) as cattle fed a corn silage growing diet prior to finishing. Steers were fed 9.2 lb per head per day of whole shelled corn (1.3% of body weight) plus 2.2 lb per head per day of a 37 percent protein supplement.
LIMIT FEEDING FINISHING CATTLE: Recent research at the OARDC Beef Center suggests that feed efficiency may be improved if cattle are fed at intakes which are slightly less than ad libitum (Murphy and Loerch, 1993). In these trials cattle were fed 10-20 percent less feed than counterpart steers allowed to eat free choice. Cattle were all fed to the same final weight (1,150 pounds). Each 10% decrease in intake decreased rate of gain by about .2 lb per day. As a result, it took the limit fed cattle 15-25 day longer to get to market weight. However, the limit fed cattle used 100-250 pounds less fed to achieve market weight even though they were on feed longer. There were also advantages to limit feeding in terms of carcass composition. Limit fed cattle had carcasses with 15-25% less fat than the full fed cattle. This was achieved without decreasing marbling score or quality grade. The system described above would provide little economic benefit for cattle feeders in today's marketplace. The improvement in feed savings would probably be offset by the need to feed cattle longer. This should change if a value based marketing system were in place which rewarded carcass lean.
The bottom line is that it may not always be best to allow cattle to set their own intake. By manipulating intake, producers may be able to improve feed efficiency, cut costs and produce a more desirable carcass.
Producers wanting to implement a limit-feeding program should make sure all the cattle can eat at the feed bunk at one time. Otherwise, dominant cattle will consume more feed than needed and probably incur acidosis conditions.
Stage 1. 0 to 20 Weeks of Age: Success in Holstein feeder calf production is greatly determined by the ability of any producer ot obtain a group of calves that are 1 ot 5 days old (bob, deacon, or baby doll calves) that are healthy and uniform (Carter, 1991). Minimizing sickness and death loss is probably more profitable than maximizing gain during this stage. The ideal situation would include the feeding of at least 1 gallon of colostrum before 12 hours of life by the dairyman, dipping the navel with iodine, and withholding the calf from the market until it is at least 3 days-of-age.
Many calves are started in existing veal production facilities using individual feeding stalls and an "all-in, all-out" program (Comerford). They are usually maintained in stalls for approximately 7 weeks before being moved into group pens. Often other types of are used to start the calves, such as modified pens or even calf hutches, until they are old enough to be group housed after weaning from milk replacer. Occasionally, calves are maintained in group feeding programs from the beginning. A general management schedule might include:
| Week 1 | Provide a clean, dry stall with adequate ventilation.
Provide a high quality milk replacer to minimize
digestive upsets and to reduce stress and diarrheas.
Quality and digestibility of the protein source along
with sufficient fat (usually 18-20%) are critical during
the first 2-3 weeks. Some producers will feed electrolyte
solutions instead of milk for the first 1 or 2 feedings.
Check the navel and dip in iodine (7%) if not dry.
Continue to inspect and dip the navel until it has dried
and fallen off. Inspect the calves for injuries and
evidence of diarrhea. Develop a comprehensive health program with your veterinarian. This may include a vaccination program for calves of this age if history and previous experience warrant. Controversy exists as to which vaccines to use at this time and the schedule. It is desirable to elicit immunity to common pathogens as soon as possible, but vaccine-induced problems have been reported in very young calves. Ear tag and consider implanting with a growth promotant. Alternatively, some producers prefer to delay implanting until the calves enter the feedlot. Provide a high quality starter grain around day 5 and delouse with a safe product. |
| Weeks 2 to 4 | During this time calves are acclimated to starter feeds and can be castrated and dehorned. Producers who do these procedures themselves should use a technique that they can perform skillfully, efficiently, and in a sanitary manner. |
| Week 5 | Booster vaccinations for respiratory diseases may be considered with additional vaccines for enterotoxemia and the other clostridial diseases included. Recent research has shown that intramuscular clostridial vaccines can cause a reduction in feed intake and gain in older cattle so producers must consider the overall health and stress level of the calves before administering them. Some farms have benefitted by using salmonella vaccines at this time and the newer core antigen (endotoxin) vaccines to assist in preventing disease due to salmonella. |
| Week 6 | Discontinue milk replacer abruptly when calves are consuming adequate starter (2-3 pounds) and are healthy. |
| Week 7 | Move to group pens. |
The nutritional management of holstein calves destined for beef production is not the same as for those used for dairy heifer replacements or for veal production. Drew Vermeire (1991) prepared the following table:
Comparison
| Herd replacement | Veal | Bob calves | |
| Grain Roughage Water ad libitum Calf birth weight, lbs Milk rep. intake, lbs Milk rep. feed rate Major nutrient source Milk Replacer: Crude Protein, % Fat, % acidified protein source Selenium, ppm Iron, ppm Vitamin A, IU/lb Vitamin D, IU/lb Vitamin E, IU/lb Fat source * Medication, g/ton |
yes yes yes 95-115 25-30 constant grain 18-28 10-20 no milk/soy 0.1-0.3 80-100 15-35,000 3-7500 10-35 T/L 50-300 |
no no no 105-115 500-530 variable milk 20-22 16-17 no milk 0.3 35 25,000 5000 20 T/L/C 1200 |
yes no yes 85-100 25-30 constant grain 20-22 18-20 yes milk 0.3 80-100 30,000 10,000 135 T/L/C 1200 |
* T=Tallow, L=Lard, C=Coconut
Allow the calves to rest for 6-12 hours after placing them in their pens (Vermeire, 1991). Water or an electrolyte solution should be available. An energy- containing electrolyte solution might be considered during the first 2-4 feedings (Vermeire, 1991). Calves should be started on 4.5 ounces of milk replacer powder in 3.5 pounds of water twice a day (Elliot et al., 1991). In cold weather, start at 5-6 ounces of powder twice a day. The powder level is raised 1 ounce per week until 6-8 ounces twice a day is reached. A common medication level for milk is 3-4 mg chlortetracycline per pound of body weight twice daily with one ounce of neomycin 325 per 20 calves twice a day (Elliot et al., 1991). Watery diarrhea, cold mouth and extremities, and sunken eyes the first 10 days of life are signs of infections. Treatment is 4-6 quarts of electrolytes for 24 hours with no milk. Diarrhea after 10 days may be a more severe problem. Calves are exposed to grain at 5-10 days (Elliot et al., 1991; Vermeire, 1991). Products such as amprolium, decoquinate and lasalocid should be part of normal coccidiosis prevention. Opinions vary on whether corn is to be rolled or fed whole in starter rations (Vermeire, 1991). However, rolled corn is the most common practice.
Stage 2. Weaning/Growing: Wean calves when: 1) they are consuming 2-3 lbs starter per day; 2) the calves have consumed 25-30 lbs milk replacer per head; and 3) calves are healthy (Vermeire, 1991). Abruptly weaning means giving calves milk replacer for one meal and no milk replacer the next or subsequent meals. Sometimes it is advisable to reduce the milk replacer by one-half several days before weaning to allow for adjustment to dry feed. Avoid free access to salt the first 2 weeks (Elliot et al., 1991). One common practice in this area is to provide these calves a pellet supplement at approximately 1 lb per day and all the whole shelled corn they will eat. Hay is provided free choice but is not normally consumed in great quantities. The adjustment from starter feed over to the postweaning ration may take 3-4 weeks. Coccidiosis prevention is normally done by using lasalocid or decoquinate in the feed.
Stage 3. Finishing: Considerable research has been done to compare various forage to grain ratios in feedlot diets of Holstein steers. A summary of trials with high corn silage diets by Cornell researchers indicated continuous high silage diets as all or part of the total feeding period would increase the weight at which the steers would grade Choice compared to those on high concentrate diets. Other reports have shown the Holstein steer to have a higher maintenance requirement than a beef steer, and this would contribute to reduced feed efficiency. This is probably the reason for the popularity of the whole corn-little or no roughage programs. Holsteins tend to deposit marbling at a relatively early stage of maturity.
Typically Holsteins must be about 15-26 months of age to make the choice grade and the market weight of the animals (weight at which 75% will grade choice has been fairly consistent ranging from 1200-1300 lbs. However, weight at which they will grade Choice will increase if they are fed for lower rates of gain during the growing/finishing period.