31 research outputs found
Early detection of problem implants using infrared thermography
Thermal imaging of feedlot cattle ears is a noninvasive diagnostic tool that aids in identifying properly placed or abscessed growth-promoting implants. Thirty-two calves were used to determine if abscessed and normal, functional implants could be identified and differentiated using infrared thermography. Infrared images were taken at implantation on days 2, 4, 7, 14, and 21 after implantation. Abscessed implants were easily identified. Use of thermal imaging can verify implant administration and, thus, has the potential to immediately impact feedlot quality assurance programs
Influence of melengesterol acetate (MGA®) and Implus-H® implants on rate of gain, feed efficiency, and carcass characteristics of culled beef cows fed a high concentrate ration
No statistical differences were detected in
feedlot performance or carcass traits between
control culled beef cows and those that were treated with melengesterol acetate (MGA®)
and/or Implus-H® when fed in a feedyard for
56 days before slaughter. All groups
performed well, indicating that this practice may be used to improve the market value of culled cows. Cow health during the feeding
period is a major concern
Dakota Gold®-brand dried distiller’s grains with solubles: effects on finishing performance and carcass characteristics
A 153-day trial was conducted using
345 heifers to determine optimal level of
Dakota Gold dried distiller’s grains with
solubles (DDGS) in finishing diets based
on steam-flaked corn. Diets contained six
levels of DDGS: 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%,
60%, and 75%. DDGS affected average
daily gain, final weight and hot carcass
weight, all of which increased with 15%
DDGS and then decreased as additional
DDGS was added. Growth performance of
heifers fed 30% DDGS was similar to those
fed no DDGS. In general, heifers were
overfinished, with 61% being Yield Grade
3 or greater and 83% grading Choice or
Prime. Backfat tended to decrease with
addition of DDGS, and kidney, pelvic, and
heart fat and marbling scores tended to be
greatest for intermediate levels of DDGS.
Percentage of carcasses grading Choice or
Prime tended to be lower for heifers fed 60
or 75% DDGS
Use of Cystorelin® and artificial insemination in repeat-breeding beef heifers after estrous synchronization
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
was administered to a group of 13- to 14-
month-old Angus and Angus crossbred repeat-breeding
heifers at the time of the second or
third artificial insemination to determine its
effect on conception rates. Little benefit was
derived from the use of GnRH at either second or third service in highly developed repeat-breeding
heifers
Effects of sickness on weight gain and radiant energy loss in recently received feeder cattle
Sickness from undifferentiated respiratory
disease in recently received feeder cattle reduced
weight gain and altered radiant energy
loss. Over a 35-day receiving period, weight
gains were reduced 26.3% if an animal was
diagnosed as sick once and 48.1% if diagnosed
sick more than once. Thermal profiles obtained
10 or more days following clinical illness were
cooler than profiles of animals never diagnosed
as being sick. Our data suggest that respiratory
disease alters metabolic activity as evidenced by
reduced weight gain and a detectable decrease
in radiant energy loss from the body surface
Effect of deworming with Ivomec® on reproductive performance of yearling beef heifers
To determine the effect of deworming fallborn
yearling heifers on reproductive parameters,
78 heifers were allotted to a either
Ivomec® or control treatments. The heifers
were dewormed in June and October when
they were approximately 7 and 11 months old,
respectively. Ivomec effectively lowered fecal
egg counts from treated heifers compared to
controls. In these heifers that were maintained
on a marginal plane of nutrition, deworming
not only improved weight gains but also hastened
onset of puberty and improved conception
rate during a 60-day breeding season.
The positive effect of Ivomec on these reproductive
characteristics could not be explained
by increased weight gain alone, because the
correlation between weight gain and puberty
was not significant
Implant quality assurance: detection of abscessed implants and their effect on feedlot performance of beef heifers
Infrared thermography (IRT) can be used
successfully to differentiate abscessed implanted
ears from nonimplanted ears 8 days
postimplanting. Abscessed ears averaged
5.7EF warmer than nonimplanted ears when
ambient temperature was 60 to 63EF. Average
daily gain and feed efficiency were reduced
8.9% and 8.3%, respectively, over the 91-day
feeding period for cattle with abscessed implants
compared to cattle with normal implants.
Dry matter intake was not affected by an abscessed
implant and averaged nearly 18.0
lb/head/day for both treatment groups. Abscessed
implants reduced economic return by
$17.70 per head
Performance and carcass characteristics of finishing steers fed dried, full-fat corn germ
Three hundred and fifty-eight crossbred
beef steers (average initial weight 701 lb)
were fed finishing diets containing 0, 5, 10,
or 15% full-fat corn germ to evaluate
effects on growth performance and carcass
characteristics. Steers were placed into
dirt-surfaced feedlot pens (12 to 16 head
each) in December 2000 with a total of six
pens per diet. Average daily gains during
the 155-day finishing period were 2.83,
2.99, 3.01 and 2.93 lb/day for cattle fed 0,
5, 10, and 15% corn germ, respectively.
Dry matter intakes decreased linearly (P<0.05) with increasing concentrations of
full-fat corn germ in the diet. Relative to
cattle fed no corn germ, efficiencies were
improved by 8, 11, and 9% for cattle fed 5,
10, or 15% germ, respectively. Feeding
corn germ also reduced the incidence of
liver abscesses (P<0.05) compared to cattle
fed the control diet. Dried, full-fat corn
germ can be used successfully in cattle
finishing diets to increase energy density
and animal performance
Trailer-mounted RFID reader scans EID tags during cattle shipments
One of the challenges regarding implementation of a national animal identification system is the logistics of reading and reporting EID (electronic identification) tag numbers as cattle move through the production cycle. Many small producers would have difficulty justifying the investment required to install an RFID (radio frequency identification) reader
system that would only be used seasonally to
track relatively small numbers of cattle that
are entering commerce. A proposed solution
to this issue is to install an RFID reader on
commercial cattle trailers so that cattle can
have EID tags read as they are loaded and
unloaded during transport from one premise to
the next. With such an arrangement, the RFID
equipment would be used often by a small number of highly trained people in the transport sector and the cost could be spread over a large number of cattle hauled over the life of the reader. The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of a trailer-mounted RFID reader, in one location, using four prominent brands of commercially available EID tags