PreConditioning question

[sandhiller]

I've been reading on preconditioning calves, not alot of cut and dry articles available on the internet on what shots are required, and if your selling at a salebarn, how do the buyers know the difference if your calves have or have not been preconditioned. Just from experience sitting and watching at our local salebarn, no one ever asks "are they" "have they been" preconditioned. The most informative article I've found so far

(snip)

Any of you that precondition, gimme your comments on what you do, what you don't do, and how much better the return is if not done.

Thanks, Lilly

I use the pfizer program and it works for me but other programs work as well.

When you get your program going, tell your sale barn to list on the sale order exactly what shots has been given and the dates the shots were given. Also have them announce the shot program as they bring your first bunch of calves into the ring. Write it out and leave a signed copy at the sale barn office for the buyer(s) to have if they want. The sale barn is working for you so make sure they earn their money. You WILL get paid more if this is done. Don't just say they had all the shots, that means nothing.
Again Make sure the buyers know what shots they have had and when. I bought some calves a few years back that were listed to have the second round of shots. Found out later the second round of shots were given as they loaded on the truck for the sale barn. That didn't give time for the shots to help from the stress of hauling and salebarn.

The shots do not need to be given by a vet, (may depend on the program you use) but they should be given to BQA guidelines (in the neck only) and it may (or may not) help a bit price wise if you are BQA certified. Have your vet or where ever you buy your vaccines give the salebarn a copy of what vaccines you bought and when, so that a copy can be given to the buyer.

If you are going to background the calves when you wean them, do it for at least 45 days (60 to 90 days would be better) or don't do it at all. Calves that get sent to the salebarn like 2 weeks after weaning are a real chalenge health wise, much worse than the day they come off the cow.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

I still haven't called and talked to the owner of the salebarn, thanks for bringin this thread back to the top and replying sandhiller. Here at our salebarn, calves go thru one at a time, very rarely unless it's a special sale (replacement heifers)* do they sell in groups. But it's still worth checkin into. I'll check into it soon.

 

[Kato]

The manager of our local mart recommends calves are best sold either 6 hours or six weeks off the cow. The time in between those two are the hardest on the calves, and the price.

 

[HAY MAKER]

I still haven't called and talked to the owner of the salebarn, thanks for bringin this thread back to the top and replying sandhiller. Here at our salebarn, calves go thru one at a time, very rarely unless it's a special sale (replacement heifers)* do they sell in groups. But it's still worth checkin into. I'll check into it soon.

Lots of good advice in this thread Lilly,also your vet would be the another person to help you with your back grounding vacines,he is familiar with the dominant types of diseases in your local area.

Those ole boy's that sit the front row in your sales barn dont miss much,that might be part of the reason your sale barn manager dont feel the need to announce particulars on every head of live stock that is ran thru the barn,most of them have been doing it years.

I would get a good vacine program and back ground those calves till they were 7/8 weight,& make darn sure they have no horns and no testicles,it dont hurt to have em wearin a ear tag either,I have had more than one order buyer tell me when they see a calve with a tag,it proves he has had some work..............good luck

 

[PPRM]

In our country, an ear tag and bangs tagged hiefers indicate they ar eout of a program that works calves. Brand helps to, but the best is a documented program,


PPRM

 

[CattleRMe]

Here bangs vacinating has to be done by a vet and we precondition the calves ourselves. The local sale barn is really good about going over what shots the calves have had and how long the program has been going on and also talk about well kept records on the cattle being sold.

 

[katrina]

We use killed vaccine too. It's just safer. Our Vet prepares a paper for us on her letterhead to tell what we have done when and where. Such as shots in the neck. Preconditioned calves are more money at the barn here. And drug free cattle are really hot.......

 

[txag]

I still haven't called and talked to the owner of the salebarn, thanks for bringin this thread back to the top and replying sandhiller. Here at our salebarn, calves go thru one at a time, very rarely unless it's a special sale (replacement heifers)* do they sell in groups. But it's still worth checkin into. I'll check into it soon.

Lots of good advice in this thread Lilly,also your vet would be the another person to help you with your back grounding vacines,he is familiar with the dominant types of diseases in your local area.

Those ole boy's that sit the front row in your sales barn dont miss much,that might be part of the reason your sale barn manager dont feel the need to announce particulars on every head of live stock that is ran thru the barn,most of them have been doing it years.

I would get a good vacine program and back ground those calves till they were 7/8 weight,& make darn sure they have no horns and no testicles,it dont hurt to have em wearin a ear tag either,I have had more than one order buyer tell me when they see a calve with a tag,it proves he has had some work..............good luck

unless you have a fairly large number to run through (group up), i'm not sure it would be worth it. depending on the number, it'd probably be more work on the buyer trying to remember that those calves have already had vaccinations when they're runnin' 'em through the chute with the rest of 'em.

i agree with Haymaker that an eartag &/or notches, brands or any other markings to show that they've been through a chute at least once will let the order buyer know the calf has had some work done.

our salebarn typically sells 'em one at a time, too, but frequently groups ours as they go through. if they're similar in weight, color & sex, they shouldn't have a problem grouping them for you.

if you're really interested in preconditioning, check with the sales that specialize in such.

 

[PPRM]

I agree..If you are willing to provide some value to the calves by pre-conditioning, work with a barn that will market them and get you this value. If they aren't willing to, watch buyers that buy cattle similar to yours and have them come by and make offers. Not only do they have history, less stress and exposure to calves bought in the country, many times you can get more (Wiegh up is better to). If the calves work, you will generally get pretty good repeat offers,


BTW, don't be afraid to talk to byes, they don't bite and re a good souce of info on pre-conditioning,

PPRM

 

[CattleRMe]

At preconditioning we give titanium 5 and one shot. The calves are weened 45 days before shipping and sell as bunk broke. For the operation here doing the extras has paid off as the past couple falls the ranch has had a repeat buyer on the calves cutting out the sale barn and they pay shipping so cutting a couple of expenses out.

 

[theHiredMansWife]

The last several years, we've been taking pretty careful notes at the salebarn to see who is and isn't selling better, and frankly, I just can't see much of a difference so far as preconditioning shots go. At least not amongst the sellers with more than a couple hundred head...

A friend of ours is head cowboy in a feedlot and has worked in about half a dozen different lots in two states and said in every one of them, when calves come off the truck, they vaccinate. It doesn't matter if they're supposed to have had them before or not. (Maybe an affidavidet would be different, though...)

So, this year we decided to not precondition and see what it did to our prices. (Ogallala Live)

No significant difference at all.

We still did the seven way at branding (and we do VibrioLepto for our cows/heifers), but no weaning shot.