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Beef Management Practices

Beef Management Practices. How do we need to take care of our cows?. Need a joke to start the day?. Objectives. Describe the reasons that you would dehorn cattle. Identify the three methods of dehorning. Identify the three most common ways to mark cattle.

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Beef Management Practices

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  1. Beef Management Practices How do we need to take care of our cows?

  2. Need a joke to start the day?

  3. Objectives • Describe the reasons that you would dehorn cattle. • Identify the three methods of dehorning. • Identify the three most common ways to mark cattle. • Identify the methods used to castrate cattle.

  4. What does it mean to dehorn? • Dehorn • To remove the horns of cattle an animal

  5. Why dehorn? • Horned cattle bring less money when sold • Less space in trucks and feedlots • Less damage to facilities • Less chance of animals injuring one another and people

  6. Method of Dehorning # 1 • Chemical Paste/ Caustic Stick • Calves under 2 weeks of age • Applied to the areas of the head where horns will start growing • Stops the horns from actually starting to grow

  7. Where will horns grow?

  8. Chemical Paste or Chemical Problem? • Calves nurse and bump their heads on the cows belly • Paste gets on the cow and this kills the hair and can injure the udders.

  9. Method of Dehorning #2 Hot Iron • Also used when calves are small • Hot iron is used to kill the surrounding tissue around the horn buds and thus, no horns will grow • Popular method because it is fast and almost no blood is lost

  10. Hot Iron Dehorning

  11. Method of Dehorning #3 Clipping or Sawing • Used on calves that are bigger and have horns too large to use the other methods or on grown cattle • Both of these methods can be stressful because of loss of blood

  12. Clipping Make sure animal is restrained. • Dehorning clipper is placed over the bud of the horn and then opened to cut through the tissue

  13. How To Dehorn with Clippers

  14. Clipper Dehorning

  15. Sawing • Sawing is used typically on large animals

  16. Which dehorning method do you think is best?

  17. Marking Cattle – WHY?? • Required in some states • Makes management easier • Tell cattle apart • Mark ones with vaccinations

  18. Marking Cattle #1 - Branding • Hot Iron • Oldest and most commonly used method

  19. Hot Iron – How To • An actual metal brand is heated and burned into the animals hide • This causes the hide to not grow hair back and animal will permanently have the mark.

  20. Marking Cattle #1 - Branding Freeze Brand • Metal brand is prepared using liquid nitrogen and the brand is essentially done the same way as a hot iron.

  21. Why Freeze Brand? Hair comes back white – becoming more popular because it is easy to see and easy to use.

  22. Marking Cattle #2 – Tattooing/ Tagging • Tattooing • Numbers are inked into the ears with a hand held apparatus that has needle-like teeth.

  23. Marking Cattle #2 – Tattooing/ Tagging • Tagging • Very common • Tag is made of metal or plastic

  24. Taggers – Like ear piercing

  25. Marking Cattle #3 – Neck Chains • Not as useful with range herds but more common for purebred herds and dairies. • Technology actually keeps track of animals movements.

  26. Why castrate? • Bull meat is worth less • Easier to manage steers than bulls • Not as many calves are quality enough for breeding purposes

  27. Castration – What is it? • Removing the testicles of a male animal.

  28. A little anatomy… • Testicles are the male reproductive organs that produce and store sperm. • The testicles are inside the scrotum.

  29. When to castrate • The Younger, The Better • At birth is the best time • Going to feedlot? Before 3-4 months of age • After 8 months and they will have a staggy appearance • Staggy – appearance of a mature bull

  30. Castration Method #1 - Knife • Most widely used method • Not to be used with calves more than 3-4 months • Danger from bleeding and infection – management is needed

  31. “HOW TO” • Basically, you remove the testicles completely with a knife.

  32. Castration Method #1 - Burdizzo • Crushes the cords above the testicle • Popular because it is bloodless

  33. Burdizzo Problem?? • Not totally pinched off or in the right place? • Calf can show signs of “staginess”

  34. Castration Method #1 - Banding • Use an Elastrator • Instrument is used to place a tight rubber band around the scrotum above the testicles

  35. Banding • Basically, the blood supply is cut off from the testicles and they waste away from lack of blood

  36. Calf getting castrated

  37. Which method is the best? • Whats your opinion????

  38. S – A – F – E – T - Y • What is Safety? • What does safety have to do with cattle?

  39. Safety and Cattle • Protect yourself • Keep safe distances • Know your surroundings • THINK. • Read all medications before administering. • Three types of vaccinations?

  40. Safety and Cattle • Safety for Cows • Make sure animal is restrained • Turn table

  41. Safety and Cattle • Squeeze Chute/ Head Catch

  42. What is happening/has happened in the following Photos?

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