His work on the ranch during the calving period includes looking after people and their mental health. Between 14 and 30 calves are born every day for three months, and when problems arise, employees may need to be refreshed.
“A spiritual perspective leads to our success. Communication allows us to help each other. We all want to do better and be better, and that's what makes Silver Spur of cows,” Spiller emphasized.
Timing of vaccination
Silver Spur Ranch is focused on providing a good lifelong health program for our cows. This is very important for cow growth. On farms, this starts at birth when calves receive their first vaccination. They will also be given ear tags for identification and relevant information such as date of birth, birth weight and gender will be collected. Each time a calf is treated for a disease, an incision is made in the ear tag. This allows us to track which calves cannot participate in the Non-Hormone Treated Cow (NHTC) program if sent to the feedlot.
“We always pay close attention to the health of calves, as calves born in extremely cold weather tend to have more enterotoxemia,” he explained. The goal is to be healthy from birth through life, and a proper vaccination program can help with that, but Mother Nature can create problems.
“By branding time, calves are about 45 to 60 days old and will have received their first dose of respiratory, blackleg and BVD (bovine viral diarrhea) vaccines,” Spiller said.
In August, cows are tested for pregnancy, all vaccinations are done, and tested for internal and external parasites. This will allow the cow to survive until receiving the pre-calving vaccine 45-60 days before calving. In August, calves are also pre-vaccinated and tested for parasites. Booster doses of these vaccines are given approximately 14 to 21 days after the first dose.
Virgin heifers are given a pre-breeding injection several weeks before artificial insemination. Bulls are also given pre-breeding vaccinations and tested for trichomoniasis. Virgin bulls do not need to be tested, but some states, such as New Mexico, require all bulls to test negative. Some people go to the Silver Spur Ranch in New Mexico so they can be sure the bulls are tested.
Preventing foot rot, parasites, and diseases
Mr Spiller said he started using foot rot vaccine on replacement heifers and bulls several years ago. “Certain areas of the farm have more problems with foot rot than others because of the topography. It's better to use low-cost preventive drugs than to trap animals in the pasture for treatment.” he added.
Some growers like to change wormers every year, but Spiller said he doesn't do it unless it's necessary. “In my experience, unless what you're using has a large parasitic load of unresponsive bugs, you don't need to change it,” he said. “We rotate pairs and have a good forage base in the pasture, so we can prevent most problems.”
Problems in nature can also cause health problems. Ranch cowboys said wild animals can be a huge nuisance by destroying fences and equipment, but they don't pose many health problems. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) can be a problem in parts of Colorado, so Silver Spurs staff monitors sick deer and elk. Cattle rarely have problems due to other wildlife diseases. Most of these other diseases can be avoided if the herd is properly vaccinated.
Problems can occur if noxious weeds emerge and grow before the grass. This is another reason to continually rotate pastures to avoid weeds such as locoweed, lupine, larkspur, and cornweed.
Once the grass begins to grow, these weeds are no longer selected as forage and become less of a problem. Cows are fed high magnesium minerals, especially in the spring, to avoid grass tetany.
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Editor's note: To see the first two stories in this series, please visit:
— “Tracing Colorado Cattle Farms Throughout the Year” https://www.dtnpf.com/…
— “Colorado's Silver Spur Ranch shares tips for calving and tagging systems” https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com.
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