Livestock

[Brad Mills Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.
Dry conditions this fall and winter has led to some poor pasture conditions, and the unfortunate wildfires have damaged 1000s of acres. Some ranchers will be faced with the fact that breeding season might have to be done in confinement. Extension specialist Karla Wilkie says, there's a few key principles that might help you have a successful breeding season.

[Karla Wilke, Extension Specialist]
If we do have to do the breeding season in confinement.

I think one of the 1st things to think about is that it doesn't have to be in a feed lot.

It could be. On a fallow ground or a residue field or a pasture trap, something of that nature, just not out in the in normal pastures, large areas that we usually use, and we may be feeding them a confinement diet, and if that's the case, then that feeding space needs to be about 2 feet per cow, or bull, and then about a foot for the cavs that are in there with them.

This is especially true if we're trying to use kind of a nutrient dense. Diet so that we can limit, feed them a little bit and not go through so much feed.

So feeding space becomes very important so that we don't have lost cows and bulls pushing more timid ones around and those not getting enough feed and then maybe not cycling well because they're short on feed.

So, that's something to think about.

Minimum.

Square footage is usually around 500 square feet, prepare is recommended.

If you have a little more than that, it's great, but um, gets kind of tight if we go under that.

And then an area for calves where they can loaf and get away from the cow and bowl activity of breeding and um, that helps kind of reduce pathogen load exposure when they have a little area where they can kind of get away from everybody.

This may be some opportunity to provide shade or wind protection for the calves as well.

So housing considerations like that can be something to be thinking about if this is something we're going to have to do.

[Brad Mills, Host]
Typically, cattle have good feed options this time of year, but Dr. Wilkie points out that might need some nutrition management if in confinement.

[Karla Wilke, Extension Specialist]
So the lactating cow has a huge energy drain that the just gestating cow, you know, pregnant cow that doesn't have a baby already on her has a much lower need than that cow that's lactating.

That's a huge energy drain due to lactation.

And what happens to some producers is they, they just draw out the diet that they are feeding the cows during gestation, when the cows are already going into lactation because they don't have anywhere to go with them for green grass, and they, Understand that lactation requires more energy, and so maybe they up the fee a little bit, but they don't realize how much lactation increases that need.

And so the cow can begin to pull on her own body reserves of fat to mobilize enough energy to meet the lactation needs of that for that calf.

And then she begins to draw herself down and she doesn't cycle.

And so then I've had people tell me, well, breeding and confinement is just a disaster.

And that might be part of what they ran into, was just that lack of understanding of how much energy lactation requires.

And so, you know, UNL extension is is happy to help people develop those diets with the resources they have, but it's critically important that lush green grass quality is is what we're striving for to get in that cow in a diet that we're actually mixing for her.

And some of that's true for the bulls as well.

They're much bigger in size usually than the cows.

And so their maintenance requirement is more.

And then younger bulls are also growing.

And so again, when they're out on grass, they're maybe able to get that energy need, but if we are the ones that are having to provide it for them, then we have to make sure that the diet that we're mixing and feeding them meets their needs as well.

And then the intake of the calf is something to consider because normally, the calf would be grazing grass and getting their feed that's in addition to milk from that and now it would be on us to provide.

[Brad Mills, Host]
For more details on this topic, please visit the beefwatch website at beef.unl.edu. And to hear the entire interview, you can download it from Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For Nebraska Extension Almanac. I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans. Go to extension.unl.edu

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Recent wildfires in Nebraska have taken their toll on farmland, rural communities as well as livestock. On today's program, 2 veterinarians from Kansas, who've had experience in helping cattle and other livestock recover from problems from wildfires, discuss key factors to recovery. To start the show, Dr. Randall Spare talks about how wildfire damage is different for every farm operation.

I think the thing that we have to understand is it's a complex issue and no operation is the same.

[Dr. Randall Spare, Kansas Veterinarian]
Each operation is going to handle this differently.

Some need more help than others, but as we assess the cattle, end up, it's an ongoing assessment, but, Obviously, there's those cattle that succumb to it, to the fire and they're dead.

There's cattle that have been hurt, but still walking around, and uh, Than those cattle that happen to be in a location where they weren't hurt.

Major damages that would occur that with cattle still alive or burnt hides and more importantly, probably the feet that have gotten so hot.

And uh, initially there may not, may not be any separation at the coronary band that's obvious.

But those are issues that can occur either from two, three, four, five, 6 days after the fire, they appear to be normal, but then they're start to become lame and they, they might be not able to get around and then if you look down and look at their feet, there's a separation at the cornel band.

Also, the udders are a problem.

Those cows that have been burnt, but they're walking around, they're udders.

I don't know any other way, but you just got to almost feel each one of those to see if they're being damaged.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Dr. Travis McCarty focuses on how experience can be critical to understanding what cattle are going through and have the ability to help them recover.

[Dr. Travis McCarty, Kansas Veterinarian]
You know, the beginning, you're just triaging through an emergency, right?

Like you said, there's those dead cows that succumb, unfortunately.

Then you got then you got a welfare situation.

And depending on how large the herd is, that could be an issue of trying to find ammunition to be able to put those animals down.

And once you get through that, then like Dr. Stewart is talking about, you need to examine feet and others are your biggest things.

Eyes would be maybe tertiary, beyond that, but, you know, one of the things, you mentioned the Anderson Creek fire and the Starbucks fire, we learned some pretty good lessons in my opinion, Doc.

We tried some animals and maybe we thought, oh, maybe we'll be okay.

And and those were maybe some mistakes.

And the mistakes I'm talking about is like those cornery bands.

They may look fine today.

Here you are a week out from your fire, but they may look fine today.

But they may not be.

So, so getting getting a look at them and you're right.

Sometimes our facilities burnt down.

So how can we actually physically get them done?

And that's where working with your neighbors, finding people that have, you know, maybe get you like a wheel corrals or something where you can handle those cow and get a good look at them today.

This is a good time right now to get a good look at those animals.

And finally, you know, everyone gets really worried about smoke inhalation.

And I'm not going to downplay smoke inhalation.

You know, that respiratory track does a pretty good job of, uh, of clearance of that smoke, and I've been pretty amazed by the, just how infrequent, uh, smoke inhalation is a, my, my order as a list of a problem, so to speak.

And it's not as bad as these burns we're talking about.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Stay tuned to Extension Almanac for future updates on farm and community recovery after the wildfires. For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.UNL.edu.