Cow/Calf Care Instructions

We have put together a basic care sheet of what we do for our cattle. This is not an all-inclusive list. If you are in a different region of the country, different disease prevention and vaccines may be necessary. This is what we do for our herd. Take it as a guideline. Talk to a good vet in your local area and ask what they would suggest for your area, then tweak it to fit your needs.

FEED:

Hay:

We feed our cows a mixture of 75:25 alfalfa to grass ratio. Can be fed more grass if needed to maintain body condition. We feed approximately 2% of body weight/day. Learning about cattle body condition score can help you gauge if they are eating too much or not enough. You want to maintain a body condition score of about 6. A good visual representation can be found on most extension websites. More info on body condition score: https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/Pub/pdf/agguides/ansci/g02230.pdf

Body Condition Score Chart

Grain:
Can be fed approximately 1-2 lbs/day. Whole corn is a good option and not as likely to cause bloat. Use grain or horse apple treats for training purposes as well.

For training and gentling our calves, we use a calf starter that contains Bovatec. We use the IFA brand, which is a co-op local to our area only. Your local feed store should have something similar. Horse apple treats and grain/calf starter (aka creep feed) will make your calf your best friend. It is their reward for coming to you, hence making them more calm and gentle.

MINERALS:

A trace mineral with selenium block needs to be available year-round. You can also ask your local feed store and/or vet what mineral deficiencies are common in your area.

HOOF CARE:

Hooves may or may not need to be trimmed based on what environment your cow lives in. If they are growing long and not wearing off, search out a local hoof trimmer. They usually come to your location with their equipment and trim the hooves. Frequency will be unique to each cow herd and their environment.

VACCINES:

Listed are the recommended vaccines by our vet for our region and our herd. Our calves receive the vaccines listed below (unless otherwise noted on the Sale of Livestock sheet at purchase). Your future vaccines will need to be tailored to fit the needs of your herd in your region.

Calves Vaccine Schedule:

At 2 months of age and again at weaning: Bovi-Shield Gold One Shot, UltraChoice 8

At 4 months of age: Dectomax (for deworming), Clean-Up II pour-on (insecticide)

Between 4 and 12 months of age: Heifer calves need a BANGS vaccine (must be given by a vet).

Cows, Bulls, and Steers Vaccine Schedule:

Each spring: Clean-Up II pour-on (insecticide)

Each fall: CattleMaster Gold FP5 L5 Cattle Vaccine, UltraChoice 8, Dectomax (deworming), and Clean-Up II pour-on

Again, take all this information as a guide. Find a mentor in your area, establish with a local large animal vet, talk to experts at your feed store, then come up with the plan that best fits your needs.