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VETM 465 Nutrition > Beef Nutrition > Flashcards

Beef Nutrition Flashcards

1
Q

Compare the 3 stages of beef production

A

Beef Production
* Cow-calf
o Production unit
o Small herds
o forage
* Backgrounding/stocking
o Feed for growth before feedlot
o Moderate weight gain
o Forage
* Feedlot
o Large operation
o Fed in pens – lots of grain

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2
Q

What animals are part of a cow/calf operation? What is the main goal?

A

Animals: calf/heifer/mature cow/bull
Goal: 1 calf/yr

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3
Q

How are cow calf operations fed

A

Diet
* Cheap = forage
* Provide enough nutrient to prevent reproductive failure
* Supplement as needed with energy/protein/min/vit

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4
Q

When does calving happen? When doese the associated breeding and weaning occur?

A
  • Winter calving: Jan – march
    o Breed in spring
    o Wean in fall
    o Most challenging to do
  • Spring calving: march – may
    o Breed in summer
    o Wean in fall
  • Summer calving: June – august
    o Breed in fall
    o Wean in winter
  • Fall calving : Sept – Dec
    o Breed in winter
    o Wean in spring
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5
Q

When is the best and most challenging time to calve?

A
  • Spring calving: march – may
    o Calving (timing depends on the ranch) – it sets the biologic cycle that determines thee nutritional cycle of the herd
    best
  • Winter calving: Jan – march
    o Most challenging to do

need enough food

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6
Q

Compare the 2 types of cow calf operation

A
  • Purebred
    o Make breeding stock
    o Intensive management/more supplemental feeding
    o Calve in winter
  • Commercial
    o Market cattle
    o Less intensive with less supplemental feeding
    o Calve in spring
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7
Q

How are beef calves fed? when do you know when to intervene

A
  • Colostrum from mom = low yield and high IgG
    o Use brix refractometry to estimate colostrum and serum IgG
  • Must intervene if the calf hasn’t gotten up to nurse within 2 hours
    o Indicators = dystocia/poor suckling reflex
    o Don’t replace high quality colostrum
    o If need replacer, use a minimum of 100g IgG
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8
Q

What is the timeline for feeding beef calves?

A
  • 3 weeks = milk
  • 4 months = less milk + higher requirement – solid food
  • Creep feed: supplementation before weaning – increase calf ADG
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9
Q

Why is creep feeding used for beef calves

A

o Milk and pasture might not be enough (esp if heifer)
o High stocking density
o Fall born calves rely more on moms milk
o Pre-weaning program
o Good for producing bulls (can result in much better ADG)

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10
Q

When are beef cattle weaned

A
  • Weaning: 7 months (240kg)
    o Calves sold within 60d of weaning
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11
Q

What are the 3 types of weaning? Give pros and cons

A

o Abrupt
 Cows moved out of sight and sound of calves
 Only need 1 handling = low labour
 Calves eat less + lots of disease

o 2 stage
 Calves wear nose paddles for a week and then removed
 Improve the feed intake
 Cost of nose paddle + require 2x handling of calves

o Fenceline
 Separate calf and cow via fence for a week
 Calves handled once and have better feed intake
 Require fencing

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12
Q

What is pre conditioning

A

o Facilitate transition to backgrounding/feedlot
o Vaccinate/deworm/castrate
o Fenceline weaned
o Trained to eat from a bunk/trough

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13
Q

What is beef on dairy

A

Beef-on-dairy
* Breeding dairy cows with beef bulls
o Usually breed beef bulls with older cows

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14
Q

What is dairy beef

A
  • Meat from dairy herds
    o Culled dairy cows/extra calves/male calves
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15
Q

What is the timeline for a beef on dairy calf

A
  • Timeline
    o Rear as dairy calf – wean at 10 weeks
    o Move to rearing operation – 10 weeks
    o Feedlot – 1 year (if just a dairy cow – they would have to stay for 2 years)
    o Die at 16-18 months
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16
Q

Why is nutrition important for bull production

A
  • High energy diet – don’t overfeed (fat deposition on testicles)
    o Pre-puberty nutrition is most important for bull development
    o Post weaning nutrition has aa small effect on sexual development (doesn’t compensate for poor nutrition prior)
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17
Q

What is the goal for replacement heifer feeding

A
  • Goal: 60% mature body weight at breeding
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18
Q

What is the goal for beef cow feeding

A
  • Goal: 1 calf/y and get pregnant 80d post partum
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19
Q

How are replacement heifers fed? What is the main consequence of poor nutrition?

A
  • Forage/pasture (+/- supplement)
  • If poor nutrition = will be open at the end of breeding season
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20
Q

Why might a beef cow not get pregnant?

A
  • Why might they not get pregnant?
    o Nutrient partitioning
     Metabolism > growth > activity > pregnancy > lactation > estrous
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21
Q

What are the 3 categories of beef cows? Compare their energy demands?

A

o Heifer: maintenance/growth/estrous
 Never calved before
 Breed earlier than mature cows
o Primiparous: maintenance/growth/lactation/estrous
 Calve earlier than older cows
 still growing + calf
o Multiparous: maintenance/lactation/estrous
 Least demanding

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22
Q

How is beef cow nutrient intake maximized

A

Maximize nutrient intake
* High quality pasture
* Protein and energy supplement
* Use BCS to monitor

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23
Q

How to preserve reproduction when low nutrient availability

A
  • Early wean: based on cow BCS
    o 3-5 month
    o But sold at lighter weight
    o Require feed resources and facilities

allow energy to go to estrous (remove energy of lactation)

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24
Q

Which group of cows (heifer/primiparous/multiparous) is most difficult to make pregnant?

A

primiparous
- lots of demand on energy

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25
How are pregnant beef cows fed? How does it change over time?
* Post calf wean = winter feeding (forage +/- supplement) * Within 60d of calving = winter feeding (forage) o 20% increase in energy and protein
26
What is fetal programming and why is it important?
o Early-mid gestation o Maternal stimulus in critical period of fetal development o Beef cattle are raised for muscle and marbling  Fetal stage important for myogenesis/intramuscular adipocyte generation  Muscle fibre number doesn’t increase after birth
27
What are 4 strategies used for winter feeding of beef cows?
* Stockpiling * Swath grazing * Bale grazing * Crop residues
28
Why do beef heifers calve early?
to give them more time to recover
29
What is stockpiling
o Save pasture for grazing in fall/winter o But prevents the ability for forage to regrow
30
What is swath grazing
o Swaths of annual cereals are left on the field o Electric fences are used to improve feed utilization o Can be challenged with ice/deep snow
31
What is bale grazing? What is the nutrient requirement for mature cows
o Pre setting bales in October o Go one row at a time and move with electric fence o Need 810 baled to feed 200 cows for 92 days – 2.7% DMI/day for mature cow
32
What are crop residues/stubble
o Lead and stem after harvesting grains o Gives better access when there’s lots of snow o Give silage supplementation
33
List 4 Nutritional disorders of grazing cattle
* Frothy bloat * Hypomagnesemia (grass tetany) * Nutritional muscular dystrophy * Nitrate poisoning
34
What is frothy bloat and how to prevent it
* Frothy bloat o Formation of stable foam in rumen o Prevent eructation o Emergency o Prevent: bloat safe forage/inter-seed with grass/surfactant (oil in water)
35
What are the risk factors and pathogenesis of hypomagnesemia
* Hypomagnesemia (grass tetany) o Grazing immature/cool season grass (early spring)  High K/N  Low Mg/Na o Pathogenesis  Require K/Na exchange in the rumen to absorb Mg  Mg required for enzyme activation and synapse transmissio
36
What are the clinical signs of hypomagnesemia
 Affect mature lactating animals  Emergency  Hyperexcitability  Convulsion  Recumbency/stiff extremities o Emergency
37
How to prevent hypomagnesemia
o Prevent:  Supplement with Mg in spring (molasses/Mg lic)  Interseed with legumes (Legumes have more Mg than other grass)  +/- delay spring grazing (not feasible)  Soil management – add Mg limestone
38
What is another name for Nutritional muscular dystrophy? What animals does it target
o White muscle disease o Target: rapidly growing calves born from moms in Se/Vit E deficient areas
39
What causes Nutritional muscular dystrophy? what are the requirements for the nutrients involved
o Due to deficient vitE/Se or high diet S/Fe (reduce absorption)  No protection against physiologic lipoperoxidation = hyalin degeneration and calcification in muscles o Se requirement (growing cattle) = 0.1 mg/kg DM o VitE requirement = 25-35 mg IU/kg DM
40
What are the clinical and gross signs of Nutritional muscular dystrophy?
 Stiff/weak/dysplasia o Gross: pale muscles
41
What are the risk factors and pathogenesis of nitrate poisoning
o Excess nitrate in stressed crops (normally converted from nitrate to nitrite to nitrogen)  If there is a late frost it stops conversion from nitrate to nitrite o In the rumen nitrate is converted to nitrite and then to ammonium  Excess nitrate causes build up of nitrite in rumen  Result in methemoglobin formation
42
What are the clinical signs of nitrate poisoning
 Acute tissue hypoxia and hypotension  Rapid weak heart rate – dyspnea/tachypnea  Low body temp  Muscle tremor/ataxia  Cyanotic MM o Emergency
43
How to prevent nitrate poisoning
 Silage reduces nitrate in crops = can be more safe than hay
44
What are the target animals of a feedlot? What are the goals?
* Target: heifer/steer o Weaned calf: 450 – 600lb for 180 – 280d o Yearling calf: 900lbs for 100 – 180d * Goal: efficient growth/weight gain o Target weight of weaned/yearling calves = 1400lbs with 28-29% body fat (BCS = 8) o ADG = 1.6 – 2 kg/d
45
what type of diet is used in feedlots
o Grain based TMP o Byproduct of feedstuffs – cheap (maximize growth/few detrimental effects)
46
What types of nutrients are used in feedlots and what are some common ingredients
o Energy: barley (mainly), also corn/beet pulp/citrus pulp o Protein: canola and soy bean meal/cottonseed hulls/distillers grain o Fibre: barley and corn silage/haylage/hay o Additives: ionophores/buffers/growth promotants
47
List 3 types of growth promotants and examples of each
* Growth Promotants o Synthetic hormones  Melengestrol acetate = oral progestogen (suppress estrus)  Trenbolone acetate = implant o Antimicrobial: ionophores (select for rumen microbes) o Beta-adrenergic agonist  Ractopamine/zilpaterol = feed up to 42d before slaughter – improve feed efficiency
48
List 2 ways grains are processed for feedlots
* Grain processing o Improve digestibility via dry rolling (crush) or temper rolling (soaked then crushed)
49
What is a recieving diet? When is it used? Why?
* Receiving diet: 2-3 weeks from entering feedlot o Teach to eat from a bunk o Hay – transition to grower diet (silage/haylage/grain/supplement) o Water easily available
50
What is a step up diet? When is it used? Why?
* Step up diet: 3-4 weeks from entering feedlot o Sequentially increase concentrate ratio until reach 10:90 o Reduce protein and increase energy o If this does not occur = grain overload (rumen acidosis/rumenitis/liver abscess/bloat)
51
What is a normal rumen pH of a feedlot cow
o Feedlot cattle rumen: pH = 6.2-5.6
52
What is the most important feedlot task? Why?
* Feed Bunk Management o Most important feedlot task o Goal: allow animals to eat consistently (reduce GI disorders)
53
What are some questions to ask as a vet on a feedlot
o As a vet, ensure…  Animals are fed on time (same time every day)  Feed mixed properly  Feed intake is intermittent  How much is offered/how much is left
54
Compare acute and subacute ruminal acidosis? Compare rumen pH and changes in the rumen
o Acute  Rumen pH <5  Elevated lactic acid  Reduced gram (-)/cellulolytic microbes and increased gram (+) o Subacute  Rumen pH 5.2-5.6  No change to lactic acid/gram -/+ bacteria  Reduced cellulolytic microbes
55
What is the pathogenesis of 3 clinical manifestations of ruminal acidosis
 Reduced rumen motility and rumination: lots of VFA targets chemical receptors in rumen epithelium  Dehydration and d+ = water influx from bloodstream into rumen  Rumenitis: VFA stimulate growth of rumen epithelium = excess VFA causes parakeratosis and rumenitis resulting in translocation of bacteria
56
What causes liver abscesses? What are the consequences
o Liver abscess: 2 to rumenitis  Detected at slaughter  Reduced feed intake/ADG/feed efficiency but subclinical
57
What are the causative agents of liver abscesses in feedlot cattle
 Agents: polymicrobial (F. necrophorum/T. pyogenes) * Enter via damaged rumen epithelium
58
How to control liver abscesses in feedlot cattle
 Control * In-feed antimicrobials * Macrolides = high importance in human medicine (category 1) * Tylosin = most commonly used * Require rx (cannot be used at growth promotion * No withdrawal
59
What 3 practices are not able to control liver abscesses in feedlot cattle
* Vx/probiotics/essential oils = not effective
60
What causes feedlot bloat
o Excessive production of bacterial mucopolysaccharides o Due to high energy diets
61
What 3 things can prevent feedlot bloat
 Gradual diet adaptation  Bulk management  Ionophores/buffers
62
Which mineral is most critical to prevent grass tetany in grazing beef cows?
Mg
63
During a typical step-up program, which nutrient composition changes the most in the diet?
Energy increases Protein/fibre decreases
64
During the necropsy of beef calves, you noticed pallor of thigh muscles and cardiac dilation. What is the disease and how to prevent it?
Nutritional muscular dystrophy Se/VitE supplementation to the dam
65
Which feeding practice can be used to supplement beef calves before weaning aiming for higher average daily gains?
Creep feeding
66
What weaning method allows cows and calves to remain in visual and auditory contact despite being physically separated?
Fence Line
67
_________ is crucial to determine myogenesis and adipogenesis in beef cattle..
Fetal programming
68
Which winter feeding practices reduces feed costs by saving on harvesting, manure hauling and spreading?
Stockpiling
69
Which of the following is a common sign of acidosis in feedlot cattle?
Diarrhea and bloating
70
Which feed ingredient is often included to help transition cattle from forage to high-grain diets? a. urea b. ionophores c. distillers grain d. choline
ionophores
71
Why does grass tetany often occur in cattle grazing lush spring pastures?
Mg is blocked by high levels of K in the forage (higher K in young pasture)

VETM 465 Nutrition (10 decks)

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