www.irishfarmersmonthly.com
42
BEEF
JULY 2016
 Richard Dudgeon,
beef specialist,
Alltech Ireland.
Adaptation period
is key to success planning starts now
have animals adapt to their new environment and diets
as quickly as possible. However, cattle coming home from
marts or grass that are being housed in sheds for finishing,
are subject to several stress factors such as weaning, mixing
with new groups, new surroundings as well as changes
in their diet. If these factors are not managed correctly,
animals will not reach their full potential, resulting in a
longer finishing period and higher feed costs. To reduce
these issues greater emphasis needs to be placed on
the nutrition and management during this arrival period
in order to improve performance, thereby reducing the
number of days animals have to spend on your farm.
Beef finishers: nutrition and
management is key to improving
overall health and performance,
writes Richard Dudgeon, beef
specialist, Alltech Ireland
As most beef houses are empty at this point, finishers
review how cattle have performed over the winter
period. The thought process now turns to how and
where improvements can be made for the next group.
Through our experience and communication with beef
producers, invariably most of the comments on where
these improvements can be made are during the arrival or
adaptation period. The main challenges seen during this
period are bovine respiratory disease (BRD), lameness
and stomach upsets or acidosis. Beef finishers recognise
that minimising these issues will help to maximise animal
performance during the finishing period. The aim is to
How can nutrition improve performance?
Nutritional management on arrival is an important factor
in maintaining animal health. This is one of the reasons
why animal performance over the finishing period can be
poor. Beef finishers should consult with their nutritionist
and put a nutritional programme in place which is tailored
specifically to new cattle arriving on the farm. Each farm is
different and, therefore, the length of time animals spend
on this arrival or adaptation diet will differ between farms.
It can generally take between 20-30 days before animals
are on a full finishing diet. The purpose of the adaptation
diet is the same for each of these farms and it should focus
on:
Providing good sources of fibre which encourage good
chewing activity;
Containing palatable feeds to encourage higher feed
intakes;
Including a small amount of the feeds used during the
finishing period which will allow the rumen bacteria time
Em
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Alltech
Get your cattle off to the best
possible start for a faster finish.
Alltech® is focused on tackling issues faced by beef producers
throughout the finishing period such as; immune function, rumen
health, lameness and feed efficiency. The ultimate aim is to improve
performance resulting in less time spent on farm with lower feed costs.
We have been providing nutritional solutions to farmers around the
world for more than 30 years through innovations like YEA-SACC®,
BIOPLEX®, SEL-PLEX® and ACTIGEN™.
To find out more call 1850 44 22 44
Email: [email protected]
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www.irishfarmersmonthly.com
44
BEEF
JULY 2016
to adjust;
Ensuring feeds are fresh, not heating and free of moulds
which can upset rumen function;
The use of a specific mineral package tailored specially
for the adaptation period which contains a high level of
Sel-Plex and Bioplex organic trace minerals from Alltech,
which improve immune response and ensure cattle settle
onto a new diet quicker;
Alltech’s new technology, Actigen, should also be included
in the mineral package. Actigen has shown that through
improved animal health, average daily gain and feed
conversion ratio have increased (D Pfenninger, Kansas,
US, 2011);
The use of Yea-Sacc from Alltech is proven to help
improve the rumen environment by increasing rumen
pH and therefore, ensuring that the rumen bacteria work
more efficiently. Research from Teagasc Grange has shown
that the inclusion of Yea-Sacc in beef finishing diets can
improve performance by over 10 per cent (Figure 1).
How can management affect performance?
The aim here is to minimise stress as much as possible.
Purchased animals should be kept separate to the main
group until they have settled into their new surroundings.
If possible, once the cattle have settled with a group they
should remain with that group; mixing cattle encourages
fighting and, therefore, causes stress. Housing this group in
an area with straw bedding and good ventilation can help
to reduce stress and improve air quality. Keeping groups
consistent and small in size, such as 10-15 per group, is
advised. Allow plenty of resting and feeding space in order
to reduce competition and bullying. A good supply of fresh,
clean water is vital and there should be at least one drinker
for every 10 animals.
A good vaccination and animal health programme is also
essential; consultation with a veterinary practitioner to
give advice on this area is crucial. Not all of the above
suggestions are manageable or practical on some farms,
therefore it is critical for you to speak with your nutritionist
and veterinarian in order to devise a plan that fits with your
system. Working to this plan means your cattle will more
likely be in better health, adapt to their new diet sooner
and, subsequently, build up to the final finishing diet
quicker.
Managing all of these areas efficiently will help to promote
the overall health status of the herd, therefore reducing the
occurrence of issues such as BRD and lameness, resulting
in a higher level of daily live weight gain. Cattle should
reach target weights faster, saving you several working days
feeding, let alone the additional feed costs.
12
+10.9
% improvement over control
10
+7.7
8
+6.5
6
+4.4
4
+2.4
2
0
Dry matter
intake
Feed conversion
efficiency
Live
weight gain
Killing
out %
Carcase
weight
Figure 1: Percentage improvements in performance parameters in beef animals fed a Yea-Sacc diet
compared to a control diet (R Fallon et al, Teagasc Grange Research Centre, 2003).
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