ISSUE #4
CD0574
News from the Field
DATELINE : BEEF

Healthy Calves

FAST FACTS

Colostrum antibodies are important for building immunity in baby calves, but they can take a calf only so far
Research suggests that ß-glucans enhance immunity and mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) promote a healthy intestinal environment
Using Alphamune® in a mineral supplement may improve a calf's health; Aureomycin® (chlortetracycline) is FDA approved for control of BRD and anaplasmosis, as well as optimizing weight gain and feed efficiency

In the beef cattle business, you can’t afford to be stopped or going backward because of a cattle-health problem caused by scours or respiratory disease.

That’s true whether you are a purebred Simmental breeder like Jay Volk, Arlington, Nebraska, or the manager or owner/operator of a giant feedlot on the High Plains.

"You don’t want to lose animal performance to disease," says Volk, who runs about 200 Simmental cows that produce purebred bulls and females that are sold mostly to commercial customers at an annual sale.

"Our focus is to limit disease and the performance detraction that you get from disease," Volk says. "Anything you can do to prevent disease puts you ahead."

Because his cows calve in late winter and early spring, health issues such as scours and respiratory problems can sometimes be a big challenge to young calves.

Adverse calving conditions

"We’re calving in January, February and March and we’re expecting cattle to grow in the last half of March and April when it can be wet and muddy," Volk explains. "There often is a health challenge. So we try to get these calves immunologically healthy enough so that when you do give them vaccines for disease prevention at the early stages they get some response to it.

"Anybody can get cattle to respond to vaccine when they’re 6 months old," he adds. "Not everybody can get them to respond when they are 2 to 3 months old."

Passive immunity from the antibodies provided by their dam’s colostrum is important for building immunity in baby calves, but Volk believes passive immunity from this source can only take a calf so far, especially in Nebraska’s generally severe winter and spring conditions.

That’s why, he says, it is important to do whatever you can to help boost a baby calf’s immunity.

Volk traditionally feeds a mineral supplement with Aureomycin® (chlortetracycline), a broad-spectrum antibiotic effective against respiratory disease and anaplasmosis. Studies show it also helps to maximize weight gain and feed efficiency.

That program has been highly effective, but Volk wanted to explore ways to optimize the intestinal health of his herd. He opted to try an all-natural additive called Alphamune®, which is made from an equilibrated blend of ß-glucans and mannan oligosaccharides (MOS). Research suggests that ß-glucans enhance immunity and MOS promote a healthy intestinal environment.

You don’t want to lose animal performance to disease: JAY VOLK - Arlington, Nebraska

You don’t want to lose animal performance to disease: JAY VOLK - Arlington, Nebraska

Understanding MOS

While some data exist to support the use of MOS and other natural supplements, more is known about their mode of action and how they can set the stage for better immunity.

"The MOS portion of Alphamune can be referred to as a prebiotic, which offers some competitive exclusion within the gastrointestinal system," says Denny Hausmann, DVM, a beef cattle veterinarian with Alpharma Inc., the company that makes the natural additive.

"When fed to a calf, they will have some action in the intestinal tract," says Dr. Hausmann. "Many of the gram-negative bacteria - like specific E. coli and Salmonella - attach themselves to the lining of the intestinal tract. MOS offers a binding site to those bacteria. Instead of letting them bind to the intestinal cell, the bacteria bind to the MOS."

He explains that the MOS can survive digestion in the intestinal tract. "It just attaches to that bacteria, which get flushed out of the intestinal tract in the feces as opposed to attaching to the cell wall."

The ß-glucans act somewhat differently in the intestine than MOS, according to Dr. Hausmann.
"We believe they may have some properties that help stimulate immune status," he says. "It does that by binding to specific white blood cells. It works primarily on macrophages and it stimulates them to send out signals that activate certain cells that can increase the production of antibodies and help the immune system to become more active."

Colostrum’s importance

Calves typically obtain passive immunity through colostrum, explains Dr. Hausmann. "Poor immunity in a calf in the early stages of its life can have an impact on performance of that calf all the way to the feedyard, so passive immunity obtained through colostrum is a big thing."

"If we’re going to vaccinate calves at a young age, whatever we can do to lower the stress on those calves and lower the impact of pathogens at an early age, the more their immune system is available to respond to vaccines and the healthier the calf can be."

This would be true for any calf, whether it is in a purebred breeding operation, such as Volk’s, or destined for a big feedyard, says Dr. Hausmann. "Anytime you lower the stress and make that animal’s immune system - or as much of that animal’s immune system as possible - respond to the antigens you are giving it in the form of vaccines, the better response you are going to get to those vaccines."

Helping calf immunity

Volk used Alphamune in the 2006 calving season as part of his management protocol to help improve immunity in calves, he explains.

"What we did is offer this mineral product to the baby calves," he says. We placed that mineral in a feed tub and put it in their hutches and their creeps and their shelter areas, where the cows can’t get at it and the calves can."

Volk observed that the calves were attracted to the appearance and smell of the product and began to consume the mineral product containing Alphamune at about 10 days of age. "They went to it and ate it readily," he says.

'If there is a challenge from E. coli, and we can reduce the problems caused by that, we will have a healthier calf that can build up its immune system quicker'

He also observed that during E. coli challenges, E. coli-related scours and respiratory disease "were reduced big time."

"If there is a challenge from E. coli, and we can reduce the problems caused by that, we will have a healthier calf that can build up its immune system quicker," he reasons.

Not only does it help the calf’s immune system, it also helps to reduce labor and disease-treatment costs because there are fewer sick calves to treat, he says.

"When you run into a challenge like that, you can treat 75 percent of a group very easily in a matter of 2 or 3 or 4 days," says Volk.

"We saw much less incidence of having to use high-powered, high-cost injectable antibiotics for respiratory diseases and less use of the high-labor-intensive drenches and electrolyte treatments for scours."

The calves that received Alphamune were primarily from first- and second-calf heifers, explains Volk. Normally, you would expect to treat calves from first- and second-calf heifers for scours and/or respiratory disease more than you would a mature cow, he says.

"We held par with the mature cow herd as far as treatments. We used minimal amounts of treatment products, compared with what you would normally see," Volk adds.

Because he is in the purebred business, Volk says it is critical for his cattle to have the ability to express all of their genetic potential. "Because we always want these cattle to express their genetic ability, you can’t have things going backward because they are sick," he says.

A CLOSER LOOK AT CALF SCOURS

©2006, Alpharma Inc.
One Executive Drive
Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024
1.800.834.6470
www.AlpharmaCattle.com

For more information about the new Aureomycin-Bovatec combination,
producers should contact their feed supplier or Alpharma representative,
or call 1.800.834.6470
www.AlpharmaAH.com.

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