From cow-calf operations to backgrounding/stocker programs and finally to feedyards and packing plants, ensuring animals are well cared for not only makes good business sense; it’s also the right thing to do.
How stress impacts cattle
Stress (psychological and physical) has the potential to be both advantageous and detrimental to cattle health and performance. The difference in the outcome is the duration of the insult inflicting the stress. Stress in short duration may be beneficial. For example, animals escaping predation or spending brief durations in a processing chute to receive vaccinations have a positive impact on animal health and well-being.
However, any activity that significantly disturbs the animal’s environment (e.g., weaning, transportation, new environments, new diets, unfamiliar herd/penmates) and includes a chronic level of stress within the individual animal can have deleterious consequences. Therefore, all cattle handling should be conducted with cattle well-being and comfort as primary concerns.
Stockmanship: The game-changer
Calm cattle are easier to handle, easier to diagnose and easier to manage. Therefore, implementing effective stockmanship – using body language and movement to connect with cattle – remains a differentiator in cattle handling. Ultimately, effective communication with cattle means less stress for both cattle and humans.
Proper cattle handling is imperative to obtain an accurate picture of cattle health and well-being. Because of their predator-prey mentality, cattle are instinctively wired to conceal signs of illness and injury.
If cattle do not trust handlers, they will hide lameness and illness; therefore handlers are less likely to recognize the signs of pneumonia – i.e., bovine respiratory disease (BRD) – and other infectious/non-infectious syndromes among stressed cattle. Using body language to create low-stress environment for cattle allows producers to better care for their animals.
The right setup
Sound cattle-handling facilities are a necessity to maximize a low-stress environment on a cattle operation. All cattle-handling facilities should be built with the typical instincts of cattle in mind. Other steps for ensuring the right setup include maintaining proper shelter and bedding as necessary.
Staff also should be properly trained in low-stress cattle-handling procedures to establish a culture of proper cattle handling across the operation. Ultimately, if the magnitude of stress placed on calves can be reduced, there is an increased likelihood of optimal health and performance outcomes throughout the population.
Cattle health assessments
When necessary, animal health assessments on sick calves should be done effectively with the goal of placing as little stress on the population as possible. Sick calves should be moved to hospital pens in a calm and slow manner. Once placed back in the pen, calves should be allowed to rest in a clean area with water and feed.
Working with a veterinarian, producers should establish animal health assessment protocols to have a plan in place for different scenarios.
Despite the best efforts of those in the field, the ability to accurately diagnose cattle with BRD is extremely limited. This suggests many cattle with BRD are never diagnosed and treated (remember the predator-prey mentality?), thereby reducing performance (and increasing mortality) in those cattle.
Conversely, many calves without BRD are unnecessarily administered an antimicrobial product, thereby unnecessarily increasing treatment costs. The Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope is an example of a non-invasive tool used to assist in the BRD diagnosis.
This diagnostic stethoscope is designed to establish a lung score (a potential reflection of BRD severity and lung health), providing additional information for producers to confirm a BRD diagnosis, select an appropriate treatment regimen and, ultimately, better care for their animals.
Industry support
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) – a national program that offers guidelines for beef cattle production – is a way for cattle feeders to ensure their cattle-handling procedures result in low-stressed cattle and high-quality beef. The BQA program assists producers in determining if their current practices are aiding in the production of thriving, efficient animals.
The program includes steps resulting in less stress on the animal, less bruising and fewer injection site injuries – all of which help to improve the quality of beef. For more information, visit online (Beef Quality Assurance). 
PHOTO: Make sure your cattle are receiving the best care possible. Photo courtesy of Merck Animal Health.
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Jason Nickell
- Veterinarian
- Merck Animal Health
How Merck Animal Health is helping
Merck Animal Health is dedicated to helping producers facilitate best practices for animal handling on operations across the U.S. The company has established tools and resources, such as Responsible Beef and CreatingConnections, for beef producers and veterinarians to utilize in the enhancement of animal-handling practices.
Responsible Beef emphasizes the four pillars of responsible beef production: your cattle, your land, your community and your business.
Producers and veterinarians can find content and resources for animal well-being on the program’s website (Responsible Beef). CreatingConnections aims to help producers learn more on techniques for better animal handling and stockmanship.
The website – creatingconnections.info – offers instructional videos and training information for producers to utilize on their operation. Additionally, Merck Animal Health offers support through the technical services team and industry experts.
