Cattle Feed Lot- Design

A. Feed trough space 22 cm/head + (<guidelines)

B. Self-feeders 17 cm/head

C. Water trough space 3 cm/head + (with flow delivery)

D. Feed and water troughs must not allow soiling

E. Pen density 9+ sqr mtr/hd

F. Gradient of 2.5 % to 3%

G. Drains 1.5%

H. Rock baskets for retention

- Average depth of mud on the pen surface of 15 cms, you’ll

get a 14% reduction in ADG; a average depth of mud of 30 cms

, you get a 25% reduction in ADG

- Clean pens water troughs 1-3x a week specially rainy seasons

- Health, Production , Welfare

- Feed troughs design should be easily cleaned to avoid botulism

- 3 mtrs of apron if want form the feed trough

- Water Regime

Free Choice 20% Restricted 40% Restricted

Water Intake L/day 15.5 12.4 9.2

Feed Intake kg/day 6.2 5.9 4.8

(Average daily water and feed intake of steers (250kg) on restricted and

non-restricted watering regime Utley et al, 1970)

- British Brahman

Water Temperature Celsius

18.3 32.2 18.3 32.2

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Dry Matter intake, kg/hd/day 8.33 8.12 8.11 8.40

Daily Gain. kg/hd 1.15 0.99 1.10 1.14

Feed Efficiency 7.23 8.17 7.36 7.36

(Effect of drinking temperature on performance of British and Brahman cattle

,Lofgreen et al,1975)

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- Manure Manure Water Intake Feed Intake

mg/g water Visit Freq mg/g water L/h/day kg/h/day

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0.00 720 0.0 30.8 6.4

0.05 188 2.5 29.6 6.2

0.25 60 5.0 22.6 6.0

7.5 24.8 5.6

(Effect of manure contamination levels (mg/g water) in water on accumulated

visit frequency to water trough over 7 days, water intake and feed intake

levels of steers (Walter et al, 2002)

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Induction Procedures

1. Weigh-in
2. Vaccinations
a. Clostridium vaccine
b. Ivermectin
c. Anthelmintic(flukicide
 d. Respiratory vaccines(BHV1, M.h., timing)
e. HGP in cattle
f. No robust supporting evidence for the use of:
i. Vitamins ADE
ii. B Vitamins
iii. Microbial Inoculants
3. Identification (electronic)+ visual
For tracking all data, treatments, weights, lineage
-If transition cattles don’t eat, to mobilize tissue and fats in their bloodstream suppresses appetite, keep their
blood sugar up so they’ll eat, supplement with 4in1, calcium-magnesium borocluconate.

Important Considerations

- Animal Health background

a. Muscle development starts at mid gestation before it is born, cow should have a score of 5 at mid /late
gestation. You get what you pay for.
b. Buy calves from graded sales, or from reputation herds with good mineral programs.
c. Cow needs to be in a body condition of 5 to produce a high-quality colostrum, and is produced in the 5
weeks prior to calving.
- Appropriate Diet
a. Acetate (CH3-COOH) is primarily used in fatty acid synthesis for subcutaneous and seam fat as well as milk
fat, critical to newborn calves.
b. Propionate (CH3-CH2-COOH) is converted to glucose in the liver, with no loss of carbon.
c. Butyrate (CH3-CH2-CH2-COOH) is converted to ketones during absorption though the rumen epithelial
tissue, then goes to fatty acids synthesis in adipose and mammary gland.

DIET AFFECTS GROWTH RATE AND END PRODUCTS OF RUMEN FERMENTATION

A. High-concentrate (grain-based) diet results in increased propionate production relative to acetate.

B. Propionate is the only glucogenic fatty acid (The only VFA (Volatile Fatty Acid converted to glucose in the
liver.)
C. Higher levels of glucose production in the liver result in a greater average daily gain (ADG), more lean
tissue growth per day, and more intramuscular fat (marbling) deposited.
 Acute Acidosis

Cause: Highly processed grain diets with Barley, wheat, steamed flake corn or sorghum causes an acid stress if feed
intake varies.

Decreased protozoal and increase bacterial populations (Streptoccocus bovis) lactate production (generation time = 6
minutes

Decreased rumination (less saliva buffering) Low blood pH (interferes with O2 transport and rupture of peripheral blood
vessels)

Symptoms

- Listlessness
- Anorexia
- Diarrhea
- Decreased in blood bicarbonate
- Increased in blood lactate (sometimes)
- Bloat

Bloat Prevention :

1. Bunk Management
2. Diet Formulation

Treatment:

1. Drenching with fats/oils: It may break up froth, but it coats the feed, and rumen function impaired.
2. Trochar -puncture to release gasses in feedlot bloat.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE.

- Grain Processing Mistakes

- Feed Bunk Management and Preventing Acidosis
 Methods to Aid in the Prevention of Acidosis

- Increase the frequency of feeding

- Increase the percentage of roughage in the diet. (higher NDF concentrates are better, because they can be fed at
lower levels)
- Feed complimentary grain sources to increase the time of ruminal digestion, so that less starch is available at any
one time.
- Implement a gradual diet adaptation period that ranges from 10 to 14 days.
- Utilize products that minimize the effect of lactic acid producing organisms.

Controlling Feed Delivery

- Can be automated
- Reduce human error
- Reduces feed wastage
- Reduces metabolic disorders
- Can be used to reduce fat content( If we want to)
- Improves efficiency of feed utilization

Feed Bunk Management

- The most important operation in the Feedlot:

Objectives
 Maximize Animal Performance
 Minimize digestive disorders
 Keep animal eating a consistent amount of feed
 Methods to Aid in the Prevention of Acidosis
 In conventional feedlot situations, use an ionophore such as monensin
(Rumensin®), to reduce lactic acid production.
 Feeding Amaferm™ to increase ruminal lactate utilization in all-natural
diets
 Proper feed bunk management to control intake of cattle so that periods
of over-consumption of grain are minimized.
 Minimize the feed intake fluctuations that occur with straw and stover
bedding.
 Sodium bicarbonate does NOT prevent acidosis in high-grain diets, it is
weak base used in forage-based diets.
Understanding How Nutrients Are Used

Hierarchy of Nutrient Use

- Maintenance
o 50 % of an animal daily caloric intake and 40% of an animals daily protein intake go towards nothing but
the gut and the organs associated with (Rumen, Reticulum, small & large intestine, liver and kidney =
they take half the maintenance.
o In feedlots, we try to minimize the amount of fiber , because as we increase fiber in the diet, it increases
the gut size , we don’t want that. In feedlot we can reduce the gut size by as much as 20%, reducing
maintenance requirements for energy by 10%

- Development
- Growth
- Lactation
- Reproduction
- Fattening

For Feedlot steers , as much as 70 -80 % of feed intake can be for maintenance , leaving only 20 to 20% growth

FINAL THOUGHTS
 Acidosis is preventable with proper bunk management, feed particle size , and forage levels.
 Manure can be evaluated to determine if some cattle have digestive issues, but it is only one diagnosis tool.
 Nervous cattle are more susceptible to acidosis than calm cattle.
 Improper bunk management , feed delivery, and overly-processed grains are most common causes of
acidosis, and the biggest areas of economic loss in feedlots.