Management and Treatment of the Weaner-Stocker Calf in Montana

Abstract

I spent a lifetime with this "stocker problem."

Calves get sick because it is too cold. How do we deal with existing conditions?

The management and treatment of weaner-stocker calves in Montana are directly related to our mountainous areas. In western Montana we have mountain valleys at 5-7 thousand feet. The summers are short and the winters long and cold. So, our problems have a direct connection to the changing weather pattern. From warm to cold in a matter of 12 hours with the onset of a sudden storm. In Montana we wean over 1¼ million calves each year with about 95% being weaned in October and November. Many of these calves go to cornbelt feedlot operators, but a great number are wintered on ranches and feedlots in the state. It is one of the few states left where the ranchers keep the calves and run them as yearlings until they weigh 500-650lbs.

These are wintered on whether they go on to grass in spring or to a feedlot.