Is Preconditioning Doomed to Fail?

A Michigan Practitioner's Viewpoint

Abstract

On October 16 and 20, 1986 my partner in the cattle business and I acquired from a reputable order buyer in West Virginia 177 calves which had been purchased in sales barns. The individual average pay weigh was 553 pounds. The cattle arrived at a backgrounding lot in Michigan weighing 526 pounds. Stated in terms used in the trade, the calves experienced a hauling-in shrink of 4.9%. On arrival, they were placed on long hay and converted to a ration of chopped hay, corn silage, corn grain, and soybean meal. The calves when unloaded appeared to be "right". Bawling was minimal and by-and-large all went up to the bunk and started to eat. On day two, after arrival of load one, 18 animals were pulled for treatment. To bring this non-fictional narrative to a close, to date we have experienced a morbidity (that is treatment rate) of some 54%, a mortality rate of about 4%, and a mortality/morbidity percentage of about 7.5%.