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Texas Agriculture Archive

February 7, 2003

The Do's and Don'ts of

Preconditioning

By Lana Robinson

Field Editor

Don't confuse the term "preconditioned calves" with "backgrounded calves." They're not interchangeable, according to Extension Livestock Specialist Ron Gill.

"Preconditioning is not the same thing as backgrounding. With precondition, you're not talking about putting cattle on feed—necessarily," said Gill, addressing a group of beef producers at the recent Blackland Income Growth (BIG) Conference in Waco.

"You may not think you're preconditioning your calves, but if you keep replacement heifers, you are. It's not a difficult thing to precondition calves if you raise your own. If you buy them, now that's a different story."

The objective of a preconditioning program is to prepare the calf for entry into a backgrounding yard or feedlot. This is accomplished by exposing the calf to the stresses of weaning, vaccination, and other common processing procedures (castration, dehorning, treatment with systemic parasiticides, and implanting) well in advance of its entry into the backgrounding yard or the feedlot. Gill said preconditioning vaccinations, nutrition, and parasite control are three areas which can help prevent or reduce problems with morbidity and mortality in the backgrounding yard or feedlot.

"There is a short management period when the calf is first weaned—21 to 60 days, mostly 45 days—before you move to the next phase of production that is the most stressful. The idea is to toughen up ranch-weaned calves enough that they don't get sick on you," he said.

Vaccinations alone do not constitute a preconditioning program. A beef cattle producer should develop a preconditioning program which encompasses vaccination, nutrition, weaning, and other management items which are essential for the success of any preconditioning program.

"You do need to consider the money—how much you can recover in 45 days," he advised.

Gill noted that most feeders don't want to purchase a "big fat calf" and offered several preconditioning "dos and don'ts."

"Timing makes a difference in the success," he suggested. "You need to provide adequate nutrition. Develop a positive plan of nutrition where the calf will gain a pound a day. Some people brag about calves that gain 2.5 pounds, but that is less efficient, and it takes some of the growth out of it. Here's where the industry needs to work together."

Gill said producers who follow vaccination protocols in keeping with the industry standard will spend $6.50 to $8.50 per head.

"I don't care how you do it. That's a given cost for minimum health requirements," he said.

Gill recommended that producers always develop a pre-budget for the program.

"Stick to it, and don't use anyone else's budget," he warned. "Also, make sure you have adequate labor available. Don't underestimate the ability of a calf to escape."

He told producers to remain committed to a 45-day program without wavering.

"The most weight is gained in the last 15 to 25 days," he noted. "Remember, nobody wants a fat, slick calf. They grow too fast. Nobody wants him. One to 1.5 pounds a day is ideal.

"Precondition if you have adequate forage," he continued. "If you're buying sack feed to precondition, I'll bet you're losing money. Cut or graze pastures short in late summer. Wean your calves. With rain at the right time, you should have some fall grazing. They'll get 10 to 15 percent protein on grass. You can supplement with 1 to 2 pounds of cubes. That's pretty easy and economical."

When asked if 60 days was too long to precondition, Gill said, "No. There's really not a 'too long' period. There's a 'too short' period. You have to ask, `what is the market doing?' 'What is the value of that gain?' Let's say the market is 80 cents a pound. As cattle get bigger, the price goes down. Every pound of gain is not worth 80 cents. It could be 30 to 50 cents. And you need to consider seasonal trends. It may be costing you more to put gain on than the value of it. You need to stop when the cost of gain exceeds the value of the gain. That's a big issue. You can have 45 to 50 cents in preconditioning. You have to ask, `how much feed are you putting in and how much gain are you getting out?'"

Gill emphasized that inferior genetics are tough to overcome with nutrition and preconditioning.

"Preconditioning won't work on inferior genetics. They don't have to be excellent, but you've got to have something to work with," he said.

Gill added that a limited number of auction barns in Texas were holding special sales for preconditioned cattle.