Deworming Your Cattle

Parasites and other diseases are both factors that can effect your beef cattle herd and really take away from your bottom line.By doing something as easy as deworming during the right time of the year, producers can prevent loses in production from different parasites and diseases. According to Michelle Arnold, a University of Kentucky Veterinarian, parasites can cause losses that include effects of reduced feed intake, reduced feed efficiency, and reduced milk production along with  direct effects of the immune system and poor help growth. A recent study b y Iowa State University shows that if dewormers are removed from your herd it could cost an extra $150 per head to break even because of the loss in weight your cattle had from the parasites.

Common Dewormer

I hadn't realized  how much parasites and other diseases could cost a producer until I interpreted the results from Iowa State University study. Even though some dewormers can become fairly expensive I would say it is well worth the investment considering all it can do to your herd. However, it isn't about just deworming your cattle it is also about selecting the right time to deworm your cattle so it will be used effectively by your cattle. Deworming your cattle in the spring can reduce contamination your cows might receive when turning them out to grass which is a critical stage in their calves growing cycle. Also treating your herd slightly before or when it starts to get hot can also be an effective time because this is when the parasites begin to move off your pasture and into your cows. You can also deworm in the fall but mainly for your fall calving cows or calves you are weaning because they can the ones who are most effected by parasites during that time. Once we wean our calves we usually mix Safeguard right into our feed accordingly and use some type of pour-on shortly after. 

Ivomec

Overall, I believe it is quite obvious that deworming your cattle is something that has to be done in order to make the most profit from your herd. Parasites and other diseases can cause stress on your beef cattle and in return this can effect your cows in more ways than the few that I have listed. With all that being said,  the spring is here and producers are getting ready to work their cows and turn them out to grass but before they do this I believe they should consider deworming them first.