new cattle

[catdance62]

We have been succesfully raising dairy goats for a while now and had the opportunity to buy some registered miniature Zebu cattle for an excellent price from some people who were moving out of state. We purchased 4, 1 bull, 1 heifer, and 2 cows. The size of the cattle is good for our small acreage. We were advised by the former owner that we should worm them when we get them home due to stress of the move etc.(THat is also standard practice for moving goats). SInce we do not have a chute or cattle worker set up yet, we gave them shots of Ivermec in the trailer. Ivermec should be given SQ, but IM is all we could manage. IS that OK? I plan to fecal them in 10 days and worm them again if necessary.
Also, we have had excellent results in our dairy goat herd by copper bolusing them. SHould we do the same for the cattle?

[catdance62]

I wanted to bump this to the top in case someone might have an answer to my question. Also, the cattle have access to a good quality mineral block that has the required amount o copper. Will this be enough? My goats have access to a good free-choice mineral, but it did not have enough copper for them, that is why i bolused them.

[agmantoo]

I do not feed blocks of anything. It is too difficult for the animals to get the required amounts from a block. Loose minerals and loose salt are the way to assure that enough can be consumed.

[bigmudder77]

i always just throw some blocks out for them every now and then and they eat them down but yes loose stuff is better for them im told

but as far as worms we never really wormed any of the cows that we got after moving them we just had dairy cattle though

[catdance62]

Ok, I can give them the same loose mineral I give the goats. It is Blue Bonnet Tech Master and very good quality. Also, do you think we should copper bolus them? Or should we blood test them first so as to reduce the risk of over-toxicity.

[catdance62]

One more thing, do you think since we ended up giving their wormer shots IM instead of SQ it will be effective? Someone told me that pour-on is better, and I can do that next time if their fecal test shows up with a worm load.

[topside1]

Cat, if your feeding grain top dress it with a handful of loose minerals...Cattle aren't goats, not nearly as fragile...Topside

[topside1]

One more thing, folks in my area cut an opening in plastic barrels, add minerals and hang from tree limbs...Keeps the rain out and cattle have minerals and salt 24/7.

[catdance62]

thanks for the good idea!

[agmantoo]

I have shown this before but it works so good that I think it is worth sharing again. I can drag it anywhere the cattle are located and it cannot be turned over by my herd. It will hold 100 lbs of loose minerals or salt easily. It is cheap and easy to make. The tire is a 24.5 road tractor tire

[topside1]

Thanks for the photo Agman...Hope all is well,,,,Topside

[bruce2288]

I would use pour on for lice and worms. There are several available. It is a lot easier on you and the cattle.