Increased feed efficiency, greater milk production, and higher growth rates are some of the benefits of using hormones to raise cattle.There are three ways hormones are given to cattle.Growth implants are given to beef cattle, feedlot heifers are fed, and dairy cows are injected.Due to extensive information and various methods associated with synching estrus, this is not covered in a separate article.There are three types of steroid growth implants for beef cattle: 1) Natural hormones composed of progesterone, estrogen and testosterone that are produced by the animal and are used as either single estrogen implants (Compudose®), or as estrogen combination (Synovex® and Component®); 2) ZeranAll of the implants are not approved for use in dairy cows or veal calves.Feedlot cows and heifers are fed a female sex hormones to prevent them from going into heat during their finishing/fattening feeding period.The United States has approved hormone injections for dairy cows for improved milk production.Due to animal health issues, this drug is not approved for use in dairy cows in Canada, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand.The hormone is only approved for use on dairy cows.To learn more about how beef and dairy cattle are given hormones, please follow the steps below.This article is a guide, not a direct source of information on how to give hormones to your cattle.If you have any questions or concerns about the use of hormones in your animals, please contact your vet.
Step 1: Purchase the best product for your herd.
There are many types of implants to choose from, but there are only a few main brands that are available for use.The United States has two more brands that are approved for use in Canadian beef cattle.Each type of implant product is intended for use in different types of cattle, so your choice will reflect the effectiveness of it in your herd.You need to know the sex, age, weight, length of time the implants are effective, and classes of cattle you want to implant.Some implants are more effective than others, but their effectiveness is limited by what you feed them and how you raise them.Implants are only a means of assisting growth and feed efficiency, along with a proper feeding program and humane handling, and they won't make the animal grow better for you.If you don't feed your animals properly or fail to meet their nutrition requirements, an implant can be next to useless.
Step 2: The animal should be restrained.
The steer should be locked in a head-gate and put into a squeeze chute.The ear will be needed in order for the implant to be injected.
Step 3: Make sure the head is restrained.
If you don't want to have to deal with an animal that is struggling, this is useful.You can use a rope halter, bull lead, or nose brace to restrain the head.If you choose to use a rope halter, put it on by first looping the head piece over the ears, then the nose band and chin piece tightened snug against the chin.Pull the end of the lead rope around the bars behind the head gate until the animal's head is snug against the side of a head- catch.A quick-release knot is used to secure.The bovine nose tongs are put on by placing the ball points of the tong inside each nostril and locking the tool in place by squeezing the handles together.The rope should be tied to the chains and secured the same way as the rope halter above.
Step 4: Disinfect the ear.
If you want to inject the needle into the ear, you should use a cotton swab dipped in germicide or disinfectant.If not already done, the needle of the gun should be washed.
Step 5: The gun needs to be ready.
Before you have the animal restrained, you should do this first.The implant gun has a sharp, large-gauge needle at the "business" end.The barrel holds several small implant pellets which are injected under the skin of the ear, and slowly release their contents over time.The small bullets that can be loaded into a.22 rifle are too small to handle alone.Depending on the product, there are 10 to 100 pellets in one cartridge.Load the gun according to the label that comes with the implant gun.Don't load a Rev-X Universal Applicator tool into a Synovex gun if you want to use a different product.
Step 6: If you have an ear, grab it.
To give an animal its required dose, you only need one ear, unless you have an ear tag on it.The ear should be divided into three sections.Take a look at the middle third of the ear.Implants will be placed under the skin and in the middle of the ear.
Step 7: Place the needle in the ear.
Holding the ear in one hand, use your other hand to guide the need of the tool so that the needle is parallel to the surface.To prevent premature ejection of the pellets, make sure your finger is off the gun.Push the needle until it is completely submered beneath the skin, using your finger on the inside of the ear to feel for it.
Step 8: To get the required dosage into the ear, squeeze thetrigger.
If more than one pellet is to be administered into the ear, multiple times will be needed.The procedure has been done correctly and you should feel a straight line of pellets running parallel to your ear.Pull the needle out of the ear after you ejected the pellets.
Step 9: The animal needs to be released.
If there are no more things that need to be done, then let the animal go.
Step 10: From step 2, repeat for the next animal.
Each time you use the implant gun, you will need to make sure it is sterile and ready to go for each animal.
Step 11: Purchase the product.
Melengestrol is a product that is added to the feed and comes in either a dry or liquid form.
Step 12: The label should be read.
The instructions on how much MGA needs to be given will be on the label.The rule of thumb is that heifers and females should get 0.25 to 0.5 grams per head per day for maximum estrus suppression.The MGA® 100 Premix needs to be fed so that females get a little bit of it.There is only one product approved for use in Canadian cattle.The others are approved for use in American cattle.The MGA® 500 Liquid Premix contains 500 IU per pound.The amount of MGA mixed in with the feed depends on the type of feed and the FDA's Medicated Feeds Program.There are two types of feeds: type B and type C.The purpose of the type B feeds is not to be fed to the livestock.There are types of feeds where a non-medicated feed is used for the purpose of feeding livestock.
Step 13: Determine how much MGA is needed for your herd.
You will need to determine if you are putting MGA in type C feed or type B feed.The amount of MGA you intend to mix with the feed will be shown on the label.The MGA® 200 Premix needs to be mixed at a rate of 1.25 to 10 pounds per ton of non-medicated feed to create a type C medicated feed.One US short ton is 2000 pounds, and that MGA@ 200 contains 200mg of MGA per pound of the premix.Try not to get mixed up on the conversion measurement between empirical and metric measurements.There are more complicated mixing directions in the MGA@ 500 Liquid Premix.In order to get a type C feed that contains 0.25 to 2.0 grams of MGA per ton, you need to mix this premix with a non-medicated feed.MGA® 100 Premix should be added to feed at a rate of 0.25 kilo to 1.0 kilo per 1000 kilo of feed so that heifers get a little more feed per day.
Step 14: To supplement, measure out the amount.
Depending on how many animals you are feeding and how much feed you have to use, the amount you give your animals to be mixed in the feed will be different.Grain or bag of feed that is a mix of grains and intended as a supplement or to top-dress on a mixture of hay is usually used in a feedlot.It's not possible to mix MGA premix with hay.
Step 15: It's a good idea to give it to your animals.
The feed should be fed as a top-dress on grain, roughage, or mixed with a complete ration so that cattle get the type C feed at a rate of up to 2.0 pounds per day.This feed is not intended to be fed to steers, breeding cows, bulls, veal or suckling calves, and doesn't work on them.It is only intended for cows that are fed in confinement for slaughter to suppress estrus for a period of time in the feed lot.
Step 16: If necessary, repeat the steps from step 2.
You will need to feed this premix daily to prevent heifers from coming into heat.Failure to feed this can result in heifers going into estrus a day later.
Step 17: Purchase the drug.
If you are an American dairy farmer looking for Posilac®, you will find it at your local veterinary clinic or farm supply store.Posilac® is the only drug on the US market that is used to increase milk production in dairy cows.For legal use in dairy cows outside of the U.S. there is no similar drug on the market.
Step 18: You have to read the label.
The Posilac® label will tell you the optimum dosage, where to inject and how often, as well as for which animals it is intended for.The proceeding steps can be performed using this information.
Step 19: Know how much is needed for each cow.
Dosage is recorded for each individual cow in a dairy operation.There is no need to know the exact weight of the drug in order to give the correct dose.The dosage will be precise if it is within the correct weight.
Step 20: The animal should be fined.
Unless you have a dairy operation where cows are confined to stalls for the duration of their lactating period, you will need to move the cow into a squeeze chute in order to give the hormone.There is a chance that she will try to move up and down the chute on you while you are giving the needle.
Step 21: Put the needle in the syringe.
If you want to give cattle injections, you'll need to fill the syringe with air and then slowly pull the plunger back to allow the liquid to flow into it.Once done, depress the plunger and let the air bubbles out.
Step 22: The cow should be injected.
Posilac can be injected into the rump of the cow as well as the neck.The rump injection is done in the skin between the tail head and the hip bones, which are known as the "pins" of the pelvis.The tail-head depression is found at the top of the cow's rump.The folds that extend from under the tail are known as the caudal fold.Tuberculosis testing is done by the USDA in this area.The tenting technique on the neck is recommended since Posilac® must be administered under the skin.tenting in the area behind the shoulder is difficult, but it's a recommended area to inject.When you inject the needle, depress the plunger to get all the fluid out of the syringe.
Step 23: The cow should be let go.
The cow can be released back into the herd once the injection process is complete.
Step 24: After the recommended time period, repeat for other cows.
The Posilac® label recommends that cows be injected every 14 days, starting 57 to 70 days post-calving and continuing until the end of lactation.When you have a large dairy herd that is not in the same stage of reproduction as a means to achieve year-round milk, it's best to keep a record of when the cow was injected.