Entry to the feedlot
The entrance to the feedlot is a moment of great stress for the animal that negatively affects its productive performance. It is essential to implement all possible measures to mitigate the effects of handling, climate, fasting, mixing of animals and, especially, the effects of transport.
Cattle transportation problems
The transport of cattle for fattening and subsequent sacrifice is a process during which the animal is subjected to multiple physical and psychological stress factors, which negatively influences its health and productive performance. The response of the animals to these stress factors varies according to different factors, such as: the nature of the trip, the grouping of unknown animals, the use of pikes, the presence of noise, high load density, the type of vehicle and the way it is driven, the road conditions and the duration of the trip, among others.
In these stressful situations in which the animal does not have access to food and water for a long period of time, dehydration is produced to a greater extent by cellular depletion due to the outflow of potassium and intracellular fluid, which affects the mucous membranes, the function of the immune system and ruminal activity. As a result, calves are more susceptible to different pathologies.
The risks of dehydration in cattle
When body water levels are not normal, the body tries to compensate from extracellular fluid and, if necessary, intracellular fluid. When the amount of body fluid decreases, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances occur.
Dehydration can be fatal, especially in young animals or animals exhausted by routine handling, and can promote secondary health problems such as acidosis and renal failure. Dehydration is expressed in percentages of body weight lost as water.
Proper management at entry requires rehydration.
Rehydration is most important and should be done before new animals come into contact with existing animals on the farm. This is important because dehydration makes the mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive tract dry and less effective in their filtering function against pathogens. Therefore, if we do not comply with this step, it is possible that in a few days we can see symptoms of disease, either digestive, such as diarrhea, or respiratory problems. It should be applied to all animals, regardless of their weight and the distance traveled at the entrance to the fattening, with the purpose of:
Correct the level of dehydration suffered by the animal during transport and handling.
Adapt the digestive system after the starvation period.
Provide energy, especially to suckling calves.
For this, it is important to be able to offer the calves a good rehydrating agent that allows to reestablish the hydric and electrolytic balance, recovering the normal and functional characteristics of the mucous membranes and the digestive system. We recommend the use of BILANTUL REHIDRA®, an isotonic rehydrating agent in the form of soluble powder; its dilution is at a rate of 30 grams per liter of water and should be supplied according to the degree of dehydration, calculating the difference between the exit weight and the entry weight at the feedlot.
Bilantul Rehidra
AMBiotec offers all its products also through local distributors and the online store. In this short video you can learn about our solutions in animal health for fattening cattle through nutrition.
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