Animal Stewardship
The Purpose of Acclimation By: Dr. Tom Noffsinger and Dr. Kip Lukasiewicz, Production Animal Consultation, & Dr. LeeAnn Hyder, Robinson Hospital for Animals Excerpt from “Feedlot Processing and Arrival Cattle Management,” Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 31.3 (2015): 323-340. Acclimation is the process and result of proper caregiver-cattle interaction that allows cattle to accept their new home environment. Caregivers demonstrate to cattle that they understand cattle instincts and sensory systems and can effectively communicate with the new arrivals. The performance and health goals of acclimation efforts with newly arrived cattle in feedlots are to provide rehydration, nourishment, and rest and to improve immune function. Water is the most important nutrient for any animal. Yet often times, cattle have been without food and water for 24 to 48 hours before arrival at a feedlot, leading to dehydration. Richeson and colleagues(1) evaluated the hematocrit of cattle arriving at a feedlot and found the range to be 23.5% to 46.9%, with a mean hematocrit of 36.9 ± 3.7%. The tendency for cattle to exhibit an elevated hematocrit at arrival is consistent with dehydration. Caregivers must make rehydration a priority for new arrivals because cattle depend on water to carry out basic metabolic functions. Dehydrated cattle are also reluctant to eat. Inadequate consumption of safe water can negatively affect feed intake, health, and production.(2–4) Brew and colleagues(5) found increased water intake was correlated with increased average daily gain (ADG) and increased
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feed intake in growing beef cattle. Preston(6) concluded that providing water to calves shortly after arrival increases feed intake to appropriate levels (greater than 1% of body weight) more quickly than providing feed alone. The requirements for timely rehydration include access to fresh clean water, complete confidence in the new environment, and confidence in the new caregivers. Cattle that are not confident in their new space are reluctant to be confident in the water supply. Caregivers need to be aware that proper caregiver-cattle interactions can have a positive impact on pen distribution and willingness to aggressively drink. There is huge potential within the industry to install tank flowmeters that would allow the monitoring of daily water intake. Average water intake can vary from 25 to 35 L/head/d. (5) Systems such as GrowSafe (GrowSafe Systems Ltd, Airdrie, AB, Canada) enable producers to measure individual animals’ food and water intake, even when they are housed in a group pen, through use of radiofrequency identification technology.(5) Efforts to document water intake levels as a predictor of future health and performance could help identify priority pens and validate caregiver acclimation progress. In addition to being without water, cattle typically do not have access to feed during transport to the feedlot. The combination of transport and lack of food and water leads to decreased body weight beyond that associated with lack of food and water alone. Falkenberg and colleagues(7) found relocated cattle that had food and water withheld up to 12 hours had up to a 6% decrease in body weight compared with cattle that were starved but were not relocated that had a 2% decrease in body weight.
