Ron (left) and Joe Allen believe in the added value of AS-700 to help keep their cattle healthy.

Cure For Colds In Cattle
Don’t wait for animals to get sick to take action. These products can cut medical bills and save lives.

For most folks, autumn is the most pleasant time of the year. But for stocker operators, fall can be a constant nightmare.

“Abrupt temperature swings--hot days and cool nights--can cause stress even on healthy cattle,” maintains Mike Peacock, beef feed sales and marketing manager for Southern States. “Tack on the stress of being weaned and moved about, and you have calves that are prime targets for respiratory and bacterial infections.”

He says using medicinal feed additives before and after animals are moved can go a long way toward heading off costly hospitalization.
“Your Southern States dealer has a number of excellent products that are good for prevention as well as treatment of sickness,” Peacock says.

The Allen brothers of Bladenboro, N.C., can vouch for that. Ron and Joe Allen and their stepfather, Elwood Hairr, produce black baldy calves that are highly desired (steers for the feedlot and heifers as replacements).

The Allens wean calves weighing 450 to 500 pounds and precondition them for 21 to 30 days on mixed feed and free-choice hay.
“We were used to seeing a lot of runny noses, coughing and sick-looking animals for several days after we weaned,” Ron Allen reports. “[Southern States’ Feed Sales Manager] Mike Helms suggested we add AS-700, a combination preventive and medication, to our feed. We tried AS-700 with 33 calves, topdressing it over a mixed feed that we give to calves on drylot after they’re weaned. It eliminated our sickness problem immediately and totally. We’re sold on it.”

Peacock says producers shouldn’t wait for animals to get sick before treating them. He suggests getting ahead of the game with preventive treatments, using one of several products available from Southern States.

Nutra-Plus 10G, for example, is an exclusive Southern States product that contains a high level of the antibiotic Aureomycin® or chlortetracycline. It addition, Nutra-Plus 10G is heavily fortified with vitamins and minerals to build up the animal’s disease immune response.