North Canterbury News: November 04, 2021
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HAY, BALEAGE &SILAGE<br />
28 <strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>November</strong> 4, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Gains made from pre-slaughter feeds<br />
Giving bulls hay or silage<br />
before sendingthem to<br />
slaughter is not awaste of feed<br />
itcan provide goodgains.<br />
Different holdingconditions<br />
preslaughter can affect bull<br />
behaviour, meat quality and<br />
carcassvalue,says Beef +<br />
Lamb New Zealand (BLNZ).<br />
It is knownthat mustering,<br />
holdingand transporting cattle<br />
before slaughter can be<br />
stressful for animals, BLNZ<br />
says.<br />
Studiesinthe past have<br />
helped confirm thatstress can<br />
have anegativeeffecton<br />
carcassweight, meat pH, meat<br />
colour and can increase<br />
bruising.<br />
Reducing stresshelps<br />
ensure the pH level in the meat<br />
remainslow.<br />
High pH meat tends to be<br />
firm, dark, dry and less<br />
suitable for chilled trade.<br />
Previous research has<br />
recommended farmers can<br />
reduce preslaughter stress in<br />
cattle and improve carcass<br />
weightsand value by feeding<br />
cattle while settling them in<br />
the yard before transport,<br />
gettingcattle used to the yard<br />
environment and avoiding<br />
dehydration.<br />
Bulls heldonpasture are<br />
more aggressive and sexually<br />
active than bullsfed hay or<br />
fasted during holding time.<br />
This higher level of<br />
interaction may increase the<br />
risk of bruising.<br />
Feedinghay can increase the<br />
time spent eating, drinkingand<br />
ruminatingbybulls.<br />
Ruminating has acalming<br />
effect on animals, making them<br />
abletocope much better with<br />
subsequent transport.<br />
Feedinghay or silagetobulls<br />
while off pasture for 12 to 24<br />
hours beforecartage reduces<br />
stress compared with fasted<br />
cattle and thosetransported<br />
directly from pasture.<br />
Feedingsilage overnight (12<br />
hours) before transport can<br />
givecarcass weights11kg<br />
heavier than bulls fastedfor<br />
the same length of time.<br />
Feedingsilage becomes<br />
beneficial when holdingbulls<br />
for more than 12 hours.<br />
These benefitsare unlikely<br />
to occur if the bulls are<br />
unfamiliar witheach other.<br />
Mixing unfamiliarbulls<br />
overnight, as well as fasting<br />
them, causesanaverage<br />
carcass weightloss of 68kg.<br />
Feedingsilage for 20 hours<br />
before transport can result in<br />
significantly heavier carcass<br />
weights than eitherfasted<br />
bulls or those fed silage for<br />
onlythreeoreight hours<br />
before transport.<br />
Trial resultssuggest fasting<br />
for up to eight hours before<br />
transport is not detrimental to<br />
carcass weights, in comparison<br />
withtransporting straight off<br />
pasture.<br />
Stress responses to transport<br />
can be reducedifbullsare<br />
settledinthe yard for more<br />
thanfour hours before loading.<br />
Analysis showsmost bulls<br />
are at least mildlydehydrated<br />
No bull ... Feeding silage to bulls heading off to slaughter can pay off.<br />
aftertransport.<br />
Despite this, only asmall<br />
number drinkduring the four<br />
to five hours at the abattoir.<br />
Farmers needtoencourage<br />
bullstodrink as much water as<br />
possiblebefore transport, so<br />
feeding hay or silage is<br />
advisable.<br />
Transporting stock for longer<br />
than eighthours causes<br />
dehydrationand, for longer<br />
than 24 hours, can seriously<br />
affect welfare and<br />
productivity.<br />
Increase the animals’<br />
familiarity with peopleand<br />
yards to reducestress preslaughter.<br />
Plan unit loads of cattle well<br />
in advancetopreventmixing<br />
unfamiliar stock in the preslaughter<br />
period.<br />
Bring cattle off pasture four<br />
hours or more before transport<br />
so they are easiertohandle.<br />
Minimise the length of<br />
fasting periods to less than<br />
eight hours.<br />
Alternatively, provide hay,<br />
baleage or silage to avoid<br />
weightloss, improve behaviour<br />
and encourage water drinking.<br />
Make sure stock are<br />
PHOTO:FILE<br />
collected on time.<br />
Keep yards, gates and<br />
loading ramps in good order<br />
and have water available.<br />
Farmers shouldavoid<br />
mustering cattle off pasture<br />
just before loading,asthey will<br />
be more stressed and become<br />
dirty during transport.<br />
Mustering overlong distances<br />
in the week before transport<br />
and slaughter, presenting<br />
horned stock for slaughter and<br />
transporting unfit stock should<br />
alsobeavoided.<br />
Copy: Beef+Lamb New<br />
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