A new product released into the cattle and swine market has strong potential to help cattle producers in many ways.
Its main premise is calming cattle for a considerable period of time.
Making cattle calmer in the most stressful stages of their life can go a long way toward reducing sickness and improving weight gains.
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Producers, especially in the purebred world, have told me about other uses that help them in business.
I have personally used the product a fair bit and have read the research and spoken to a number of producers who have used it.
It has been available in the United States for a couple of years and has received positive feedback. The great thing about it is that producers can actually see cattle become calmer.
The product is called FerAppease, which is described as a bovine appeasing substance.
It is a combination of fatty acids and is applied topically, typically a five cc dose in two locations — one just above the nose and the other behind the poll.
Cattle become calmer within 15 minutes of absorbing and breathing in this sort of pheromone.
It is classed as a nutraceutical for licensing purposes in Canada, so there are no withdrawal issues or deleterious effects on pregnancy.
It will likely seldom be used on bred animals in cattle production, although it could be used for extended transport or if mixing groups leading to calving season.
The product comes in two sizes, 300 cc and 1000 cc, to do 30 or 100 head.
It’s best to apply when the animals are in a squeeze chute while doing other procedures.
The applicator guns apply the product in a straight showerhead effect, so it’s really easy to apply. There is no staining on the hide.
The one big benefit of this product is that it lasts for approximately 14 days. This makes the cost per day tolerable and easier to adopt into a management process.
The product can be applied at weaning or when processing cattle.
Studies from the U.S. show its use results in better performance and weight gains.
Producers reported much less bawling of calves and more relaxing and lying around.
It’s common sense that cattle will do better if we can calm them down. Wilder cattle are less likely to settle down quickly and find the feed bunk or watering bowl during weaning and have a higher incidence of sickness.
They are also much more likely to injure themselves.
The product is stored at room temperature and does not require a prescription. Most producers will acquire it through their local veterinary clinic, but it will also be available at most feed supply stores and farm supply outlets.
Producers should definitely ask their veterinarians for their opinion.
The product is a good fit in this day of increasing emphasis on animal welfare.
As well, bovine respiratory disease is still the number one killer in feedlots, and the incidence has improved because of preventive vaccination and prudent antimicrobial use. FerAppease may be able to take it one step further.
De Stress is the other stress-relieving product on the market. It is fed to cattle or put in their water, and like FerAppease, producers can visibly see its effects on cattle.
It was developed more for reducing shrink on long transport to packing plants, and FerAppease could also be used for that purpose.
It will be interesting to see if it is used at the cow-calf level when calves are moved through the auction system. It should result in less shrink, so it stands to reason that the cow-calf producer would see a cost benefit.
Purebred producers should also see a benefit when commingling heifers but also bulls raised for breeding.
The product might prevent unexpected losses from yearling bulls getting hurt as the result of being picked on and ridden or when there is excessive sparring.
Producers attempt to prevent this by providing areas for bulls to hide or other distractions in the pens.
FerAppease will be another tool they can use to help reduce injuries when raising bulls as well as help prevent sickness.
It can also be used when halter breaking show cattle or when veterinarians perform painful procedures such as castration and dehorning.
Producers may want to try it on half their cattle at first to see if they think it makes a difference.
Ultimately, they will be the final judges on how it fits into their operation. By Roy Lewis DVM
Roy Lewis works as a veterinarian in Alberta.
