Guidelines for Parasite Control and Herd Health in Beef Operations

These practical guidelines are designed to support beef farmers in improving herd health, managing parasites, and enhancing overall productivity through strategic animal care, grazing management, and responsible deworming practices.

🟩 Animal Health and Management

• Use Feeders: Keep hay and grain off the ground to prevent contamination and discourage animals from standing in feed.

• Protect Water Sources: Elevate water troughs to minimize the risk of fecal contamination.

• Boost Immunity Pre-Calving: For late-gestation cows, consider feeding 130% of daily protein requirements, ideally including bypass proteins, to enhance immune function.

• Group Young Animals by Age: Keep calves or lambs grouped within two-week age ranges to reduce competition and disease transmission.

• Maintain Clean Housing: Ensure young stock are housed in dry, well-ventilated, and uncrowded pens.

• Monitor Parasite Impact:

  • Use FAMACHA scoring every 3 weeks during warm weather and every 6 weeks in cooler or dry conditions.

  • Increase monitoring if more than 10% of animals require treatment.

• Assess Condition Regularly:

  • Check for signs of poor health including dull coats, diarrhea, bottle jaw, and sluggish movement.

  • Perform regular Body Condition Scoring (BCS).

• Cull Strategically: Consider culling animals that require deworming more than three times per year. Avoid breeding from these animals to reduce susceptibility in future generations.

🟩 Pasture and Grazing Practices

• Stock Pastures Appropriately: Match animal numbers to available forage to prevent overgrazing.

• Use Mixed-Species Grazing: Rotate with horses or cattle to disrupt the lifecycle of small ruminant parasites.

• Implement Timely Rotations:

  • Rotate every 4 days during warm, wet conditions

  • Every 7 days when cool and dry

  • Or when forage height falls below 3 inches

• Rest Pastures Adequately: Allow pastures a 90-day rest period between grazing by small ruminants to break parasite cycles.

• Disrupt Parasite Lifecycles: Mow, bale, or rotate with other species after small ruminants to reduce parasite populations.

• Sequence Grazing Order: Start with weaned youngstock, followed by lactating or pregnant animals, and finish with dry stock.

• Incorporate High-Tannin Forages: Consider planting species like birdsfoot trefoil, chicory, or Sericea lespedeza to help suppress parasite burdens.

• Manage High-Traffic Areas: For zones that can’t be rotated (barnyards, water access), prevent grazing with gravel, hay feeding, or reduce the space to eliminate grazing.

• Fence Off Wet Areas: Keep animals out of persistently damp or boggy pasture areas to avoid parasite build-up.

🟩 Deworming and Parasite Management

• Administer Dewormers Orally: Oral dosing is preferred; injections may contribute to drug resistance.

• Ensure Proper Delivery: Apply oral drenches at the back of the tongue to ensure the dose reaches the rumen.

• Targeted Deworming:

  • Deworm adults with FAMACHA scores of 4 or 5, and young stock scoring 3–5.

  • Treat animals showing signs of illness even if their FAMACHA scores are low.

• Avoid Mass Deworming: Leave some animals untreated to preserve drug-susceptible parasites within the population.

• Use Accurate Weights: Weigh animals or use a weight tape to determine correct dosages.

• Enhance Efficacy: Restrict feed intake for 24 hours before treatment (excluding late pregnancy) to improve drug absorption.

• Test for Resistance: Conduct a Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) every two years or if resistance is suspected.

• Use Copper Oxide Wire Particles (COWP) Cautiously:

  • Dose under veterinary guidance only.

  • Limit to four treatments per season, spaced at least six weeks apart.

  • Monitor liver copper levels to avoid toxicity.

  • Do not use in conjunction with other copper sources.

🟩 New Animal Introduction

• Quarantine Incoming Animals: Isolate for at least 3 weeks in a dry lot to monitor for signs of illness or parasites.

• Double-Class Deworming: Treat new animals with dewormers from two different drug classes at double the standard dose (except for Levamisole).

• Run a Fecal Test: Conduct a fecal egg count before integrating new animals into the main herd.

By following these guidelines, beef producers can improve parasite control, protect animal health, and maintain long-term productivity in the herd. For herd-specific recommendations, consult with your veterinarian or livestock health advisor.