Last updated on February 9th, 2022 at 01:33 pm
Larry Chamberlain
Douglas, WY
Riomax® Customer Since 2012
Herd Details
- 250 Mother Cows
Fast Facts
- The incidences of enterotoxemia in neonatal calves for the most part are zero cases.
- Zero problems with Coccidiosis
- Heavier (up to fifty pounds) weaning weights
- Incidence of retained placenta are lower
- Breed up has been good with 100% of two-year-old mothers being rebred after a three-month exposure to the bulls in 2019
- Greater longevity on the cow herd with the average age of our cows exceeding nine years.
- Some of our cows will be calving again in Spring 2020 at 18 years old.
The Story
“I’m one of the unfortunate cattlemen who raise cattle in Wyoming; that’s the area of the Louisiana Purchase that the early immigrants passed through as quickly as possible for more hospitable climate. Some say its God-forsaken. At one mile above sea level, we experience tough conditions due to cold, too much moisture in the winter then too little moisture during the growing season. Obviously, this is a tough area to produce calves, but I was born here and this is my heritage going back generations.
We raise black baldy calves from Hereford and Black Angus cattle. They tend to be hardy, but hardiness alone can’t withstand unrelenting weather. We have built shelters for the calves to take refuge in from birth up to a couple of months old. Our operation includes irrigated hay fields so we have the calves up and off the hayfield by early April. We have many years of experience of fighting scours in these young calves, with the loss of too many from “purple gut” (enterotoxemia).
In 2012, we were amazed that the calves weaning weights were as good as we had ever had. From that year on we have fed Riomax® tubs year-round with predictable results, which also include:
General herd health: No cancer eye since 2012! No periparturient prolapses and very few post-calving prolapses. No incidence of footrot in the cattle; especially appreciated not having any in the bull battery
As we sell weaned calves, we are especially thankful for the impact feeding Riomax® tubs from mid-summer through fall has had on helping to prevent “sudden death” syndrome which strikes black calves especially hard and is largely a result of pneumonia.
We have benefited greatly with the Rio tubs. We are stretching our precious hay stock. Without question, the cows are making better use of the hay they are fed due to the stimulation of the enzymes in the gut. This fall in Wyoming has been a steady stream of wet and cold weather. Our feedlot where we are backgrounding the weaned calves are in knee-deep of slop. Thank God for His grace, and thank you Rio Nutrition for the great recipe in Riomax® tubs. We have set a record for not having a single calf that needed treatment during the 50 days since weaning!