Stacking Good Decisions to Keep Calves Healthy 🎙️
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This article written by Dr. Reynold Bergen, BCRC Science Director, originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of Canadian Cattlemen magazine and is reprinted on BeefResearch.ca with permission of the publisher.
Last month’s column laid out some of the recommended practices that 11 large-scale research studies said were the most effective for reducing preweaning death loss in beef calves worldwide. Over half of those research studies had been done in Canada, but only three of those Canadian studies had been done in the past 20 years. Canada’s a huge place, and herd sizes and calving dates have shifted over the past two decades. So, which calving practices work best for Canadian cow-calf producers in 2026?
Claire Windeyer of ACER Consulting and coworkers from the University of Calgary and Western College of Veterinary Medicine surveyed producers participating in the Canadian Cow-Calf Surveillance Network (C3SN) to identify on-farm practices that reduced the risk of scours, pneumonia and mortality outbreaks in Canadian beef calves (Benchmarking management practices that impact calf morbidity and mortality in Canadian beef cow-calf herds; (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106725).
What They Did
Producers participating in the C3SN (84 from BC and the Prairies and 41 from Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes) responded to a survey. Producers were asked if they had experienced an outbreak of preweaning calf scours or pneumonia (at least 5% of calves treated) or mortality (at least 5% of calves died) within the past three years. Answers to additional questions regarding herd management practices were compared between those who had experienced one or more outbreaks and producers who had not.
What They Learned
Outbreaks were equally common in both western and eastern Canada. Of the 125 producers surveyed, 24% reported a scours outbreak within the last three years, 26% reported a pneumonia outbreak, and 8% reported a mortality outbreak. Most of the mortality outbreaks were associated with outbreaks of scours, pneumonia or both. Over 40% of herds had at least one outbreak between 2019 and 2021.
Scours outbreaks were more common in herds that calved cows and heifers together on the same pasture (practiced by 29% of western and 15% of eastern producers) compared to herds that calved cows and heifers on separate pastures. Scours outbreaks were also more common in herds that kept all heifers in the calving area until the end of the calving season (practiced by 14% of western and 44% of eastern producers).
Scours outbreaks weren’t more common in herds that regularly calved indoors. But scours were more likely in herds that only brought cows indoors to calve in severe weather (practiced by 45% of western and 10% of eastern producers). The reason for this was unclear.
Scours outbreaks were also more common in herds that vaccinated cattle before bringing them into the herd. This does not mean that vaccination causes scours. More western Canadian herds (51%) vaccinated cattle before bringing them into the herd than eastern Canadian herds (32%), but only 24% of herds had a scours outbreak in either side of the country. It’s more likely that herds that have more experience with scours are vigilant about vaccinating new arrivals to manage scours. As Cheryl Waldner says, “vaccination doesn’t cause scours – but scours can cause producers to vaccinate.” Timing is also important – purchasing new animals into the herd within a month of calving is a known risk factor for calf health.
Pneumonia outbreaks were more likely in the 25% of western and eastern herds that leased bulls for at least one season. Other research from the C3SN has shown that bulls are less likely to be vaccinated than the rest of the herd, so they may be the Trojan horse that expose well-vaccinated herds to respiratory pathogens. Sharing bulls can also be a general indicator of greater biosecurity risks.
Mortality outbreaks were more likely when cows were calved in the same area they had been wintered in (as practiced by 34% of western and 70% of eastern herds), or when all heifers remained in the calving area until the end of the calving season (practiced by 14% of western and 44% of eastern herds). In contrast to what was expected, the odds of mortality outbreaks were higher when all cows and heifers were calved in a single large pasture (practiced by 43% of western and 32% of eastern herds). Large pastures allow cattle to spread out more (which is good) but also make sick calves harder to find and treat.
What Does All This Mean to You?
Newborn calves are vulnerable and valuable. Ensuring calf survival starts long before they’re born. Vaccinating the cowherd and meeting their nutritional needs through the winter ensures that cows calve in good body condition and produce high-quality colostrum to give their calf a good start. But disease-causing pathogens are always there, and the less crowding and manure the calves are exposed to, the more likely they are to survive and thrive. Keep the calving area as clean as possible, whether that’s through avoiding calving on over-wintering areas, providing windbreaks and generous bedding, calving cows and heifers in separate areas, or moving cows and calves from the calving pasture into a nursery pasture a day or so after birth.
You can’t prevent all outbreaks, simply because you can’t control the weather. The producers participating in the C3SN are progressive producers who work closely with their veterinarians and keep good records, and 40% of them still experienced a scours, pneumonia, and/or mortality outbreak in the past three years. But you can reduce the risk of outbreaks by controlling what you can.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is what Longview rancher Stephen Hughes calls “stacking good decisions.” Doing the right things the right way doesn’t prevent every problem every time, but it certainly helps things go better a lot of the time.
The Beef Cattle Research Council is a not-for-profit industry organization funded by the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off. The BCRC partners with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, provincial beef industry groups and governments to advance research and technology transfer supporting the Canadian beef industry’s vision to be recognized as a preferred supplier of healthy, high-quality beef, cattle, and genetics. Learn more about the BCRC at www.beefresearch.ca.
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