Name a health management practice used in beef cattle.

Branding is a health management practice used in beef cattle as it serves multiple purposes, including identification and herd management. Recognizing individual animals is critical for tracking health records, breeding history, and vaccination status. Branding helps ensure that cattle can be easily identified, reducing the likelihood of mismanagement or the spread of disease within a herd. While branding is primarily used for identification, it can also serve as a deterrent against theft and enhance control over livestock.

Other practices such as draining, castration, and weaning, while important in livestock management, focus on different aspects. Draining typically pertains to the removal of excess fluids or infections but is not a common term used in direct cattle health management. Castration is a practice aimed at preventing reproduction and can influence growth rates and behavior, but it does not directly relate to general health management as branding does. Weaning refers to the process of transitioning young animals from their mother's milk to solid food, which is crucial for their development but does not encompass the identification and management aspect that branding does.