straight from the hip It’s hard to recover once body condition is lost, and that can have lasting implications on your herd’s health and productivity
We could face yet another long winter and as we prepare our farms it is important to remember the basics for the cattle.
Feed testing is an easy step, but to bring it alive, it is best looked at from a human point of view. Would you feed your child only pasta three times a day without adding other nutrients? Of course not, and that is why young calves need to have their nutritional needs met carefully. Weaning a calf onto grass or hay is fine, but late in the year there are nutrients missing and it is at a disadvantage because it is no longer nursing.
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The first step is to test the feed, and have a nutritionist point out deficiencies and recommend a diet that maintains and grows the calf. Calves should also be given plenty of space so they are not coughing all over each other. Think about a daycare where every germ has to be experienced by every child. Offering calves space has proven to reduce respiratory disease.
Shelter is especially important during wet fall weather as once chilled, they are highly susceptible to sickness. We used to say that you could count on having to treat sick calves in the feedyard exactly 10 days after a rain. Protected sunny spots that are well drained are best, as is forest or bush that allows for calves to hide away from wet and wind.
Mother cows need extra care, too. For a long time they can simply graze or scrounge, but to head into winter compromised will cost at the time of calving. They need a little extra energy to stay warm and grow their fetus. Test the feed. Appropriate shelter is also important. If you are in an open area or do not have sheds, a bale break really works well. If you have bush, follow the cows on a cold day — they will take you to the warmest spot on the ranch. Do your bedding there if it is appropriately set back from a waterway.
Feeding young cows and heifers separate from the main herd allows for a little artful competition. Perhaps the most limiting method of feeding is at a bale feeder where everyone must compete. If using bale feeders, ensure young stock is kept together as a group so they do not have to compete with older cows. Young bulls should also be fed separate from the herd bulls to lessen competition and risk of injury.
Nutrition
Heifer development is all about nutrition. New research confirms nutritional deficiencies early on in the heifer’s life limit her productive life as a cow. The real focus is not just on growing the animal, but on maintaining those body energy reserves during late pregnancy. In fact, that nutrition later in the gestational period has a direct influence on getting nutrients to the fetus and on the placenta.
Dr. Ron Clarke reported that heifers born out of cows receiving protein supplement while pregnant birthed 77 per cent of their calves in the first 21 days — compared to 49 per cent in the first 21 days of those who did not receive protein. It is really all about daughters. In the same work, the pregnancy rate was 93 per cent in those daughters whose mothers received the supplement compared to 80 per cent pregnancy rate for those daughters who mothers did not receive the protein supplement.
Proper nutrition goes well beyond protein and energy, of course, but it is interesting how much affect it has in utero to the long-term fertility of the yet to be born female. University of Calgary research has found that 20 per cent of Alberta bulls are sub-fertile and it would be interesting to see how the nutrition of the dam impacts the fertility of her male offspring.
Having a cow herd is all about fertility. There is no profit in infertile cows or bulls and it is hard on animals to recover once body condition is lost. More importantly, when we care for the mother cow, we care for her unborn calf too. And that alone is worth feed testing for!
