Skinny Cows and Restricted Hay Sources: What are my choices?

Drought circumstances this final rising season, restricted hay provide, and a moist winter have been very difficult to beef producers. This created a scenario the place many cows at this level have been thinner than regular years.  As well as, we couple that with restricted hay and lower-quality hay with the potential of getting a late inexperienced up or delayed prove to grass. With that in thoughts, we have now to consider find out how to enhance vitality within the weight loss program to fulfill the lactational necessities whereas gaining BCS and doing that previous our conventional prove to grass. 

Troy Walz, College of Nebraska-Lincoln

Controlling or minimizing feed waste is important to stretching hay assets.

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Physique situation scoring (BCS) is an efficient administration instrument to estimate the vitality reserves of a cow.  If monitored a number of occasions throughout the manufacturing yr, BCS is an effective indicator of path of physique weight change.  Physique situation rating of beef cows on the time of calving has an impression on subsequent rebreeding efficiency; nonetheless, path of physique weight achieve might be simply as essential (Desk 1). Conventional suggestions recommend cows should be nutritionally managed at a BCS 5 or higher at breeding for optimum reproductive efficiency. Nevertheless, the response shouldn’t be absolute; some cows are able to rebreeding at BCS lower than 5. 

Though calving BCS can affect rebreeding and efficiency of cows, it doesn’t imply skinny cows will all the time lead to decreased reproductive efficiency.  A big impression on copy is path and magnitude of physique weight change after calving and thru breeding.  Houghton et al. (1990) confirmed that skinny cows gaining situation elevated the likelihood of cows turning into pregnant; nonetheless, fleshy (fats) cows shedding physique situation improved being pregnant charge (Desk 1). The consequences of poor physique situation (lower than 4) might be overcome by improved diet.  The aim is to shorten the interval of weight reduction by elevated nutrient provide in order that optimistic achieve might be initiated, and the cows can begin biking. 

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Desk 1. Impact of physique situation rating change on being pregnant charge

Tailored from Houghton et al. (1990)

Due to the dietary calls for of lactation, it may be tough to get cows to achieve physique weight economically after calving. That is actually because of nutrient necessities being the best as much as roughly day 60 after calving, which additionally coincides with the beginning of breeding.  A lactating cow at peak lactation has an vitality demand of 15 – 16 lb of TDN per day relying on milk manufacturing stage. 

So, what will we do if we have now skinny cows? Further vitality will likely be required to revive their physique situation to a reasonable stage.  The issue with this administration scheme is that nutrient calls for right now are excessive and the extra diet provided could also be used to extend milk manufacturing slightly than physique weight achieve.

What choices do we have now to stretch forage or hay provide?

Controlling hay waste:

Controlling or minimizing feed waste is important to stretching hay assets. With any feed or feeding technique, we all the time have waste related to it.  Understanding how a lot waste is happening is important for assembly nutrient wants of livestock. Methodology and quantity of hay being fed can have feed waste higher than 25%. Some research have proven as much as 39% hay waste by technique of feeding hay. Hay waste is extremely influenced by hay feeder design that’s used to feed advert libitum quantity to beef cows.  Ring feeders with sheeted bottoms and basket feeders with sheeted bottoms typically have decrease waste percentages of 5 to 10%.

In case you are feeding hay by means of a processor or rolling bales out, you will need to solely feed sufficient in order that cows can eat all that they want for sooner or later and never overfeeding.  Overfeeding can result in elevated waste because of cows urinating and defecating on the surplus hay. 

One technique to manage waste is to manage entry to hay feeders.  Segregating feeding space and solely permitting cattle to entry hay for 3 to 12 hours a day. Restrict feeding or limiting entry to hay can cut back consumption and waste by ~20%. Nevertheless, you will need to know hay high quality and having enough feeders/bales out there in order that cows have equal entry to hay throughout the feeding occasions. 

In conditions the place hay is being restrict fed to stretch forage assets, grazing habits and total grazing consumption could lower because of cows ready for hay to be delivered.  If cows are already skinny, this will likely trigger an total lower in vitality consumption.  Feeding the identical high quality of hay however accomplished occasionally will help lower the prospect of cows ready on the gate for hay to reach.

Supplemental choices:

Utilization of an ionophore for grazing livestock and livestock consuming hay can enhance vitality worth of the general weight loss program and cut back the necessity for hay.  Analysis has proven that hay consumption might be lowered by roughly 10% with the addition of rumensin within the weight loss program. As well as, research have proven that rumensin improves physique weight achieve and BCS. 

Feeding a starch-based complement (i.e., corn) can substitute for hay consumption.  As an illustration, 3 lb of corn can lower hay consumption by 3 lbs.  Starch-based vitality dietary supplements must be fed day by day, and to reduce waste, it needs to be fed in a bunk. If corn or corn-based dietary supplements are utilized, then protein supplementation could be wanted to fulfill protein necessities. The impression of feeding corn on forage consumption and digestibility has been proven to be depending on the extent of protein within the weight loss program. In digestion research, rising vitality in diets containing low ranges of protein has decreased consumption and digestibility of low-quality roughage; nonetheless, with higher ranges of supplemental protein, rising vitality usually has little impact on consumption or digestibility of low-quality roughage.

Different administration issues:

1. If potential, type and handle cows by BCS teams (i.e., skinny versus fleshy).  This may permit you to be extra strategic on offering high-quality feedstuffs to skinny cows, whereas not over conditioning any fleshy cows. 
2. Use reproductive applied sciences.  Even when synthetic insemination shouldn’t be utilized, estrus synchronization will help enhance the variety of skinny cows to cycle earlier within the breeding season.   Seek advice from a previous BeefWatch article to study extra about find out how to transfer cows up within the breeding season: https://beef.unl.edu/beefwatch/2021/managing-postpartum-anestrus-beef-cows-successful-breeding-season.