Feeding Rumensin is also a good idea. It can help prevent environmental coccidiosis down the road and improve feed efficiency.” Powell recommends producers shoot for a 9 percent protein ration in cows and 10 percent for heifers in their third trimester, increasing for both after calving.
What should a pregnant heifer eat?
What Can You Feed Pregnant Cows?Hay. Hay, a staple of the cattle diet, is often fed to pregnant cows even if they have access to pasture. ... Grain. A pregnant cow needs plenty of grain to meet her energy needs and the needs of her growing calf. ... Supplements. ... Silage.
What to feed heifers before calving?
Supply high quality legume hay (lucerne) or young planted grazing, plus 1kg maize meal (or small grains) per day up to the covering stage. Concentrates are discontinued until three months before calving, after which the heifer must once more receive 1kg of dairy meal per day.
What nutrients do pregnant cows need?
As mature cows move from mid to late gestation, they need a 20 percent increase in crude protein intake and 16 percent increase in total digestible nutrient intake to keep up with increasing fetal growth. This need for additional nutrients is magnified once a cow calves and must produce milk for a calf.
Which trimester is most critical for cattle?
The third trimester of a cow's pregnancy places great demands on her body that were not experienced during the first two trimesters. The third trimester starts at around 90 – 95 days prior to calving.
How much grain should I feed my heifer?
This would mean that heifers should gain an average of 1.25 to 1.75 lb. per day from weaning to first breeding or 250 to 350 lbs. during the first winter (depending on breed)....Table 4.Ration 19.5 lb. good quality legume hay (18% CP)Ration 34.5 lb. grain corn or 5.0 mixed grain1.0 lb. 40% protein supplement8 more rows•Feb 12, 2021
What do you feed a first heifer calf?
Supplement first-calf heifers with grains (energy) like corn, corn silage, or barley before they lose body condition. “Thin heifers don't breed back quickly, if at all,” says Bjurstrom. “If she rebreeds late, it will take several lactations to get her back on track with the rest of the herd.
Is molasses good for pregnant cows?
M8U (molasses plus 8% urea) M8U is a common supplement for survival/drought feeding, spike feeding pregnant heifers and cows, and keeping growing steers and heifers growing slowly during the dry season.
Is salt good for pregnant cows?
The sodium supplement increased the birth weight of their calves but after 6 weeks there was no difference between treatments in calf weight. In addition to milk, calves in both treatments were offered a choice of concentrates with normal or high sodium concentrations (5·8 and 10·8 g/kg dry matter, respectively).
Is oat hay good for pregnant cows?
Producers should dilute oat hay with low-nitrate feeds to avoid health issues if tests show the oat hay has 1,500 to 3,500 parts per million (ppm) of nitrate nitrogen. For pregnant cows and heifers, nitrate levels below 1,000 ppm are considered safe.
How much grain should you feed a pregnant cow?
During the last two trimesters of pregnancy, mature cows generally consume 2 to 2.5% of their body weight on a dry-matter basis. For a 1,200 lb cow, this equates to 24 to 30 lb of hay per day on a dry-matter basis, or approximately 27 to 33 lb per day on an as-fed basis.
How long is the third trimester for a cow?
Third Stage: This stage lasts from 7th to 9th month. The requirements of supplements and nutrients in the cows increase as the time of the birth approaches. 70 percent of the development of an embryo occurs in this stage.
How much protein do pregnant cows need?
Typical mature, late-gestation cows weighing about 1,400 pounds will need approximately 2.5 pounds of protein intake a day. Some 60 to 70 percent of the protein should break down in the rumen to supply sufficient nitrogen for rumen microbes.
How much should I feed my first calf heifer?
A first-calf heifer at peak lactation is going to require at least 58 percent total digestible nutrients (TDN) and 9.3 percent crude protein (CP) in her diet just to maintain what she has. If she needs to gain some weight before breeding, she will probably need at least a 65 percent TDN and 12.1 percent CP diet.
How much grain should you feed a pregnant cow?
During the last two trimesters of pregnancy, mature cows generally consume 2 to 2.5% of their body weight on a dry-matter basis. For a 1,200 lb cow, this equates to 24 to 30 lb of hay per day on a dry-matter basis, or approximately 27 to 33 lb per day on an as-fed basis.
What do you feed Incalf heifers?
In-calf heifers Good-quality silage (72-75% DMD) is sufficient for these heifers. However, if feeding silage – with a DMD value of 65%, these heifers will need to be supplemented with 1.5-2kg of meal. Concentrate levels will need to be increased if feeding a silage with a lower DMD.
Should you keep a heifer's first calf?
Time quickly gets away when you're a cow-calf operator, but it's essential to keep the first calf heifers on track. Heifers conceiving early in their first breeding season will have increased lifetime production and efficiency.
What is the third trimester of a cow's life?
The third trimester of a cow’s life is crucial. In the last three months, the calf will put on 70 percent of its weight and the mother cow will not only need to prepare for the birth but for lactating and rebreeding.
How long before calving to feed yeast?
Turner says the yeast-based product “has taken care of the scouring problems I used to see on my ranch and I include it in my feed 30 days before and after calving.”
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Why is hydrolyzed yeast used in cows?
And Larsen recommends a hydrolyzed yeast product to producers to address gastrointestinal health and stability and promote efficient nutrient transfer from cow to calf.
The Role of Body Condition Score (BCS) in Cow-Calf Health
The body condition score (BCS) is a simple, inexpensive, and accurate means of determining whether a cow is properly utilizing feed and has enough fat, muscle, and energy stores. In the United States and Canada, the BCS scale runs from 1 through 5 (or 1 through 9), with one being an animal that is in very poor condition and five (or 9) being obese.
Vital nutrients for late-pregancy cows
There are a number of nutrients that must be available in adequate amounts to support the proper growth of a fetus while also nourishing the cow. These needs will continue to increase until birth, making it imperative that those requirements are met.
The Homestretch
The nutritional support a cow receives in the final months of her pregnancy will invariably influence the health of both mother and calf. Colostrum quality from a nutrient-deficient cow will not provide the support the calf will need, making it doubly important to pay special attention to third-trimester nutrition.
How cow nutrition impacts the calf
Cows channel 30% of their energy to support fetal growth and development during the third trimester. The fetus needs more nutrients from its dam than the previous two trimesters to fuel the final calf development of its organs, skeleton, lungs and immune system.
Meeting third trimester requirements
Calving is the main athletic event a cow fuels her body for. Prepare the cow and her growing fetus for a successful calving by focusing on the essentials – protein, energy, minerals and vitamins. And don’t forget to factor in changing weather.
How to help cows with nutrition?
One solution that can help take the guesswork out of cow nutrition requirements are supplements with intake control properties. Those supplements are designed so that cows only consume them when they need them, which allows your cows to get the nutrition they need without unnecessary guesswork.
Why is it important to feed calf during gestation?
To help make sure that calf is on the path to success it’s important to provide consistent, daily nutrition to the dam during gestation. A consistent diet can help avoid the bad days where cows lose weight and shortchange their developing fetus.
What is the first trimester of life for a calf?
The first trimester is where you’re building the foundation of life for a calf.
How many trimesters are there in cows?
Three trimesters and zero bad days. Take a look at your herd. See if there are ways you can reduce stress, provide more consistent cow nutrition and set your calves up for a bright future.
When does a calf grow?
Rapid growth happens during the last trimester, but just as important are the things happening to get the growing calf ready for departure. The calf has (hopefully) been in an excellent environment in the placenta getting all of its nutrition and oxygen from the dam. Then the calf is born and has to learn how to breathe, making lung development during the third trimester critical.
When do replacement heifers start to develop?
But developing a successful replacement heifer begins in the first trimester when germ cells start forming the reproductive system. It’s hard enough to get a first-calf heifer re-bred.
What is a compromise during the first trimester?
Compromises during the first trimester are ones that last a lifetime for the calf. But the story of the first trimester is still developing. More research and evidence is being done to determine just how important this stage really is.
