Body condition

[wbvs58]

We all like to see our cattle in tiptop body condition year round but have you given thought to being skinny for a period during the year may be an essential part of their physiology. Cattle being grazing animals have evolved over many years even before domestication to handle the vagaries of the seasons. Even in normal years there are times of plenty and then times when the feed is minimal and of poor quality and then there are times of sustained poor conditions as in drought, some will hang on, some will die if left to their own resources.
I think that cattle have evolved to be a lot more resilient to the tough times than we think. It always amazes me how they can bounce back from very poor condition to pretty good once they get onto a bit of feed. What do you all think? I don't like to see my cows skinny but I will put pressure on my cows to find grazing up in the hills around the rocks especially in spring while waiting for rain to get the grass growing and they will have a young calf on them. I think a bit of a check on their growth is healthy for them and may even help them to get back in calf.

Ken

 

[kenny thomas]

Something I have noticed since I started rotational grazing is that I actually have cows tha are over conditioned just on grass. They don't walk enough to be healthy. Lol

 

[GoWyo]

Just look at wildlife body condition. Deer, antelope, moose, etc. all show decreased body condition coming out of winter and start improving in the spring before they drop their fawns or calves and keep gaining until late summer or fall.

 

[Rydero]

I agree with Ken a little lean time isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. I never have skinny cows if I can help it but I usually have them lose some condition between calving and grass. They're usually on grass about 3 weeks before bull turnout so as the bulls are introduced their condition is improving. Sheep and goat people refer to it as flushing and it helps increase twin/triples. The important thing is their condition is getting better at the time of breeding.

 

[chaded]

Could you explain why/how being skinny for a period of time might be essential?

 

[Redgully]

Cattle that have lean periods seem to live longer and are more productive than well to do cows. The best looking cattle are cattle that have come off a lean spell and got onto good feed for a few months, they glow. Plus the most fertile cow is one on a rising plane of body condition, more fertile than a cow in optimal condition but not on a rising plane. So it is built into the animals wiring from doing it for hundreds of thousands of years.

So yes i agree.

 

[bird dog]

Since I calve in the fall, by early spring the calves are large and the cows cannot consume enough of my sorry hay and forage to maintain their body score. Luckily most are already rebred by then so its not really a big issue. They look poor for a couple months but by April they are back to normal. I don't like it but I don't see the need to spend a bunch of money on feed products just to improve their looks. If I am going to spend money, it is going to be to feed their calves to keep their gain consistent.

I will admit my weaning weights are nothing to brag about, but the calves at 550 lbs or so are just right for the buyers wanting calves to put on summer grass even though I usually keep them for my self as well as buy a few more to take advantage of the spring flush.

 

[Dave]

About 6 weeks ago we branded the calves and hauled off the pairs. At that time there was 15 dry cows who hadn't calfed yet. We kicked them up on a couple hundred acres behind the house to calf. There has been no rain this spring so there wasn't much grass. It is a lot of up and down and sagebrush. The last week or so I kept seeing cows on a real steep portion. So I figured if they are there hunting grass it must be done. Yesterday we gathered them. Branded the calves and hauled them to the pasture where the other cows are at. We were surprised at how good condition these cows are in. These are all old broken mouth cows. They went from a grass hay diet on flat ground to rough ground where they pretty much had to walk stead while grazing. During this time they calved. And they all gained weight. They went from BCS of 4 or 5 (mostly 5) to BCS of 5.5 to 6. Calves looked good too.

 

[Brute 23]

I'm always torn on this subject also. Carrying that much is hard on joints and things. On the other hand it's like money in the bank when conditions go south.

 

[wbvs58]

Could you explain why/how being skinny for a period of time might be essential?

Essential may be a harsh word but as others have pointed out as seasons change and body condition improves there are benefits when it comes to breeding them. I have had issues with cows that have lost a calf for whatever reason and will be in prime condition from no lactation and yet I have not been able to get them back in calf easily. The weight on their limbs and their mobility is another issue.
I, like everyone else like to see my cows in great condition which I would describe as healthy condition. I sell a few bulls on a small scale so I think it is my responsibility to put a bit of pressure on my cow herd as well to ensure they are reared under true commercial conditions so people can buy a bull knowing that they and the heifers they produce can survive under real commercial conditions. We have not long come out of a severe drought and I am proud of how my herd has survived, I got good pregnancy rates during the worst years of the drought with minimal feeding.
I think you can look at just about any species of animal especially humans where the effects of excessive condition has a detrimental effect. Grazing animals in particular because they are so dependent of what feed is in front of them or lack thereoff, it has been built into their make up, fluctuating body condition.

Dave, I too love seeing my cows being a bit innovative with their grazing, climbing the hills and up among the rocks as they are at the moment in our winter, they are heavy in calf but still very mobile. It is a great resource of feed which they don't touch during the growing season.

Ken

 

[Dave]

This is the hill side they started showing up on. The picture doesn't do justice to how steep it is. I wouldn't want to go across it horseback. It is where dogs come into play. When cows start grazing there, you know there isn't much grass left on the gentler ground.

 

[farmerjan]

By the time our spring calving cows go to pasture with their "new calves" they are tired of the hay and looking for grass. They have dropped a bit of weight with the calf's demands for milk too. They get out on grass and they start to gain and they cycle and breed back when the bulls go in about a month later. It is "flushing": like the sheep breeders do.... the rising plane of nutrition is NATURE'S signal to cycle and get bred and nourish the fetus while the systems are developing... everything has to be good for the organs and all to develop and the tissues to form properly. This is when the good grass starts to slow down and then the calf starts gaining more size and the cow can do that on more marginal feed and the calf they are nursing is eating more on it's own too so is not pulling her system down with the high milk demands.
Sheep mostly are breeders due to the photoperiod, breeding when the days start to shorten, although we have some breeds that will breed year round. But the way nature intended that was that they are pregnant for 5 months so the lambs should be being born in the spring....
Cows breeding in June will produce a calf in March and the grass is not far behind, then they will start cycling 45-60 days later on average, so breed back for another calf at the optimal time for it to be born.
Granted they all don't do that and we do alot of manipulating.... but that is the rhythm of nature at it's basics. Babies born at the best time of year for survival.....

 

[wbvs58]

This is the hill side they started showing up on. The picture doesn't do justice to how steep it is. I wouldn't want to go across it horseback. It is where dogs come into play. When cows start grazing there, you know there isn't much grass left on the gentler ground.

I think they are just lazy cows Dave, they don't have to bend down to graze. The forage on the high side is at mouth level.

Ken

 

[wbvs58]

By the time our spring calving cows go to pasture with their "new calves" they are tired of the hay and looking for grass. They have dropped a bit of weight with the calf's demands for milk too. They get out on grass and they start to gain and they cycle and breed back when the bulls go in about a month later. It is "flushing": like the sheep breeders do.... the rising plane of nutrition is NATURE'S signal to cycle and get bred and nourish the fetus while the systems are developing... everything has to be good for the organs and all to develop and the tissues to form properly. This is when the good grass starts to slow down and then the calf starts gaining more size and the cow can do that on more marginal feed and the calf they are nursing is eating more on it's own too so is not pulling her system down with the high milk demands.
Sheep mostly are breeders due to the photoperiod, breeding when the days start to shorten, although we have some breeds that will breed year round. But the way nature intended that was that they are pregnant for 5 months so the lambs should be being born in the spring....
Cows breeding in June will produce a calf in March and the grass is not far behind, then they will start cycling 45-60 days later on average, so breed back for another calf at the optimal time for it to be born.
Granted they all don't do that and we do alot of manipulating.... but that is the rhythm of nature at it's basics. Babies born at the best time of year for survival.....

That is a great explanation Jan. You are right, so often we try to manipulate things to go against what nature intended.

Ken

 

[Stocker Steve]

Calving in late winter, is one way to reduce cow condition and then flush on grass.

Not feeding heavy during the winter and calving later on grass, is another way to reduce cow condition and flush on grass.

Which is the most economical ?

 

[TCRanch]

These girls are 11. The baldie (Angus/Hereford) has always been on the tubby side, but she's also always one of the first to calve. The Angus is starting to lose condition and showing her age, plus, she's calving a little later each year. Just seems to me, my best & most consistent producers maintain a BCS of at least 6.

 

[alacowman1]

folks like to see their cattle slick and fat year round..they think a skinny one ,is a sick one..and I'm sure they're immune system is compromised during that period.i had a brangus cow that looked like a chitlin year round..raised a good calf ,and bred back like clockwork..but looked horrible doing it..thats why there's front and back pasture cattle..the real workers are out back..don't look at em though, they only shine once a year..

 

[Dave]

These girls are 11. The baldie (Angus/Hereford) has always been on the tubby side, but she's also always one of the first to calve. The Angus is starting to lose condition and showing her age, plus, she's calving a little later each year. Just seems to me, my best & most consistent producers maintain a BCS of at least 6.

We never have cows that look like that baldie. But we have a better exercise and diet plan than Jenny Craig. My cows would think they went to heaven in a pasture that green and flat. Of course they would all tip over because their legs are shorter on one side.

 

[tex452]

I bought 7 pairs that came from west Texas. These cows were so poor they were humped up a little I have a ranch in Leon co Texas not far from I 45 and put them in a 6 acre trap that I fertilized
I've always heard never go east with cattle always go west. They are doing good and 7 pair can't keep up with the grass on 6 acres.
These cows r 4 years old 1 being 6.
I think being poor was a way of life with these cows.
I have been supplementing them with a little sweet feed and cubes just to get them to tame down and learn to come when called.

 

[Rmc]

I dont want my cows overly thin but i dont wantthem butterballs either. I tnink that allowing them a little leaner then bump them up will trigger their natural heat cycle and is more natural . Look at the fertility of the show queen heifers and then the back pasture cattle as a whole .