cutting back on feed

[bigbruh]

in a book i was reading,it was suggested that you cut back on the feed towards the end of a cows pregnancy. anyone have any input on exactly when to cut back or how much?

 

[Rafter S]

It would probably depend on what and how much you're feeding. I believe that recommendation is to keep the calf embryo from getting too big and causing problems with delivery. I think that if you're feeding some high protein feed to the bred cow you should cut back in the last trimester, but I'm not sure about that. I don't generally give sack feed to pregnant cows, other than occasionally, so it's not an issue for me. If you're only feeding grass or hay with salt, mineral, and maybe a protein supplement I don't think you need to worry about it.

Can you please give some more details about your situation? I'm sure that someone will be glad to help.

 

[bigbruh]

I usually feed big bales of orchard or orchard/alfalfa. There is usually a proein lick tub
(30 percent) in the pasture somewhere. I was just wondering if I should continue to feed big bales or control it a little better. I have a galloway, a Hereford, and a jersey.

 

[double v]

the last three weeks the calf gets what you give the cow if you cut back it usually leads to a smaller calf. feed more calf is probably bigger kinda hard to get read on the bulls you use.

 

[regolith]

Unless you've got obese, edemic cows suffering conditions like mastitis, dystocia and milk fever at calving - I doubt you need to change a thing.

 

[skeeter swatter]

I usually feed big bales of orchard or orchard/alfalfa. There is usually a proein lick tub
(30 percent) in the pasture somewhere. I was just wondering if I should continue to feed big bales or control it a little better. I have a galloway, a Hereford, and a jersey.[/quot
I wouldn't change a thing.
Don't forget salt.

 

[TexasBred]

in a book i was reading,it was suggested that you cut back on the feed towards the end of a cows pregnancy. anyone have any input on exactly when to cut back or how much?

No need to cut back on anything except perhaps the alfalfa as it can cause milk fever but since it's a mix I doubt they even get enough of it to be a problem.

 

[Beef Man]

I'm pretty sure that cutting back on what you are feeding will have none or almost no effect on your calves birthweight. Range Expierment Station at Miles City has done a lot of studies on feed and birthweight and it looks like there is a lot of other things that can be aproblem other than feed.Keep cow's and heifers in good shape and all problems will be minor.

 

[snake67]

in a book i was reading,it was suggested that you cut back on the feed towards the end of a cows pregnancy. anyone have any input on exactly when to cut back or how much?

We have been big guys with over 400 cattle and we have been small guys with only a dozen or so - one thing we never did was cut back on feed unless we were short and were trying to get through to spring grass. And that can happen to the best of us.

I guess that my thoughts are after so many years in the business that anyone who does that is either looking to save money or is attempting to start a new trend.

We have always and probably will always free choice our animals with mineral and salt available at all times. Personally I do not believe in those fancy molasses blocks / mineral licks - just expensive candy - if the feed is good they do not even need grain or much else.

Best thing anyone can do is test their feed - that way you KNOW what they are getting. And you can add or subtract the supplements as required.

No sense in making expensive urine because any excess just gets pizzed out the back end anyways.

You can feed extras if you like - but do not come here in the spring after selling your calf and brag about how much you made - because you will very likely have spent far too much raising it.

Barring any health issues, our cattle have always seemed to be quite capable of self regulating their own food intake.

So it is unlikely we would want to fix something that was not broken.

If I read that in a book, I guess I would probably toss it or use the paper for wiping my butt and burn the cover.

So my friend the first thing I would do is test and decide exactly what they want - you might actually find they need more - or if you are lucky the hay you are feeding might actually be ALL that they require.

Grab a handful of a representative sample and take it to your local feed store - they can send it off for you - costs are less than 30 bucks for a couple of samples - and it might actually save a couple hundred bucks.

And let your cows eat as they see fit - they will be happy and you can sleep easier at night.

Best to all

Bez

 

[dun]

I think that the theory is that since so much of the calfs growth is in the last month or so that cutting it back will give you smaller calves. That may or may not be the case, but the better condition a cow.heifer is at calving the easier time they have calving, the more vigor the calf has at birth and the quicker the cow will get back into breeding condition. There have been a lot of studies that cows in better condition have less dystocia then those in less better condition. But that has to be within reason. A 6-7 BCS cow may be helped, but a slug fat cow it won;t.

 

[bigbruh]

Can you explain 6-7BCS? Thanks tor all the input.

 

[dun]

Here's a link to BCS with pictures:
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/400/400-795/400-795.html

 

[1982vett]

in a book i was reading,it was suggested that you cut back on the feed towards the end of a cows pregnancy. anyone have any input on exactly when to cut back or how much?

We have been big guys with over 400 cattle and we have been small guys with only a dozen or so - one thing we never did was cut back on feed unless we were short and were trying to get through to spring grass. And that can happen to the best of us.

I guess that my thoughts are after so many years in the business that anyone who does that is either looking to save money or is attempting to start a new trend.

We have always and probably will always free choice our animals with mineral and salt available at all times. Personally I do not believe in those fancy molasses blocks / mineral licks - just expensive candy - if the feed is good they do not even need grain or much else.

Best thing anyone can do is test their feed - that way you KNOW what they are getting. And you can add or subtract the supplements as required.

No sense in making expensive urine because any excess just gets pizzed out the back end anyways.

You can feed extras if you like - but do not come here in the spring after selling your calf and brag about how much you made - because you will very likely have spent far too much raising it.

Barring any health issues, our cattle have always seemed to be quite capable of self regulating their own food intake.

So it is unlikely we would want to fix something that was not broken.

If I read that in a book, I guess I would probably toss it or use the paper for wiping my butt and burn the cover.

So my friend the first thing I would do is test and decide exactly what they want - you might actually find they need more - or if you are lucky the hay you are feeding might actually be ALL that they require.

Grab a handful of a representative sample and take it to your local feed store - they can send it off for you - costs are less than 30 bucks for a couple of samples - and it might actually save a couple hundred bucks.

And let your cows eat as they see fit - they will be happy and you can sleep easier at night.

Best to all

Bez

I agree, no need to do more than that.... If you end up having "big calf" problems, it's most likely a genetics problem.

 

[TexasBred]

Proper sampling will also insure a representative test result.

http://www.dairyone.com/forage/FactShee ... ctions.htm