denoginnizer
Well-known member
Does supplemental feeding cause birthing difficulty? The info I have read says no but I often hear people here say yes.
Supplemental feeding birthing difficulty
- Thread starter denoginnizer
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J Baxter
Well-known member
Having a cow that is too fat will cause calving problems, but just maintaing condition (ie 5 to 7) does not seem to cause problems.
fellersbarnoneranch
Well-known member
I think that depends on the body condition and size of your cows. Over fat cows and heifers could have some trouble from it.
The last report I read says that supplemental feeding as long as the cow/heifer doesn;t get fat, only contributes a couple of pounds at most to the calf. If you're on the ragged eadge of size that they're capable of having it probably could cause some problems. But in most cases it won't. Most cases being in the neighborhood (my estimation) 99.999% of the time.
dun
dun
TheBullLady
Well-known member
There has been a lot of research done in the past couple of years on that subject. Every new study I've read has said it doesn't affect the calf, but I still have my doubts. The heifers I've had trouble with over the years have been on feed.
TheBullLady":ti7x3yfm said:
Problem is you can never know for sure if they would have had problems without the supplement. Too bad we can't stick them back in and do the last couple of months over to see if there's any difference.
dun
denoginnizer
Well-known member
Besides providing water, minerals/salt is there any practice that can be done ,in the last trimester, to make it easier for the cow to give birth?
fellersbarnoneranch
Well-known member
peace and quiet go a long way
if you want them to breed back on time, a little supplement helps. i have heard the same from people. same with protein too much and the calves will be huge. but usually it is not all the cows just one or two.
calf size is more from the genetics of both the cow and bull, you can use
a low birth weight bull and still have a big calf because the cow had a high birthweight.
calf size is more from the genetics of both the cow and bull, you can use
a low birth weight bull and still have a big calf because the cow had a high birthweight.
With our show heifers, we cut back on the protein level when we are trying to breed them. After they are bred we kick it back up a notch. Then during the last trimester we againg cut down the protein level. Our breeder, who has raised cattle forever, told us that the calf does most of its growing in the last 6-8 weeks. I know thay we have not had any problems calving while others on the show circuit who kept their animals on full feed had to cut out calves that were too large to be born. Hope this helps.
jt
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i know there is controvery to some degree with this, but it stands to reason... the better a calf gets to eat the bigger it will be. why wouldnt that stand true during development? skinny cows usually have smaller calves.
jt
jt
Old adage: You can't starve a small calf out of a cow/heifer!
From:Michigan State University Extension
MSU Extension Beef Bulletins - E1611921
By:Harlan D. Ritchie, Michigan State University
and Peter T. Anderson, University of Minnesota
Dietary Energy
Many cattle producers believe reducing dietary energy
during late pregnancy will decrease fetal size and improve
calving ease, whereas increasing energy will increase fetal
size and lead to a higher incidence of dystocia. Research
has shown that lowering the energy allowance will decrease
birth weight but will not significantly reduce dystocia.
At MARC, Hereford and Angus two-year-old heifers were fed
three levels of energy (10.8, 13.7 or 17.0 lb TDN/head/day)
for 90 days prior to calving. Increasing the level of
dietary energy resulted in increased birth weight but not
increased dystocia; in fact, the incidence of calving
difficulty was lower in the medium- and high-energy groups
than in the low-energy group.
Inadequate nutrition of the young developing heifer can
affect her subsequent calving performance. Miles City
research showed that restricting the energy of weaned
heifer calves during their first winter can have a
carry-over effect, resulting in decreased precalving pelvic
area and increased dystocia (46 percent vs. 36 percent)
compared to adequately fed heifers. From weaning to first
breeding as yearlings, heifers should be fed to weigh at
least 65 percent of their potential mature cow weight.
This translates to a range in average daily gain of
approximately 1.25 to 1.75 pounds for 200 days. Depending
upon initial weight, frame size, body condition and
environment, this means that daily TDN requirement will
range from 8 to 13 pounds per head.
When they calve as two-year-olds, heifers should weigh
85 percent of their mature cow weight. This translates to
an average daily gain of about 1 pound per day from
breeding to calving. Adequate pasture conditions will
support this level of performance. During the winter prior
to calving, pregnant heifers require from 9 to 13 pounds of
TDN per day. The mature pregnant cow requires from 7.5 to
13 pounds of TDN.
Dietary Protein
There is some concern in the cow-calf industry that high
levels of protein during the last trimester of pregnancy
may lead to a significant increase in birth weight and
dystocia. At Miles City, crossbred two-year-old pregnant
heifers were fed diets containing either 86 percent (low)
or 145 percent (high) of the NRC crude protein requirement
for 82 days prior to calving. Heifers fed the low-protein
diet had significantly lighter calves at birth and less
calving difficulty. Heifers on the high-protein diet
gained more weight, had higher condition scores at calving,
maintained more body weight throughout the study, and
weaned significantly heavier calves. In a repeat study at
Miles City, there were no differences in calf birth weight
or calving difficulty. Research at other institutions has
shown no consistent effect of protein level on dystocia.
It would appear that precalving dietary protein level
should be near the NRC requirement. If it is extremely
low, weight and condition of the cows and weight, vigor and
postnatal growth rate of the calves may be reduced. If it
is unduly high, it represents an economic waste. During
the last trimester of pregnancy, crude protein requirements
range from 8.2 to 9.8 percent for heifers and 7.6 to 8.2
percent for mature cows.
From:Michigan State University Extension
MSU Extension Beef Bulletins - E1611921
By:Harlan D. Ritchie, Michigan State University
and Peter T. Anderson, University of Minnesota
Dietary Energy
Many cattle producers believe reducing dietary energy
during late pregnancy will decrease fetal size and improve
calving ease, whereas increasing energy will increase fetal
size and lead to a higher incidence of dystocia. Research
has shown that lowering the energy allowance will decrease
birth weight but will not significantly reduce dystocia.
At MARC, Hereford and Angus two-year-old heifers were fed
three levels of energy (10.8, 13.7 or 17.0 lb TDN/head/day)
for 90 days prior to calving. Increasing the level of
dietary energy resulted in increased birth weight but not
increased dystocia; in fact, the incidence of calving
difficulty was lower in the medium- and high-energy groups
than in the low-energy group.
Inadequate nutrition of the young developing heifer can
affect her subsequent calving performance. Miles City
research showed that restricting the energy of weaned
heifer calves during their first winter can have a
carry-over effect, resulting in decreased precalving pelvic
area and increased dystocia (46 percent vs. 36 percent)
compared to adequately fed heifers. From weaning to first
breeding as yearlings, heifers should be fed to weigh at
least 65 percent of their potential mature cow weight.
This translates to a range in average daily gain of
approximately 1.25 to 1.75 pounds for 200 days. Depending
upon initial weight, frame size, body condition and
environment, this means that daily TDN requirement will
range from 8 to 13 pounds per head.
When they calve as two-year-olds, heifers should weigh
85 percent of their mature cow weight. This translates to
an average daily gain of about 1 pound per day from
breeding to calving. Adequate pasture conditions will
support this level of performance. During the winter prior
to calving, pregnant heifers require from 9 to 13 pounds of
TDN per day. The mature pregnant cow requires from 7.5 to
13 pounds of TDN.
Dietary Protein
There is some concern in the cow-calf industry that high
levels of protein during the last trimester of pregnancy
may lead to a significant increase in birth weight and
dystocia. At Miles City, crossbred two-year-old pregnant
heifers were fed diets containing either 86 percent (low)
or 145 percent (high) of the NRC crude protein requirement
for 82 days prior to calving. Heifers fed the low-protein
diet had significantly lighter calves at birth and less
calving difficulty. Heifers on the high-protein diet
gained more weight, had higher condition scores at calving,
maintained more body weight throughout the study, and
weaned significantly heavier calves. In a repeat study at
Miles City, there were no differences in calf birth weight
or calving difficulty. Research at other institutions has
shown no consistent effect of protein level on dystocia.
It would appear that precalving dietary protein level
should be near the NRC requirement. If it is extremely
low, weight and condition of the cows and weight, vigor and
postnatal growth rate of the calves may be reduced. If it
is unduly high, it represents an economic waste. During
the last trimester of pregnancy, crude protein requirements
range from 8.2 to 9.8 percent for heifers and 7.6 to 8.2
percent for mature cows.
jerry27150
Well-known member
old vet i used to have & the best i have ever seen said if you have a bred heifer that is small don't feed her to heavy because you will only grow the calf. i once fed only corn silage to my cow herd & it was the only time i had to pull most all my calves. dun i have seen a lot of univesity studies & they usually don't carry them out like it would be on your own farm. i have also seen them do a complete turn around about the same topics. if you want to find out for sure feed half one way & the other half another way
Of the two closest dairys, one feeds the snot out of his heifers with corn silage and grain, heifers calve at 1200-1300 lbs, he only has to generally pull twins. The other feeds his heifers as if they're already in the milk string. He had to pull almost every calf from his new(now gone) bull, cows and heifers. That's the way he's alwasy fed and only pulls a couple of calves a year. Strange that it's alwasy the ones that he had to pull as heifers and still has to pull now that they're cows.
In the desert the cows that we drylotted where fed free choice alfalfa but no grain. The calved fat and the only one I had to pull was a bought 900 lb heifer that that had been bred to a young (so that the calf would be small) Charolais. Lost the heifer, alwasy hated that calf, was glad when he went down th e road. I can only directly speak from what I've seen and whats worked for us.
I used to have a bunch of files on calf growth during gestation and related, unfortunetly it all went away in the crash of 2004.
dun
In the desert the cows that we drylotted where fed free choice alfalfa but no grain. The calved fat and the only one I had to pull was a bought 900 lb heifer that that had been bred to a young (so that the calf would be small) Charolais. Lost the heifer, alwasy hated that calf, was glad when he went down th e road. I can only directly speak from what I've seen and whats worked for us.
I used to have a bunch of files on calf growth during gestation and related, unfortunetly it all went away in the crash of 2004.
dun
Workinonit Farm
Well-known member
dun wrote
Katherine
That's too bad, I would have liked to have seen that. Do you know where one could find information similar to that (calf growth during gestation). It sounds interesting.
Katherine
Adobe used to have a sight of thousands of pdf files, pretty much everything that was ever pbulished that was in that format. I can't get the link to work to it anymore. THat was wherre I found so much data. I've done searches galore and haven't been able to find many of those documents. But I haven't quit trying yet either
dun
dun
