| ||||
|
|
Prolonged wet weather stresses cows
Missouri
Cows with wet hair need more energy in ration to maintain condition, prepare for spring calving
Cows may need extra attention in rainy fall weather, said a University of Missouri beef specialist. Prolonged wet weather, even with warm temperatures this fall, can cause more stress on cows than a zero-degree day that is sunny and dry in January.
Critical stress can start at 59 F if the cow has a wet hair coat and has not yet grown her full heavy winter coat, said Don Spiers, livestock physiologist at the University of Missouri.
"Wet hair doesn't provide necessary insulation," Spiers said. "Cows can withstand very cold weather, but not if they are wet."
The concern arose as Missouri had unusually wet weather this fall. "Both October and November were among the 10 wettest for those months on record in over a century," said Pat Guinan, climatologist with the MU Commercial Agriculture program.
"Wet cattle are more subject to wind chill," Spiers said.
Cold cattle require more energy in their diet to prevent loss of body condition as they go into winter.
"We're setting up conditions to see a lot of weak-calf syndrome next spring," said David Patterson, MU Extension beef reproduction specialist. "Cows in lowered body condition scores have more difficulty at calving time."
Normally spring-calving cows that are gestating during the winter can thrive on stockpiled pastures, possibly supplemented with hay, until they calve in the spring.
Sometimes a grain ration supplement is needed just before calving so the cow will produce plenty of milk for the newborn calf.
"This year the cows may need a little supplement each day, starting earlier than usual," Patterson said. "It is easier and cheaper to maintain body condition than it is to try to put it back on just before calving."
Mostly cows will need a ration with energy, rather than more protein, Patterson said.
Rob Kallenbach, MU Extension forage specialist, said "If there was ever a year to get a forage test, this is the year." Forage testing labs can give a detailed analysis of the nutrient and protein content of hay samples.
"A lot of very low quality hay was put up this year, because of prolonged rainy weather during haying season last spring" Kallenbach said. "Some of the hay that was finally put up might not have very much energy left in it.
"The cows may be eating a lot of hay, but they may not be getting very much nutrition."
Stockpiled fescue grass pastures are providing better nutrition than the hay, Kallenbach said. Recent forage tests on samples from pastures at the MU Forage Systems Research Center at Linneus, Mo., show protein content above 18 percent, more than a gestating cow needs.
Kent Haden, vice president of livestock operations, MFA Inc., Columbia, said he is receiving reports from fieldmen who have seen a drop in body condition scores in cow herds across Missouri in recent weeks.
"If they haven't looked at their cows really close lately, they might be surprised. The time to look is when they are wet," Haden said. "A winter hair coat can hide their condition."
Haden said another way to check body condition is in a livestock chute. "If you run your hands over their sides or down their back and can feel their ribs or backbone sticking out, they are not in good condition."
Body condition, mainly an appraisal of the fat layer on a cow, is rated on a scale of 1-to-9. Cows should now be in a body condition score (BCS) of six going into the winter.
"It is easy to overestimate the body condition of a pregnant cow because of her increasing size," Patterson said.
Cows that calve in low body condition are less likely to rebreed, Patterson said. Normally, a cow pulls energy reserves from stored body fat to produce milk for the calf and still be in condition to become pregnant again for the coming year.
A thin cow will divert all of her energy into supporting her calf, rather than rebreeding. Patterson recalls a similar season in the early 90s. Then, as many as 50 percent of cows in many herds failed to rebreed because of lowered body condition scores.
"We have lots of byproduct feeds available that make good supplements," Kallenbach said. A couple of pounds of distiller's grain from a corn ethanol plant or a ration of soy hulls can be used.
While shelled corn is an inexpensive ration, too much corn can upset the digestion of forage in a cow's rumen.
"The main thing is to check cows now and add supplement as needed," Patterson said.
MU Extension regional livestock specialists can help producers formulate a ration supplement, based on the forage quality available.
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com
 
| |||||||||||||||||||||
