Livestock Management RANCHING


Give Lactating Cows a Spring Boost


By Gary DiGiuseppe F


OR 4 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR, there is a lot of extra stress on your cows. Be sure you


take care of their nutritional needs accordingly. “When the cow births a calf,


it begins lactating,” explains Dr. David Hutcheson, animal nutri- tionist and consultant with Animal Agricultural Consulting in Scrog- gins. “That lactation period will last about 6 months or 200 days, or until you wean the calf. A very few producers wean earlier. The cow is usually bred back 30 to 90 days af- ter the calf is born, so 60 days after calving the cow is normally what we consider pregnant and lactating for the next 4 months.” That compares to the period after


the calf is weaned. The bred cow is still providing sustenance to the fetus, but is no longer drawing on her resources to produce milk. This corresponds with the mid-gestation period of about 3 months, and the pre-calving period of the last 30 days. Hutcheson says, “From the time


the cow becomes pregnant until weaning, she needs about 13.6 pounds of total digestible nutrient (TDN) and 1.9 to 2 pounds of pro- tein per day (see Table). “After weaning, her protein


needs drop to about 1.4 pounds per day because she’s not produc- ing any milk. “About 30 days before calving,


the fetus will be growing rapidly, so the cow’s needs are approach- ing 1.7 pounds of protein per day.


MORE 58 The Cattleman April 2015 thecattlemanmagazine.com


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