Livestock Management RANCHING
cows are in the BCS you think they are, or have an Extension agent or a neigh- bor come out — somebody else with a ‘foreign eye’ — to look at your cows and give their opinion on the condition of your cows. This will help ensure that your cows are not losing too much condition before you realize it and it is too late.” The resources a rancher has play a large role in his
or her ability to control the cow’s energy status. “When the calf is weaned off the cow, the energy
requirements of that cow drop signifi cantly,” Nuttel- man says. “The dry cow will need 70 to 75 percent of the energy of a lactating cow. Therefore, she can maintain herself on a diet relatively low in energy for 2 to 3 months before the next calf is born. “If cows are being fed a partial or a complete diet on
a daily basis, and they are in good body condition when their calves are weaned, you can decrease the amount of energy that they are fed by 25 percent. If cows are in a grazing situation, the quality of the forage at that time will determine whether the cow will change her BCS. Any excess energy beyond maintenance at this
The biggest indicator of
the cow’s energy status is her body condition score.
time will be stored as fat.” Nuttelman says that in
some cases, adding weight to the cows is a good thing. “If the cow is in heavier condition going into calv-
ing, she has reserves and you can get by with a little less energy in the diet before the cow loses too much body condition.” However, remember that having ex- tremely fat cows at calving can lead to dystocia. It is important for producers to limit the amount of
condition the cow loses postpartum. Nuttelman says it is very well documented that cows on an increasing plane of nutrition prior to breeding are more likely to get bred early in the breeding season than are cows on a decreasing plane of nutrition. Even if the BCS is sound at and after calving, the energy requirements cannot be ignored. The cow still needs to be maintain- ing or on an increasing plane of nutrition. If the cows have a low BCS, the easiest time to re-
build their energy stores is right after weaning, when their requirements are at their lowest. Whether you work with an Extension agent, nutritionist or use a computer yourself, Nuttelman says that some kind of
98 The Cattleman October 2015
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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