With the arrival of the new year, so too comes that wonderful time of year when baby calves start hitting the ground. Depending on your calving schedule, the last trimester of your herd's pregnancy period is either here or about to happen sooner than later. Of course cattle nutrition is important all year long and there are important nutritional benchmarks for each trimester, I thought we could look at the last trimester since it is most relevant based upon the time of year.
1. Body Condition Score (BCS)
- If you haven't done so, now is the time to look at each of your cows and give them a body condition score (1-9). Going into this last trimester, cows should have a score of at least a 5 but preferably a 6. A cow with a body score of 5 will be smooth over her spine and vertebrae and only her last 2 ribs will be visible. A 6 will be even smoother with no ribs showing.
Cows with a good BCS will give more milk and return to estrus sooner. Cows need to rebreed within 83 days of calving for them to have a calf within a 365 day period. Cows with a lower BCS will have trouble coming into heat by 80 days after calving. Cows with a higher BCS tend to exhibit heat with 55 days of calving, giving you a chance to get them bred within 2 heat cycles and in case they don't get covered the first cycle.
Also, calves born to cows with a good BCS are better equipped to regulate their body heat and stand to nurse more quickly. They are more resistant to stress and disease as well. More times than not, a calf that gets sick will lose you money.
2. Crude Protein
- Supplementing crude protein the last 90 days of pregnancy can be a critical step when it comes to the overall potential of your calf crop. The fetus does 70% of its growing during this period. The amount of CP and energy to support fetal growth goes up by 25% during this time. A 1,300 lb cow will need somewhere between 1.5 to 2 lbs/day of CP during this time period. After calving this number should go up to 2 to 2.4 lbs/day.
Hopefully you have a good idea of the CP content and TDN of your feed. Higher quality feed like alfalfa may have all you need. Lower quality quality forages may need to be supplemented with a product to meet their CP needs.
One interesting study out of Nebraska has shown that heifer calves out of cows that have been supplemented with protein and energy had higher pregnancy rates than heifers from non-supplemented cows at a rate of 93% for supplemented compared to 80% for non-supplemented cows.
Use the following link from Virginia Cooperative Extension for some cool charts concerning cattle nutrition at different trimesters and ages. Link
3. Minerals
- Finally minerals like Copper, Zinc, Manganese, and Selenium during this trimester are equally important for fetal health. They play a crucial role in the calf's immune system, the cows fertility, and colostrum production. Consult your veterinarian for what your cows may need in your area. Some areas have high levels of selenium in the soil and supplementing it would cause problems. Please read earlier blog posts concerning selenium levels and Vitamin A Deficiencies.
As with anything you do, it is always wise to consult a vet or cattle nutritionist to develop a cattle nutrition and herd health plan to keep your animals healthy and maximize profits.
For more information, you can watch a video about third trimester and post-partum nutrition out of North Dakota State University by clicking here.
Have a great day!
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