|
West Central Iowa | There has been a lot of research lately on "fetal programming". Mark is right that P1 cows don't need a heck of a lot to keep going, but it is possible to negatively affect the developing fetus even at that stage. Most of the calves growth occurs in the final trimester, but cell development, nervous system, brain & spinal development occurs in the first 2/3 of the pregnancy. That P1 or P2 cow doesn't need high volumes of feed to provide necessary fetal nutrition, rather feed that is of adequate quality with the right nutrient balance to encourage correct development. 1 lb/day of corn gluten should not create statistically different calving scenarios. If you end up with a tough winter that gluten will prove to be a good investment. If the weather ends up milder than expected, the extra dollars spent was good insurance as long as your cows do not get too fat (BCS of 7-9)
Some producers believe that it is possible to "starve the BW out of a cow" and keeping them on the thin side makes smaller calves and reduces dystocia. Studies show that those cows actually have more dystocia than adequately conditioned counterparts that carry more fat cover and were fed on a better plane of nutrition. This is because those thin cows do not have necessary energy reserves to compensate for added stresses and actually exhibit less "stamina" during a long/tough delivery. Thinner cows often times present more challenges try to breed back when milking as well.
In general stay away from the extremes (too fat or too thin) and you should be fine. | |
|
feeding bred cows
