After suffering from months of poor forage quality many in-calf suckler cows are in poor body condition and in dire need of a nutritional lifeline in the run up to calving, says Rumenco technical manager David Thornton.
"Many cows have been turned out with a real hangover in body condition terms, simply because they finished the 2008 grazing season in poor shape. The combination of last year’s wet, low quality end of year grazing and a housed winter on poor quality conserved forage in many cases means many cows are ill-prepared for calving, putting extra emphasis on good nutrition pre-calving this year," he says.
David Thornton is urging farmers to boost energy, mineral and vitamin nutrition from six weeks pre-calving and up to eight weeks post-calving to improve both calf vitality and cow fertility.
"A cow with a low body condition score at grass is less likely to produce adequate quantities of good quality colostrum to protect and sustain good calf health. Cows in poor body condition are also at more of a risk from metabolic problems such as milk fever. And if cows are short of trace elements, particularly selenium, they are more likely to retain cleansings and be more difficult to get back into calf," he points out.
