Vigortone Protein Supplements can
Maximize Livestock Performance.
This
article was published in the October 2004 edition of Vigortone's Bunk, Bull &
Business newsletter.
Beef cows have relatively high maintenance requirements due
to environmental exposure and grazing activity. Because a large amount of daily
forage consumption is used for maintenance, any improvement in performance or
body condition will hinge upon increasing intake and improving the efficiency
with which ingested forage is utilized. Supplementation with protein and a
balanced vitamin-mineral package increases digestibility and, consequently,
intake by meeting rumen microbial requirements for ammonia and maximizing the
rumen microbial population. These practices usually will move the cow into a
positive energy balance.
It is generally accepted that correction of an inadequate
protein intake will result in greater feed intake by cattle. Tests in Idaho,
Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah have shown that intake by the
gestating-lactating cow will be reduced some 6 to 10% for each 1 to 2 percentage
units of protein inadequacy.
Manage according to body condition. Net returns to cow-calf
operations are determined largely by reproductive performance. A high percentage
of cows must wean a calf, and a high percentage of those calves must be born
early in the calving season. For a cow to calve next year at the same time or
earlier than she did this year, she has to breed back in 82 days or less. Cows
in moderate to good condition at calving have sufficient body reserves to get
that done.
A Colorado test (1975) indicated that 46, 61, and 91% of
cows calving in thin, moderate, or good condition, respectively, were cycling 60
days after calving. In a similar test at Purdue University (1986), the number of
days to rebreeding was dependent upon body condition score (BCS) at calving,
with scores of 4 to 7 being optimal. Early to mid-lactation demands on the
cow’s body reserves can result in the loss of up to one body condition score
(70 to 80 lb).
Why not just feed some grain?
Directly providing energy via grain (starch) rarely is successful in improving
energy status. When the objective is to supplement the existing forage program,
the use of grain results instead in a substitution effect in which the rumen
microbes preferentially digest the starch, leaving an equivalent amount of
ingested forage to go largely undigested. Management
of protein intake. Forages of lower quality will dictate feeding
supplemental protein at 0.2 to 0.4 lb/cow/day to meet her requirements.
Mechanisms for delivering this under range conditions include the use of Vigortone
Forage Pro products, Vigortone
Protein Tubs, or commodity proteins such as soybean meal, cottonseed
meal, corn gluten feed, or distillers grains.
Does a cow get all the minerals she needs
from forage?
To survive, yes, but to optimize performance, no.
With self-fed products, make
sure adequate pasture or roughage is available and that cows are not
salt-starved before introducing the product of choice. A two week adaptation
period may be required to establish desired consumption. Virtually all commodity
proteins will not provide adequate levels of all minerals, so free-choice range
mineral is a good practice. Use a mineral providing at least 6-8 g of phosphorus
daily in a Ca:P ratio not narrower than 2:1. The Vigortone
32S line of minerals is a good choice.
Consumption
of self-fed products can be manipulated by:
1) relocation of feeding stations relative
to water or loafing areas,
2) increasing or decreasing the
number of feeding stations, and/or
3) feeding additional salt or
minerals.
If supplemental protein is hand-fed, every-other-day
feeding at twice the daily level has been shown to be as satisfactory as daily
feeding. However, feeding every third day, or less frequently, is not
satisfactory.
For more information, please call us at 1-800-553-1712 or email us at contactus@vigortone.com. |
