Feed Lot Magazine Online, Wintering Pregnant Brood Cows - Is It Time To Think Outside the Box?

Volume VII Number 5

September/October 1999

Wintering Pregnant Brood Cows - Is It Time To Think Outside the Box?

By Randy Dew, Ph.D. from Kent's Beef Producer News

"Thinking outside the box" is a commonly used phrase these days as people strive to develop creative ways of dealing with the rapid pace of change going on all around them. It is a phrase that denotes a willingness to go against the norm in considering and implementing unconventional ideas.

When it comes to wintering pregnant brood cows...is it time to "think outside the box?" Most cow/calf producers will tell you their goal is to winter their pregnant brood cows as cheaply as possible by free-choice feeding forages. With $80 per ton hay and corn at $2 per bushel is there a better, more cost-effective way? Consider in Table 1, the cost of energy or Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) of hay versus corn.

The total cost of energy is greatest for dry hay vs. corn. In fact the hay would have to be priced as low as $44 per ton to equal the cost of energy from $2 per bushel corn. Because energy is the most expensive nutrient to feed the wintering brood cow, why not "think outside the box" and consider limit-feeding hay and corn to lower daily feed cost? The daily cost savings of limit-feeding hay and corn is shown in Table 2.

Does this concept work? Dr. Steve Loerch, at Ohio State University, has studied this feeding method extensively, and a three-year summary of results is shown in Table 3.

During this three-year study, there was no difference in cow condition, with daily wintering costs averaging $.64 per head per day less for limit-fed cows.

What are some example diets?

In the diets in Table 4, daily crude protein intake is adequate to meet the needs of a mid-gestation cow. A sound free choice mineral is still needed to enhance overall health, digestion and reproductive efficiency.

What are some precautions when feeding this way?

Take five to seven days to get cows up to the level of grain desired.

Make sure bunk space is adequate for all cows to eat at once and that they are in a secure area.

Feed first-cutting hay that contains 10 to 12 percent crude protein and 48 to 50 percent TDN. Feeding less than four pounds of hay significantly reduces the contentment of cows.

A supplement containing either Bovatec, Rumensin or a product similar to them should be used. Studies have shown feeding 200 mg/hd/day of one of these ionophores provides the equivalent energy of about one pound of corn.

Feed the corn whole. Ohio State Studies have shown that in this feeding system there is little difference between whole or processed corn in digestibility.

If this feeding system is used in late gestation make sure corn and protein intake is increased to account for the rapid growth of the fetus during this time. Increasing corn by two pounds and supplement by .75 to one pound will account for the extra TDN and protein needs during this time.

The producer must have an accurate way of weighing feed.

What are the advantages to this feeding system?

Significantly reduced feed and wintering cost.

Diet digestibility is increased and manure production reduced 60 to 80 percent.

Energy intake can easily and more accurately be increased to account for cold weather or to improve cow condition.

Cows can easily be observed at feeding time.

In summary, feeding pregnant, mid-gestation cows in this manner may not be for everyone. It is obvious such a feeding system would require extra management and most producers may not like seeing their cows eat only 15 to 20 minutes out of the day. However, feeding wintering cows in such an unconventional manner will allow those producers who do "think outside of the box" to take advantage of significant cost savings.

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