How to
Give Multitasking Mamas an Added Nutritional Boost Article provided by BioZyme® Inc
Ask any new mother how she’s feeling and variations of “exhausted” will likely be uttered from her mouth. If a new mama cow could talk, her answer might be the exact same, especially if she is a 2- or 3-year-old that has just delivered her first or second calf into the herd, while she’s still growing and developing herself. That’s not all this multi-tasking mama is doing; she’s also lactating, caring for a calf and trying to prepare herself for the upcoming breeding season. Producers put a lot of pressure on their cows. While they continue to grow and mature themselves, they are also growing a calf in their womb and hopefully generating an ample supply of high-quality colostrum. On calving day, you expect them to deliver a healthy, vigorous calf unassisted, and get that calf up and nursing. Then, during peak lactation when nutrient needs are the highest, you also expect them to maintain their body condition, all while continuing to grow and being ready to rebreed 45-60 days after their calf is born. “These are some unrealistic expectations we put on a cow in a very short amount of time, about 120 to 150 days of her life,” said Lindsey
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HORIZONS
Grimes-Hall, Nutrition and Field Sales Manager for BioZyme® Inc. “Our cattle are genetically superior to what they were 50, 40, even 20 years ago so our nutrient requirements are also increased because they are genetically capable of more. “Between genetics being better and our exceedingly high-performance expectations of that cow to stay in business, we have got to take care of her at a nutrient level that will allow her to reach optimal performance. If she’s not getting the groceries and goodies she needs, she is going to fall short. We’re going to want to blame it on the cow, but it’s not really her fault. We weren’t paying attention to what she needed.”
The hierarchy of nutrient partitioning applies to all vitamins, minerals, protein and energy according to Grimes-Hall, and a large portion of nutrients that an animal consumes each day goes toward maintenance. Next, the remaining nutrients are used for the growth of the actual animal if they have not yet met maturity. If there are still a surplus of nutrients, these can be allotted for fetal growth and development. Finally, any remaining nutrients are then used for milk production, reproduction and weight gain – all critical to that younger cow that has just given birth. “If you are lacking nutrition, milk production, reproduction and BCS are what are going to suffer
Hierarchy of nutrient use 1. Maintenance 2. Growth of the animal 3. Fetal growth and development 4. Milk production, reproduction, weight gain
