Beef cow feeding program

Various materials can be used for feedlot fences, including boards, wire panels, high-tensile wire, and steel cables. Barbed wire is not recommended. A seven- or nine-wire high-tensile fence is one of the most economical barriers. Another effective fence is a combination of high-tensile wire which can be electrified with three or four 2-by- 6-inch planks spaced between the wires. Housing for feeder cattle does not have to be extensive or weather tight--open-sided sheds and more completely enclosed structures are equally effective.

Younger cattle require more shelter than older cattle, especially for protection from winter winds. All facilities should be designed for the number of cattle fed and include a good manure management program.

Most feedlots use concrete feed bunks that allow cattle to feed from one or both sides, although feed bunks of treated lumber also can be used. Feed can be delivered through a mixer wagon, conveyor with a belt or chain, or a bucket loader.

To reduce mud, use concrete pads for areas around waterers and feed bunks. Mounds that are 3 to 5 feet high offer cattle relatively dry ground to rest on. The feedlot area should be well drained with topsoil removed to expose clay or other fairly impervious surface. Regardless of the type of feedlot surface, it must be cleaned periodically.

The facilities should be designed to prevent manure runoff into steams or other waterways. Retention lagoons and diversion ditches should be planned with the advice and approval of regulatory agencies. Some cattle feeders purchase lightweight feeder calves to pounds , graze them during the spring and summer, and then finish them in the feedlot starting in late summer or fall. Backgrounding is a special type of program that usually combines pasture systems and lightweight cattle. These cattle require extremely good nutrition, management, and health programs, but backgrounding can be profitable.

Well-managed, high-quality pastures can be used effectively with these type of cattle. More information on grazing and backgrounding can be found in Beef Backgrounding Production. Anyone purchasing feeder cattle must keep up-to-date on market conditions. Graded feeder-calf sales are held in both fall and spring; some feedlot operators use cattle brokers and tele-auctions to obtain their feeder cattle. Feeder-cattle prices can fluctuate considerably in almost every season of the year.

Higher-grade feeder cattle sell for a higher price per pound than lower grades. Lighter-weight cattle of the same grade cost more per pound than heavier feeder cattle. Although feeder grade is not supposed to be influenced by the amount of fat on an animal or its overall condition, cattle in better shape are usually assigned a higher grade and sell for a higher price per pound.

The difference between the purchase and the sales price the cattle margin or price spread of feedlot cattle is often greater for healthy, but thinner, lower-grade feeder calves or yearlings because these animals are more likely to increase in quality between purchase and sale time. Additional costs for thinner, lower-grading cattle include higher medical treatment costs, lower sales prices, and higher death-loss rates. Even with these disadvantages, lower-grading feeder cattle can be profitable; operators should consider the entire market for finished cattle.

Market prices are better for higher-grading, uniformly finished cattle than for less uniform, lower-grading cattle. Feeder-cattle purchases represent a large part of costs for feeding cattle. Many feeder-cattle producers offer cattle that have been weaned and vaccinated and received booster vaccines for respiratory disease, the primary health problem encountered in feeder cattle.

The objectives for purchasing feeder cattle are to buy calves that have the genetic ability to grow and add sale weight, efficiently convert feed to weight gain, have a high potential for reaching "Choice" quality grade after feeding, and stay healthy during feeding. Feeder cattle are usually sorted by breed, sex, weight, color, and feeder grade when being offered for sale, which increases the uniformity of marketing the finished cattle.

Because preconditioned and heavier feeder cattle tend to have fewer health problems, purchasing preconditioned calves can be a good investment for the cattle feeder. Preconditioning includes weaning 21 to 45 days before shipping, vaccinating for diseases prevalent in the area, dehorning, castrating, implanting, treating for external and internal parasites, and starting the cattle on grain-based feed from a feed bunk. If heavier cattle are used pounds or more , preconditioning is not as important.

Because respiratory and enteric digestive diseases can affect cattle of all ages, they should be properly vaccinated, preferably before they are moved to the feedlot.

If there is any doubt about an internal parasite infection, fecal samples should be taken to a veterinarian to determine the severity of infection. Control of external parasites such as lice and flies is also important; inexpensive, effective treatments are available. Feeders can reduce potential health problems by carefully planning a health maintenance and disease prevention program with the assistance of a veterinarian.

Cattle weighing pounds or more should be fed a ration containing 11 percent crude protein in a ration composed of grain usually corn, but barley and wheat are often also used , protein sources, and roughage.

Larger-framed cattle tend to require a ration with a higher percentage of grain to achieve the same carcass quality grade as cattle with smaller frame sizes. How many cattle do you have?

Email This field is required. Invalid email format. Zip This field is required. Please enter numbers only. Please enter minimum 5 numbers only. County This field is required. Phone This field is required. Please enter valid phone number. What is the best time to contact you? Enter the average calf birth weight anticipated for calves out of this group of heifers or cows. This value is used to determine energy and protein needs for fetal development during gestation.

Expected calf birth weight does not influence nutrient requirements for lactating cows or mature bulls. Milk production varies as much within a breed of cattle as it does among breeds.

Milk yield can have a dramatic impact on nutrient requirements and therefore, a reasonable estimate of genetic potential for milk can improve accuracy of projected nutrient balance. Five levels of productivity are available: low, medium-low, average, medium-high and high.

These levels are intended to approximate sire milk expected progeny differences EPD's relative to breed average. This is not an input cell. The value is calculated from the other inputs provided.

Milk yield generally peaks six to 10 weeks after calving and gradually declines over the remainder of the lactation period. Input the current or anticipated BCS of the cows, heifers or bulls at the beginning of this feeding period. The average of the Initial and Desired BCS inputs are used to calculate maintenance energy requirements. Cattle in thinner condition lower BCS have lower maintenance requirements compared to cattle in fatter condition, assuming there is no cold stress.

Enter the target or desired body condition at the end of this feeding period. The difference between the Initial and Desired BCS will be used to determine the amount of weight gain or loss targeted during this feeding period. The user then compares the projected weight gain or loss and the projected change in BCS generated by the nutritional program with the desired weight gain or BCS change. Assuming the projected weight gain or loss is deemed acceptable by the user, the energy supply generated by the nutritional program is adequate.

Recall that each unit of BCS change is associated with approximately 7. Initial weight is intended to indicate the weight of the cattle at the beginning of the feeding or grazing period being evaluated.

Either a desired or projected weight at the end of this feeding or grazing period should be input in this cell. This weight is intended to represent weight of the cattle when they reach a constant body composition at the end of the finishing phase. Cowculator uses 0. For example, heifers will reach 0. Calf-fed animals entering the feed yard at pounds will reach 0. Smaller frame cattle will reach 0.

This drop-down list allows the user to refine the growth and feed efficiency genetics of the cattle being considered. To demonstrate the influence of the genetic potential for feed efficiency input selection, three scenarios were modeled using the Cowculator program. A finishing diet containing 0.

Table 1 summarizes the results when each of the three genetic potential options were selected, feed intake was rebalanced to 1. Table 1. Predicted performance for feedlot steers varying in genetic potential for growth and feed efficiency. Three commercially available ionophore selections are available. These selections have modest influences or adjustments on feed intake and cattle performance. Feed intake and performance equations are calibrated to finishing diets incorporating the ionophore Rumensin.

Similarly, dietary metabolizable energy ME concentration is reduced by 2. Anabolic implants enhance weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency in growing and finishing cattle. The Cowculator growth model is calibrated to the Hitch data where cattle were treated with implants throughout the finishing phase. Consequently, when the feed intake is rebalanced to 1. Initial body condition is used to adjust feed intake when cattle are fleshy.

Cowculator reduces predicted feed intake by 2. The feed library or Feed List contains a limited number of feeds common to Oklahoma in the following categories: grazed forages, harvested forages, concentrates, commercial feeds, and vitamins and minerals.

Effects of body condition at calving on postpartum duration. Adapted from Houghton, Effects of body condition score at calving on percentage of cows cycling by 60 and 90 days postpartum. Adapted from Whitman, Relative energy requirements of a spring-calving beef cow.

Figure 13 shows the influence of BCS on colostrum quality. Colostrum is the first milk that contains important immunoglobulins designed to boost the immune system of a newborn calf. Calves that receive inadequate colostrum can be more vulnerable to sickness.

Cows below BCS 4 produce less colostrum volume and total immunoglobulins. Effect of cow BCS on serum calf immunoglobulin levels Odde et al. Body condition at weaning is also related to reproductive performance. A nine-year summary of data from more than 77, cows Table 4 clearly shows that cows that are thin at weaning are less likely to become pregnant during the following breeding season.

Since body condition is associated with reproductive success, the BCS system can be used to set a predictable target. It is important to strive for a BCS at calving that will allow for cows to be reproductively efficient.

This target BCS may not be the same for all operations, although scientific findings indicate that a cow calving in BCS 5 is a low-risk target. However, it may be beneficial to target a slightly higher BCS of 5. A supplementing strategy designed to achieve a BCS of 5 may be more expensive than one designed to achieve a BCS of 4 or 4. Cows in BCS 4 may have only one chance to become pregnant in time to maintain a day calving interval, while those with BCS 5 may have two or more chances.

If all cows conceived at first service, the thinner cows might be more economical. This was due in part to the reduced amount of feed required to maintain the cows in lesser body conditions. However, since a cow with a marginal BCS of 4. Individual managers must evaluate their tolerance for risk in making this decision.

One of the keys to using BCS to manage reproductive performance successfully is having the capability to sort and supplement cows relative to a target BCS.

For example, cows could be sorted into two groups: those at or above the target BCS that need no special management, and those below the target that need additional nutrients to improve their chances of becoming pregnant early in the breeding season. Thinner cows and heifers could be pastured together because heifers should be fed for optimal growth and thin cows need additional supplementation to achieve appropriate gain.

Further sorting of cows that are below the targeted BCS into two or more groups may also improve the precision of the nutrition program. The degree of sorting depends on the availability of facilities and pastures to accommodate the different cow groups.

Grouping cattle according to BCS allows producers to manage the nutrition program strategically, targeting nutrients to cows that are least likely to become pregnant early in the breeding season below target BCS. The objective is to group the thin cattle together and provide supplemental feed grazed or fed sufficient to meet production goals, without pouring unneeded feed and dollars into cows that are already in acceptable condition.

Under most New Mexico range conditions, a non-lactating cow that consumes only dormant forage plus protein supplement will lose 40 to 80 pounds 0. Therefore, typically the most economical time to add body condition is immediately following weaning, when her energy demands are at their lowest. This small window of opportunity is generally the most economical physiological stage for increasing body energy reserves. The efficiency of gain usually is lower 60 days prior to calving.

It should be noted that it takes approximately 40 to 55 days to increase BCS by 1 unit, when cows are gaining 1. Large gains in BCS may not be feasible at this time. Choosing to delay supplementation can allow producers to maintain some flexibility and to take advantage of any favorable environmental conditions. However, it may carry slightly more risk than sorting at weaning in the fall and ensuring that cows are in acceptable body condition prior to the winter grazing season.

Table 5 shows that providing a higher energy level before calving can impact the length of the postpartum anestrous period and potential age and weight of the following calf crop at weaning. However, it is important to note that both precalving nutrition levels yielded a postpartum anestrous period of less than 82 days. Cows fed the higher energy level before calving had two chances to become pregnant and maintain a day calving interval, whereas cows in the low energy group only had one chance.

As with any input, the relationship of cost to return should be evaluated. An effort to maintain a high energy level for an extended period of time before calving should be limited to cows that are exceptionally thin and at high risk of calving too late or being open at the end of the breeding season. Table 5. In general, it is better for a thin cow to gain weight after calving than for a well-conditioned cow to lose large amounts of weight between calving and breeding Table 6.

Nevertheless, it still is more desirable for all cows to be in the targeted BCS range at calving than to sort off and feed thin cows extra, while they are nursing calves.

Nonetheless, feeding thin cows to increase their body condition does not have to be a complicated task. Table 7 provides a nutrition and cost scenario to increase body condition in cows post weaning. This feeding scenario is based on supplementing from weaning to calving approximately days. Table 7. It may be practical to group thin cows after weaning and graze them in the best-quality pasture saved for this purpose. In less extensive cattle operations, it has been successful to move cows to new pastures when they calve.

However, in a relatively dry climate where forage supply often is limited, this technique caters to early calving females that have the greatest opportunity to select a high-quality diet because they graze the new pasture first.

Subsequently, the later-calving females receive less benefit. Hay is not the only feedstuff that can produce the necessary weight gains, but it generally is one of the more readily available commodities.