Is Maintenance Needs in Beef Cattle Are Related to Body Size

Past: Stephen P. Hammack and Ronald J. Gill

A beef cow requires energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins in its diet. What determines how much of these nutrients is required? What determines if they need to exist supplemented in the nutrition?

Many factors affect the amounts of required nutrients. A female performs many functions—torso maintenance, activity, weight proceeds, reproduction, and milk production—that all require nutrients. The amount of nutrients required depends on body size, environmental conditions, how far an brute travels, desired rate of gain, stage of gestation, and level of milk production.

The nutritional value and quantity of available provender determine if nutrients need to be supplemented in the diet. During nigh of the year, warm-flavor forages are likely to be scarce in some minerals, specially phosphorus and certain trace elements similar copper and zinc. In nearly situations, supplementation should include at to the lowest degree year -round provision of common salt and a mineral with 8 per cent to 12 percent phosphors and a similar level of calcium. Vitamin A, which ordinarily is depression in dry or weathered forages, should be injected or fed in mineral or other supplements if it is suspected to exist scarce. Mineral and vitamin supplementation should be a high priority because deficiencies can exist corrected for relatively little cost.

After addressing mineral and vitamin needs, poly peptide and energy deficiencies must exist considered. Provender protein and energy vary seasonally. Warm- season fodder typically becomes deficient in poly peptide in mid-summertime and again in winter. Provender lacks acceptable energy content primarily in winter, only free energy available to the animal is restricted more often by a express supply of forage rather than by deficiencies in establish composition.

Factors Affecting Supplementation

Many factors bear upon the type and corporeality of poly peptide or free energy supplement that a beef cow may require. There are half dozen critical factors that affect supplementation needs.

Forage Quantity. The corporeality of available forage obviously affects the need for supplemental feed. If grazing or hay volition be limited, have immediate activeness. Reduce the number of animals in order to lessen the need for supplemental feeding of the remaining cows. As provender supply declines, the opportunity for animals to selectively graze decreases, and then does diet quality. Then, supplementation may become necessary even if animal numbers are reduced.

Provender Quality . Poor quality provender has less than 6 percent to vii percent crude protein (CP) and is depression in digestibility, with less than 50 percent full digestible nutrients (TDN). These deficiencies limit the amount of such provender that an animal can eat. Because both consumption and nutrient content of poor quality forage are low, supplemental needs are high. Medium quality forage (7 percent to eleven per centum CP, 50 per cent to 57 per cent TDN) eliminates or significantly reduces the need for supplementation. High quality fodder (above 12 per cent to 14 per cent CP and 57 per cent TDN) can be consumed in the largest amounts and unremarkably removes any need for supplementation, except possibly for high milking cows in low body condition. Even so, forage that is loftier in quality merely low in quantity, a common situation in early spring, increases the need for supplementation of dietary majority and energy. The corporeality a moo-cow can eat in a mean solar day ranges from as petty as 1.five percentage of body weight for very depression quality forage to near three.0 percentage for very high quality fodder. The typical amount is 2.0 percent to 2.5 per cent.

Body Status . The level of body condition (amount of fat) affects supplemental requirements. Low body condition markedly increases the demand for supplemental nutrients, and meeting such needs often is price prohibitive. Moderate body condition significantly reduces or eliminates the need for supplements. Fleshy cows generally demand little if any supplement and the daily corporeality of forage required often can exist reduced. If provender consumption is non reduced, higher production is possible or reserves of stored body energy can be maintained.

Body Size . The potential for forage consumption is related to body size, so larger animals may not crave more supplement than smaller ones. Adjustments in stocking rate, to let adequate amounts of fodder per moo-cow, may outset differences in size simply volition increase the cost per moo-cow. Merely if fodder is sparse or limited, larger cows require proportionately more than supplement.

Milking Level. Higher milking cows can swallow somewhat more forage, but not enough to completely satisfy extra needs. When forage quality is inadequate, higher milking cows need more than supplement; from 50 per cent to 100 per cent more may exist required for high versus depression milk production in cows of the same body size.

Historic period . Young animals are however growing and crave extra nutrients, only their body size is non as big as mature animals. Because of their smaller torso size, growing heifers cannot consume as much forage as mature cows. For these reasons, young females require higher quality diets than mature cows and often require more than and different supplements.

Feeds for Supplementation

What are some poly peptide and energy supplements and how should they exist used?

Oilseed Meals. Cottonseed, soybean, and peanut meals often are manufactured equally large pellets or cubes for feeding convenience. These are high protein (38 percent to 45 percent CP), medium to high energy sources, commonly fed at ane pound to 3 pounds a twenty-four hour period. Although relatively plush per ton, they often are the cheapest source of protein. These feeds are most useful when supplemental poly peptide, and trivial or no energy, is needed. Oilseed meals are especially suitable for dry cows in moderate to good flesh when they have access to adequate amounts of low protein, medium energy forages.

Grain . Corn and grain sorghum (milo) are the almost comm on low protein, high energy sources. Other grains include oats, wh eat, and barley. Grains oftentimes are the cheapest sources of supplemental free energy. Similar feeds include processed by products such as wheat mids, soybean hulls, and rice bran. These by products are slightly higher in protein and a little lower in energy than grains and are relatively depression in starch. Starch tin interfere with forage digestibility, so these are excellent supplements to forage. Feeds in this category usually are found in breeder /range cubes.

Breeder/Range Cubes. These are most commonly 20 pct CP but also are found equally thirty pct to 32 per centum products. These feeds are designed to provide a combination of poly peptide and energy, fed in larger amounts (3 to vi pounds a day) than high protein feeds. The equivalent of a twenty per cent cube can exist prepared with a mix of about one-third oilseed meal and two-thirds grain. A mix of about three- fourths meal and one-quaternary grain is the equivalent of a 32 pct cube. Some cubes use nonprotein nitrogen (NPN), ordinarily urea, to supply nitrogen for potential synthesis of rumen microbial poly peptide. Cubes with low crude fiber (below x per cent) mostly are highest in free energy. Whole cottonseed, brewers grains, and some corn gluten meals are similar in protein and energy content to these cubes.

Poly peptide Blocks and Liquids . These feeds usually contain 30 per cent to 40 percent CP and typically are low to medium in free energy. Their conception or concrete structure limits consumption to around i pound to 3 pound s daily. The poly peptide portion frequently consists of 50 per cent to 90 per cent from NPN, merely tin exist considerably lower. Their chief utilize is to provide supplemental protein on low protein, medium energy forages (below 7 percent CP, 50 per cent to 52 per cent TDN) where convenience of cocky-feeding is a priority. These feeds by and large volition not fill big voids of nutrient deficiency, nor support college levels of creature performance.

Syrup Blocks and Tubs. These generally range from 12 percent to 24 per cent CP (often about one-half from NPN) and are medium in free energy. Consumption of these blocks usually is very low (typically 1/2 pound to 1 1/2 pounds a twenty-four hour period), and then higher poly peptide versions probably are most useful. These products are non intended to directly supply much supplemental protein or energy. Rather, their theoretical part is to stimulate rumen microbes to digest more fodder and produce microbial protein, which tin be utilized in the small-scale intestine. For this to occur, sufficient amounts of at least moderately digestible fodder mu st exist available. These feeds work best when supplied year round, allowing aggregating of body fat reserves that animals can utilize during typical autumn and winter decline in forage quality and quantity. They generally will not support loftier performance.

Hays . High quality hays, such as alfalfa, peanut, and soybean, tin exist used as supplements. These medium poly peptide (usually 15 percent to 20 pct CP), medium energy sources can be limit-fed in place of one of the feeds discussed previously. Such hays also can be fed gratuitous choice, although protein is wasted, if their cost is competitive.

Supplementation Strategies

Supplements must be called to meet detail nutrient deficiencies. Body condition is a central factor in the choice of supplements. Thin cows are relatively more deficient in dietary energy than in protein. In contrast, fleshier cows may need extra protein, if they need annihilation.

To minimize supplementation, utilize forage supplies logically. In general, hay (excluding supplemental alfalfa, etc.) should not be limit-fed with standing forage. Limit-feeding of hay encourages cows to reduce grazing and fails to employ pastures while quality is reasonably good. For instance, assume bachelor forage for grazing or feed ing includes some tame pasture (such as coastalber mudagrass), some native range, and some hay. As winter approaches, the tame pasture should be used first, native range next, and hay last. That fashion each forage is utilized well-nigh efficiently, and there is a improve chance some hay will be left in tardily winter to early spring when high quality green growth begins merely is limited in amount.

It is hard to make full general recommendations about supplementation of protein and energy. Usually, dry mature cows in medium or higher body condition on typical dormant warm-season pasture or depression quality hay ofttimes need only i pound to 2 pound due south a day of a high protein feed. (On extremely low quality forage, such as tall-grass prairie in winter, 3 pound southward to 4 pound s of high protein feed may be needed.) A thin, dry out, mature moo-cow may require 2 pound s to 4 pound s daily, but of a medium -protein, loftier-energy supplement. After calving, all of these amounts essentially should be doubled.

Daily feeding unremarkably is not necessary when using high-poly peptide supplements such as cottonseed repast cubes. Instead, depending on the amounts, weekly required totals tin can be divided and fed every other twenty-four hour period, twice a week, or even in one case a week. In fact, nondaily feeding of these supplements often is more efficient. All the same, combination protein-energy supplements, specially breeder /range cubes and meal-grain mixes, that are required in larger daily amounts, generally should be fed daily for best forage utilization, highest animal performance, and greatest efficiency.

Self-fed, controlled consumption can be achieved with some feeds, especially oilseed meals and meal-grain mixes, past including an intake limiter such equally salt. Cattle then will swallow salt in maximum amounts of approximately 0.1 per centum of body weight, or nearly 1 pound of common salt consumption daily past a 1,000 -pound cow. So, to obtain supplement consumption of three pound s daily in a 1,000 – pound moo-cow, a mix of i pound table salt to 3 pound due south supplement should be provided. When using salt to limit consumption, plenty of high quality water must exist bachelor. As well, cows consume more of a salt-limited supplement when it is located close to a water supply.

Peradventure the most common supplement is a loftier quality xx percent CP breeder /range cube (high or all-natural protein and low crude fiber ), or the equivalent. Such a supplement often is a compromise for the common situation of low quality forage and depression to medium body condition. But this must be fed in adequate amounts, typically 3 to six pound a mean solar day, to be effective. In fact, with the exception of managing weight loss in fleshy cows, there are few situations where feeding smaller amounts of such cubes is applicative. If a producer is unwilling or unable to assume the price of required amounts of these cubes (or the equivalent), so a lower corporeality of a higher protein feed should be fed. Merely realize, notwithstanding, that body status, reproduction, productivity, and profit are likely to decline if nutrient requirements are not met.

Download a printer-friendly version of this publication: Factors and Feeds for Supplementing Beefiness Cows

Practise y'all have a question -or- demand to contact an expert?

Contact Your Canton Part

robinsonbeppiest.blogspot.com

Source: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/ranching/factors-and-feeds-for-supplementing-beef-cows/

Share this post