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Vitamin & Protein
ELDON COLE
MT. VERNON, MO.
Vitamin A and protein are two nutrients you might think about in preparing your pregnant cows for the last one-third of pregnancy. Under a normal year I don’t worry much about those nutrients, but 2020-21 has been abnormal.
First, vitamin A needs are usually taken care of by cows eating green forage. In fact, good, stockpiled fescue in a normal year probably would allow a pregnant cow to store up enough potential vitamin A in their liver to carry them well into the winter without vitamin A supplementation. If you have rye or wheat pasture it would help build up the liver stores of A.
The green forage form any of the above feedstuffs should provide enough protein also. A dry adult beef cow in the last 1/3 of gestation has about 8 percent of the dry matter intake that should be protein. A two-year old heifer, also in the last third of pregnancy requires from 8 ½ to 10 ½ percent protein depending on how much gain they’re making.
If your fescue hay is common and stored outside, energy likely will be in short supply as possibly could protein. In fact, the first-calf heifer has a protein requirement of roughly 12 percent. It just depends on body condition and whether they’re gaining weight. That same animal will be eating in the neighborhood of 25 to 28 lbs. of dry matter or just lump it at 30 lbs. put in front of them each day.
Mature cows will easily need 30 up to almost 40 lbs. Of dry matter per day. If you’re feeding silage or haylage that’s a big pile of high moisture forage they’re consuming.
The other image I’d like to leave with you is how much or how little of an animal’s dry matter intake will come from stockpiled fescue this winter. Sure, the cattle will be out grazing but how many pounds per day is out there to help fill their rumen. We’ve all seen pastures that resemble a carpet and not a shag carpet. Those cattle can’t help but be losing weight all winter which will set them up for a disastrous breeding season.
Feed your cattle adequately, but economically from now until spring grass arrives. Unroll hay around over your pastures to spread manure. If bale rings are used, move them to avoid muddy, filthy conditions. ∆
ELDON COLE: Extension Livestock Specialist, University of Missouri
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