Vet Advice

Proper sorting and feeding of animals in a beef cattle operation is one of the most profitable decisions you can make. On the other hand, lack of proper sorting and feeding in a cow-calf operation needlessly costs many producers thousands of dollars every year. It is unfortunately a common problem and leads to an increase in calving difficulty, calf sickness, delayed conception and open cows next fall.

The situation usually plays out something like this: All the cows in a herd have been together over the past several months. Weaning occurs and the bred heifers are left with the cows for convenience's sake. If fall grazing is not ideal, or the calves were weaned late, many of the young cows (first- and second-calvers) are one or more body condition score points below where they should be for this time of year. Grain is not offered yet to the group because of cost involved or difficulty in feeding the whole herd. "The best hay" is usually saved until after calving.

If the weather turns severe for any length of time, these thin animals lose even more weight, making it very tough to gain back the appropriate weight before calving. Thin animals at calving time do not calve as easily as cows in the proper body condition. Their colostrum is decreased in both quantity and quality, and the calf itself may be weak at birth. The affected cows do not clean as well, leading to more cases of retained afterbirth, metritis, and delayed return to estrus. Conception is delayed or does not occur at all. The weaning weight of the calves from these thin cows is below where it should be, reducing income from calf sales.

I don't have to tell any of you what an open cow costs, especially in the last couple of falls. So why is proper grouping and sorting of the cows for feeding such an important idea? The best analogy I can think of is this; if the soil tests for your cropland show that no fertilizer was needed for one field, while another field needed 100 pounds of N, how would you fertilize? To apply 50 pounds to both fields wastes money on one field and gives you a poor crop from the other. Not to mention that in our example, the "no-fertilizer" field will reach out and steal fertilizer from the deficient field. Not a very smart way of managing your crop.

Consider a fall body condition score assessment to be the "soil test." Separate the bred heifers and keep them by themselves -- they won't compete with older cows. Coming three- and four-year old cows make up the second grouping. Split off old and thin mature cows into this group. Mature cows in good condition will make up the largest cow grouping. Now you can give the right nutrients to the right cows, and get the most cost-effective use of your greatest cowherd expense: winter feed.

While this concept, like most good management ideas, is not new, there is good reason to discuss it. The ease of management in keep animals together during early winter is very tempting. Often changes in cow condition "creep up" on the cow-calf operator, and sorting off groups is a chore that is very easy to put off until next week or the week after. Having a proper plan for winter feeding, and following through on your plan, will pay very good dividends to your operation all through the year.