As the cow carries the calf for approximately 280 days, this leaves a window of around 45 days to get the cow in-calf. If the target is to be achieved, then the cow has a maximum of two cycles to conceive. It all sounds fine in theory, but much more difficult in practice. Body condition plays a critical part in fertility.

Cows in the house should be grouped and fed according to Body Condition Score (BCS).

This involves getting into the pen and actually handling the animal. Whether you decide to stick to the 5 point scale, (BCS 1 = thin and BCS 5 = fattest), there is a major benefit to taking action now to have the cows in the ideal body condition at calving.

Looking at an animal and assessing fat covers is fine on a finishing steer, but cows are different.

The body condition in the final six weeks of the dry period will have an impact on the fertility of the cow. Thin cows (BCS 2 or lower) and first calved heifers usually take longer to start cycling again. Ideally cows should come into heat 40 days post calving. With thin cows this is more likely to around 60 days. Remember that every missed cycle will add 21 days to the calving interval of the cow.

Furthermore, there is the cost of feeding that empty cow for 21 days. A cow eating 45kg silage (€30/tonne) plus 3kg concentrates (€320/tonne) will be costing €2.31/day to feed. This amounts to €48.51 for every cycle that the cow missed. In addition, the calf will be lighter at a set weaning date.

Increasing a cow by one BCS is the equivalent of gaining 70kg to 80kg of liveweight.

When gaining condition, a typical daily liveweight gain for a cow is 0.5kg/day. Therefore, bringing a January calving cow from BCS 2.5 to BCS 3 will take approximately six weeks. Action should be taken now.

condition

With dry cows this is straight forward. Isolate thin cows (BCS 2.5 or less) and feed high quality silage (70+DMD) on ad lib basis along with 2kg/day of concentrates depending on cow type.

With autumn calving cows, remember they will need extra energy for milk production. Feeding ad lib 70+ DMD silage and 3kg of concentrates should suffice. With average quality silage (68 DMD) increase concentrates to 4kg. If lower, DMD cows may require as much as 6kg depending on cow type.

Fat cows can also have a negative impact on fertility. Reducing BCS should also be carried out over the same period as gaing BCS to avoid metabolic problems. Restrict silage intakes by 5 to 10kg, depending on silage quality. Only restrict cows if there is sufficient feed space.

Week in review

  • Fodder budgets are being checked on some farms that housed stock early to check available supplies.
  • Buying in stores for finishing has been put on hold until budgets have been completed to ensure adequate feed supplies.
  • Increased levels of straw are being fed to cows to stretch silage supplies.
  • Where silage quality is below 68 DMD some farmers are opting to put bulls onto ad lib concentrates plus straw to get higher DLWG.
  • Where straw/haylage is being used to substitute for silage, minerals are being fed daily in powder form.