Nutritional advice for cow

thegreatgonzo

Hi all,

We have a cow here not due to calf until after March 26th. She has a good body condition in general but has had twins in the past and also has had a bit of lameness 2 years ago. She's been looking very bulky and uncomfortable this past while so we've put her out in a paddock to save her feet and she's been getting her pre calver mineral.
Now we never scanned this lady because she is an absolute nightmare to get up a crush so we don't know if there might be twins again or not. What would you all advise nutrition wise to keep her fit? Our silage quality is fairly hit and miss and I could see her getting very fragile in these last few weeks.
She's an aubrac X btw.

welton john

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

Hi all,

We have a cow here not due to calf until after March 26th. She has a good body condition in general but has had twins in the past and also has had a bit of lameness 2 years ago. She's been looking very bulky and uncomfortable this past while so we've put her out in a paddock to save her feet and she's been getting her pre calver mineral.
Now we never scanned this lady because she is an absolute nightmare to get up a crush so we don't know if there might be twins again or not. What would you all advise nutrition wise to keep her fit? Our silage quality is fairly hit and miss and I could see her getting very fragile in these last few weeks.
She's an aubrac X btw.

if shes on a bare paddock you could give her some hay aswell ,then the two weeks before calving feed her on with silage again and some meal if you see her loosing condition.thats what id do anyway.

thegreatgonzo

Thanks we have plenty of hay.

mf240

Some rolled oats maybe.

billie holiday

ElanCo sell a monensin bolus that is excellent for this cow.
2 problems though getting her in crush
It costs 45 yoyos

grass n slurry

There is a bolus to give cows having twins, not sure of the name but will find out to moro, it keeps up there appetite to stop them from getting thin but ud want to no for sure if it's twins she having. It's 40 euro a bolus but suppose to be worth it

freedominacup

If you're certain she's having twins then you cannot over feed her. Her biggest problem is likely to be a ketosis from a lack of energy. Twins will never get big enough to cause calving difficulties. We put cows we suspect of having twins with fresh cows where they could be getting 8kgs of meal in the tmr. Once she has a good blood sugar level when it comes to calving time she'll have the calves very handily.

KatyMac

Would rolled oats help my sick cow that lost the calf(s) yesterday? She is dreadfully thin now that all the fluid has come away from her. She is eating so have hopes for her though.

Sami23

mf240 wrote: »

Some rolled oats maybe.

That's not the first time I've heard oats recommended before calving.

What's the main difference between barley and oats pre-calving ?

Parishlad

Sami23 wrote: »

That's not the first time I've heard oats recommended before calving.

What's the main difference between barley and oats pre-calving ?

Oats will give them energy without putting on condition.

thegreatgonzo

Thanks everybody. We would use the rolled oats on the rest of the cows here with the pre calver because we had a problem a few years ago with our cows being too fat at calving. Just being extra cautious with this one because she is just looking so heavy and and a bit awkward on her feet.
I'll check out that bolus for future reference thanks :-)