Rain is in short supply at the moment, and grass even shorter. Most farmers have been feeding out for a while, so here are a few things to consider as this dry period stretches.
Increasing or decreasing supplement feed
Any change in supplement feed should be done slowly. Supplement feeds by their nature are generally highly digestible, high-energy feeds, that can predispose cows to issues with acidosis.
A rapid increase in these high-energy feeds will disrupt the gut bacteria and make it more acidic, which can lead to sick cows. Likewise, rapid decreases can also lead to changes in how the gut moves. These outcomes can result in rumen impactions, especially if water consumption is low, and acidosis.
A good rule of thumb is generally no more than 2kg of dry matter change in any one day per cow and to leave a few days between changes to allow the gut biome to adapt to increases in potential acidity. Slow changes are best to avoid issues.
Ensuring enough fiber is also still an important part of the diet, as low-fiber, high-energy diets are a perfect recipe for acidosis and will actually hinder cow performance rather than helping.
Signs of acute acidosis in a cow:
Lack of appetite,
Drop in milk,
Firm, dry faeces,
A quick loss of body condition and an empty appearing abdomen,
Preference for forage over concentrate feeds,
Some cases may even have neurological symptoms if acute enough.
Acute acidosis will result in a very sick cow that should be easy to spot! However, it’s more likely that presentations will be subacute, with acidosis affecting overall herd performance but not acutely affecting individual animals.
Signs of subacute acidosis in a herd:
Reduced feed intake,
Decreased milk production and lower milk fat,
Loose faeces,
Poor body condition scores despite adequate feed being offered,
High rates of other health conditions in the herd.
As you can see, these signs will present very similarly to cows under pressure during dry conditions and this is why it’s important to be accurate with energy levels in feed types and amounts of feed provided to cows during this time.
Monitoring cow condition
Keeping an eye on the body condition score (BCS) of your herd is a key component for ensuring success during dry summer periods.
Checks need to be done regularly – every 3-4 weeks is ideal. Cows who are rapidly decreasing in BCS should be dried off early to ensure next season’s production won’t be impacted. Pushing cows too far now will make it very difficult to get BCS back up to target during winter for calving and will have serious effects on the following season.
Cows that have been dried off require a lot less energy from feed, so keep that in mind when feed gets tight. Drying off a portion of the herd early may actually be more profitable, with your better milk producers able to be given more feed, as your dried-off lower producers require less.
Looking ahead
If we do get the rain we’re crying out for, it’s also a good idea to be budgeting feed for those last few weeks of the season left once rain returns.
Up to half the grass would die off rapidly, as it has already decayed in the heat. Grass that does grow back quickly in this period of rain would be low in dry matter, so the majority of energy will still need to be supplied through supplement feeding.
Slowing your paddock rotation during this time will allow the grass ahead to develop a better root mass post-drought.
A reminder for youngstock
Whilst the focus here has been around feeding and monitoring our hard-working, milk-producing dairy cows during this dry weather, special consideration also needs to be given to youngstock.
BCS should also be checked often and adequate feed and access to water is a must. Setbacks at this age will affect the quality of your herd for years going forward.
This age group is also very susceptible to affects from hot weather. If you see any signs of stress or poor health amongst your calves don’t hesitate to give us a ring.
