Managing cows in adverse weather conditions

Need to prioritise feeding cows not milking them
At present the major problem will largely be a feed one with most farms in the middle of
calving and pasture covers dropping quickly. Generally we went into the winter with high
covers and have come out with very low cover due to some very low pasture growth rates
over the last 6-8 weeks. High rain fall from March to July led to high leaching. A PGR lull
after excellent PGR in the Autumn combined with wet then very cold soil conditions has led
to record low PGR over late July and August. A Big problem is an energy out increase but an
energy in decrease!
· First priority is with any sick or lighter conditioned cows. Cover
and treat as a SAD (Sick And Depressed) cow.
o Ketol 300mls TAD or calving drenches 1 litre daily
o B12 injections 10mls every 2-3 days
o Milk only as required no more than once a day and only if
cow is eating well
o Cover and shelter
o Check for and treat any other disease e.g. Mastitis
· Colostrum cows
o Milk once a day as a routine now and for the rest of
calving
o Extra lime flour 200-300g/cow/day
o Take feed to them in the paddock to free up pad space
for milkers.
o PKE or ration in a trailer with extra Lime flour
o Watch for SAD cows. Treat as above
.
· Milkers
o Once a day milking during stress periods reduces energy
demand, frees up staff time to feed cows and deal with
problems. It also reduces walking and gateway damage.
o Last September the farmers who responded quickly and
went to OAD, even with herds producing 2.3 kg MS/day,
lost less condition and returned to 2.4 kg MS/day once
back onto TAD milking. Mating and total season’s
performance was not compromised.
o Lime four 100-300g
They need more over stress periods, especially if
cold and wet.
o Magnesium Oxide
20-40g in feed
50-100g on pasture
50g MagC or MagS in-line but in wet conditions
water intakes will vary.
o Time to eat a ration on the pad will need to be increased
if more pad ration is fed.
L:\Flood & Storm\Storm Notes for Cows Aug 2011.docx
o Keep them full
Extra energy – By-pass fats 200-500g
Use forage feeds if available
Watch for acidosis if meal or cereals are increased
too quickly.
Molasses type feeds help with energy intakes
· Calving Cows
o Pick up calves immediately/quickly and feed 2 litres of
warmed first milk colostrum. Place in a dry drafted free
environment. Use covers if available.
o Get cows to the shed and milk out quickly
Calving drench or calcium drench ASAP
Onto feed as soon as you can, the colostrum
ration.
Check for mastitis and metritis. Treat aggressively
· Immune systems will be compromised.
· Calves
o Make sure they get adequate milk (10% of LWT)
Minimum of 4 litres preferably more 5-6 litres in
split feeds, in first 12 hours.
o Warmed milk is important especially in the first ten days
and the weather is cold. Calves can die of hypothermia
while warming up cold milk if conditions are severe.
o Feed twice a day while conditions are severe even if they
were on once a day.
o Shelter is a priority for young calves
· Dry/Springer cows
o Use forages hay straw to keep full and settled, and
generate heat.
o Consider shed feeding if available to provide energy
feeds.
o Magnesium is a priority here, see above
o Consider molasses type feeds as an energy source.
· Metabolic Problems
o Likely to increase over weather bombs
Downer cows
· Calcium I/V or S/C
· Dextrose I/V slowly to all downer cows
o They will be low in glucose
· Follow up with calcium/calving drenches
once swallowing
· Cover and treat as a SAD cow; See above.
Ketosis
· Acute more likely in better conditioned
higher producing cows and can be sudden