How much should I feed my bred heifer?
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How much should I feed my bred heifer?
Total intake of hay and distillers would be about 24 lb/hd/da as-fed. After calving using the same hay you would need feed 4.2 lb/hd/da (3.7 lb/hd/da dry matter and distillers 88% dry matter). Intake after calving would be 25 to 26 lb/hd/da as-fed. The lactating diet will be about 12% CP and 62% TDN.
How much should I feed my first calf heifer?
A first-calf heifer at peak lactation is going to require at least 58 percent total digestible nutrients (TDN) and 9.3 percent crude protein (CP) in her diet just to maintain what she has. If she needs to gain some weight before breeding, she will probably need at least a 65 percent TDN and 12.1 percent CP diet.
What should a pregnant heifer eat?
What Can You Feed Pregnant Cows?
- Hay. Hay, a staple of the cattle diet, is often fed to pregnant cows even if they have access to pasture.
- Grain. A pregnant cow needs plenty of grain to meet her energy needs and the needs of her growing calf.
- Supplements.
- Silage.
What do you feed a bred cow?
Set cows up for success by providing them with quality cattle mineral and protein supplements. A good, year-round cattle nutrition program supports improved breeding rates. Try Purina® cattle mineral today through the Feed Greatness® Challenge.
How much does a bred heifer eat per day?
Dry Cows, Heifers and Beef Cows Breeding Stock: Herds can be maintained on as little as 2 to 2.5 kg (4 to 6 lb) of roughage per animal per day provided sufficient grain is available. The amount of grain necessary for each cow will depend on the initial condition of the animal and the quality of the roughage.
How much grain should I feed my heifer?
This would mean that heifers should gain an average of 1.25 to 1.75 lb. per day from weaning to first breeding or 250 to 350 lbs. during the first winter (depending on breed)….Table 4.
| Ration 1 | 9.5 lb. good quality legume hay (18% CP) |
|---|---|
| Ration 3 | 4.5 lb. grain corn or 5.0 mixed grain |
| 1.0 lb. 40% protein supplement |
How do you feed a heifer?
Heifers should be fed diets greater than 10.5MJ ME per kg DM and the appropriate protein to ensure that they meet liveweight targets. Heifer liveweight gain is the best indication of meeting nutritional requirements as well as adequate minerals and water provision.
How much grain does a pregnant cow need per day?
During the last two trimesters of pregnancy, mature cows generally consume 2 to 2.5% of their body weight on a dry-matter basis. For a 1,200 lb cow, this equates to 24 to 30 lb of hay per day on a dry-matter basis, or approximately 27 to 33 lb per day on an as-fed basis.
Is corn good for pregnant cows?
It was concluded from these trials that corn-based diets can meet the nutrient requirements of pregnant beef cattle without adverse effects on production and at a lower cost than feeding hay.
How much grain does a pregnant cow need?
How many pounds of grain does a cow need per day?
Cows will voluntarily consume about 2 percent of their body weight or 24 pounds per day. The 24 pounds is based on 100 percent dry matter.
How much grain should I feed my heifer a day?
Based on research ADG of Holstein heifers should be 1.75 to 2.00 pounds per day. Weighing heifers is a relatively simple means to monitor animal performance, and this practice is a must for precision feeding dairy heifers successfully.
Why is it undesirable to overfeed heifers?
Overfeeding heifers causes internal fat deposition, which obstructs the pelvic canal.
How much protein does a pregnant cow need?
Typical mature, late-gestation cows weighing about 1,400 pounds will need approximately 2.5 pounds of protein intake a day. Some 60 to 70 percent of the protein should break down in the rumen to supply sufficient nitrogen for rumen microbes.
What supplements do pregnant cows need?
Copper, zinc, manganese and selenium are commonly recognized as the cow’s most critical minerals. All minerals are important to the calf, however, since the cow is the single source of nutrients for the calf during gestation and during the first months of the calf’s life.
What to feed cows before calving?
The use of colostrum from other cows or stored colostrum sometimes is necessary to ensure that each calf receives adequate colostrum. For optimum results, colostrum should be collected from cows within 24 hours of calving and fed fresh.
