How to manage body condition in overfit cows

Farmers are being advised to carefully manage cow body condition with anecdotal reports suggesting an increased number of caesarean sections due to overfit cows.

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service (FAS) says strong grass growth has led to more overly fit cows and, as a result, more difficult calvings.

Robert Logan from SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College, which delivers the FAS programme, says cows have come through the winter well, followed by a normal spring then tremendous grass growth.

See also: Why calving ease should be suckler herd priority

But effectively managing body conditioning scores will help mitigate the number of caesareans required.

Mr Logan outlines several ways farmers can manage overfit cows.

• Delaying weaning will help reduce cow condition but calves will suffer on short swards, so creep feeding is essential
• All cows must be weaned no later than three weeks pre-calving to ensure they produce sufficient colostrum 
• Another option is to wean cows early, put their calves on to aftermaths and heavily graze dry cows on poor quality pastures. As a rough guide, stocking rates should be double normal numbers 
• Try to force cows to have as much exercise as possible. For example, position water troughs away from feed supplies
• In extreme cases, consider housing cows. Rations should supply about 70 MJ ME a cow/day containing at least 10% CP in the dry matter and minerals. As soon as cows have calved, they can be turned back outside to graze
• In all cases, try to provide additional magnesium for the last month of pregnancy. This might be most easily supplied with a low-energy magnesium block/lick
• In herds with a long calving period, it may be sensible to split cows up according to expected date of calving and, for example, house the early calvers and keep later calvers outside and delay weaning them
• Spring calvers are likely to be much fitter than average at weaning this autumn
• If a cow has a caesarean section, discuss with your vet the possibility of inducing calving, particularly where expected dates of calving are known