March 6, 2017 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
Share:

Cow Sense Chronicle || Night Feeding for Daytime Calving

Written by Rachel Endecott, Beef Cattle Specialist

We’ve all experienced that middle‐of‐the‐night calving incident that sure would have been easier to manage if it had happened in the daylight. Some ranchers use an evening feeding strategy to shift more cows to calve during the day.

A case study comparing two sets of calving data with different feeding times illustrates this phenomenon well (Jaeger, et al. 2008. Professional Animal Scien st. 24:247). One group of cows was fed between 6 and 8 am (15 years of data, 1210 observations) and another group of cows was fed between 4 and 6 pm ( 5 years of data, 537 observations). Researchers divided the day into six, 4‐hour periods starting at 6 am and recorded the number of cows who calved during each 4‐hour period.

Cows who were fed in the morning had nearly equal distribution of cows calving during each period of the day. This resulted in nearly equal proportions of cows calving between 6 am and 6 pm (52%) and those calving between 6 pm and 6 am (48%).

Cows who were fed in the evening did not have an equal distribution of cows calving during each period of the day. In fact, 85% of cows calved between 6 am and 6 pm and only 15% calved between 6 pm and 6 am.

There are many factors in addition to timing of feeding that can override the timing of calving. Research in cattle and other species suggests that physical activity, daily variation in hormonal secretion, ambient temperature, or day length may play a role.

Questions for Rachel? [email protected] or 406-994-3747

January 22, 2017 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
Share:

Cow Sense Chronicle: Wintertime Herd Bull Blues

Happy New Year! As I write, we are finally experiencing some above-zero temperatures here in Montana for the year, which are very welcome. During my travels to Extension programs this month (fondly referred to as Asphalt Cowgirl January), I’ve seen a lot of herd bulls out to winter pasture, and I’ll be very honest with you – I have concerns about the future fertility of many of the bulls I’ve driven past.

Protection from inclement weather is a critical factor in winter herd bull management because of the very real concern of frostbit of the scrotum. While mild frostbite generally has a good recovery rate, severe frostbite can leave a bull infertile. Scarring from frostbite can hinder a bull’s ability to raise and lower the testicles for proper temperature regulation. This regulation depends on coordination of three structures: the tunica dartos muscle in the walls of the scrotum, which relaxes when hot and contracts when cold; the external cremaster muscle within the spermatic cord, which lengthens or shortens to lower or raise the testicles depending on temperature; and the pampini‐ form plexus, which is a coil of veins that provide an effective counter current temperature exchange by cooling arterial blood entering the testicle and transferring its heat to the venous blood leaving the testicle. Normal sperm formation only occurs at 4‐5 degrees below body temperature, so any damage to any of these three structures could result in infertility.

Pull up that National Weather Service windchill chart and take a look at some of the effective temperatures we’ve experienced already this winter. The frostbite warning zones aren’t going to be much different for that vital part of bull anatomy than they are for human skin. You’ve invested in those herd bulls for the future of your cow herd and sustainability of your ranch. Shouldn’t you put a little insurance policy on that investment? Ensure that bulls have the ability to get out the wind and are not lying on unbedded, frozen ground. Putting testicles on ice is not conducive to fertility.

Cow Sense Chronicle is written by Rachel Endecott, Beef Cattle Specialist with Montana State University Extension