AMDCA Newsletter December 2016 Volume 3, Issue 4   

During the winter cows need proper nutrition to stem off the cold and nourish developing calves. To keep a cow, with a developing calf, fit in the winter when kept in a barn, they will generally require 3.5 pounds of hay for every 100 pounds of body weight. If kept outside they will require at least an extra pound per 100 pounds of body weight. In winter you want to ensure your cows don’t get winter scours. If their manure gets runny and evidences scours you should feed coarse first cut hay. That would be a good mix of timothy, orchard grass and red clover. Coarse hay prevents winter scours which results in food going straight through the cow without the essential nutrition absorption. Alfalfa hay has too much protein, usually over 20 percent, and is not good for winter feeding. If your hay is poor quality, you will need to feed more. I keep my cows inside in the winter and feed what they will clean up. When they first come in, I feed first cut hay for a couple weeks and then switch over to second cut hay for a couple months. If they begin to evidence scours I go back to course first cut for a while. When I go to feed I like to see a little feed left over. Hay should be supplemented with trace elements such as selenium, copper and manganese. Vitamin E should accompany selenium as it helps in the utilization of the selenium by the cow’s digestive system. These trace elements should be formulated to your area and fed free choice if the cows are kept outside. Salt should also be provided. Since I keep my cows inside, I feed the trace elements, along with salt, once a week on top of the hay. Trace elements contribute to cow and calf health and help prevent white muscle disease. This is where newborn calves walk on their tip toes. If not treated these calves normally die. Devons are noted for their efficient utilization of food. An interesting fact is that Devon manure is poor quality when compared to conventional manure, as Devons take more out of their feed.