What Does My Dry Cow Need?
Good mineral nutrition during the dry period is a cost-effective way of reducing problems like milk fever, retained cleanings and slow calvings, advise Irish experts.
3 February 2015
1 minute read
This is according to specialist advice from the Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc) this January which outlines two types of minerals:
- Macro minerals, which are needed in large quantities (grams) per day, e.g., magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and phosphorus (P).
- Trace minerals, which are needed in tiny quantities (milligrams) per day, e.g., copper (Cu), iodine (I) and selenium (Se).
Mg is a key mineral for milk fever prevention – the recommendation is for 15-20g of supplementary Mg per day until after calving.
Check that your dry cow mineral is delivering this. High K silages (2.4 per cent) can interfere with Mg uptake.
Feed a low-K silage from two to three weeks pre calving if possible. Silage may be P deficient for dry cows on farms with a low soil P index, so there may be a need for 3-5g per day included in the dry cow mineral mix.
Trace minerals are important for good cow/calf health and immunity, so adequate cover for Se, Cu and I in particular is important.
Some farms opt for trace mineral boluses for dry cows but these will not deliver adequate Mg or P cover. These macro minerals must be supplemented, preferably as dusted minerals, even where boluses are used.
