Management
Reminder on Forage Intake for Calves Raised in
Limit Fed Confinement
By Karla Jenkins, University of Nebraska Extension
As grass leases continue to
get harder to find and more
expensive to acquire, and
drought continues to threaten
the Great Plains, cow/calf
producers are showing more
and more interest in feeding
pairs in a confinement system.
Research has shown that
production cows can be
maintained on a limit fed,
energy dense diet when it
is formulated to meet their
nutritional needs. Limit feeding
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a diet based on poor quality hay
or residue and nutrient dense
by-products is usually the most
inexpensive way to maintain
cows in confinement. However,
when limit feeding lactating
cows there will be competition
to finish the feed between
cows. This makes having forage
available for the nursing calf
challenging unless feed can
be available in a location
inaccessible to the cows.
A young nursing calf needs
access to solid feed and water
almost from birth. At less than
a month of age, calves can be
observed nibbling at grass or
feed on the edge of the cow’s
bunk. Solid feed and water are
important to develop rumen
function because milk, when
suckled, bypasses the rumen via
the closed esophageal groove
and enters the abomasum.
PHOTO BY: SARAH ANNE JOHNSON, OH