May 2018 Articles

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Flushing - Is it for me?

Flushing- is it for me? Toilets, always; cows maybe. Flushing is a term used to ramp up nutrient intake with supplemental feed during the breeding season. The most important factor affecting the time from calving to rebreeding and overall pregnancy rate is body condition at calving. Pastures haven’t been growing as good as expected for this time of year, cows are trying to avoid hay, and many have run out of hay. Cows that calved in decent body condition seem to have lost a lot of weight since calving. Being on the brink of the breeding season with little pasture, consider supplementing if cows are thin (aka you can easily see ribs). Research using the concept of flushing with beef cows has produced mixed results. Flushing works best when thin cows are fed enough supplement to gain body condition. Benefits to flushing includes increasing the odds of cows cycling earlier in the breeding season and overall pregnancy rate. There may also be benefits to calf weaning weight, but this response is variable too. If your cows are quite thin and pastures are short, feeding 5 to 10 lbs of a feed mix and gradually working them off feed once pastures have enough grass to sustain body condition could have a positive impact in months to come. Another management tool is 48 hour calf removal. Separating cows from calves for 2 days helps reset the reproductive clock. Calves should have easy access to water and very good quality hay during the separation. Supplemental feed may also be provided but calves usually aren’t used to eating feed from a trough so don’t go overboard with calf feeding. Source: University of Arkansas