Managing the weather: should I house cattle?

February was a fine month and many turned out cattle to eat an abundant supply of grass on cattle farms around the country.

I was talking to a farmer on Sunday who told me: “I knew I shouldn’t have let them out, you needn’t talk about turnout round here until April and that’s just it.”

While some may think like this, think about it from the other side - reduced silage feeding, reduced meal feeding, less labour, less slurry and more weight gain. So what if they have to come back in?

The break will be temporary and the key to early grazing is to be flexible and deal with what comes your way.

A few dry days and grazing 2019 will be back on track.

The answer to this question probably depends on the type of stock they are.

If it's light weanling heifers or steers and they aren’t doing much damage to ground, I’d leave them outdoors.

You don’t need to graze down tight when weather conditions are poor and you are better to move on a little faster to minimise any poaching or damage to paddocks.

If you can, move to drier fields during the wet weather and move back to low-lying fields when the weather improves.

If cattle remain outdoors, using a back fence can help reduce poaching. Try to keep grazing divisions as square as possible to minimise damage.

Cows with young calves are different and if you see calves getting very cold and underfoot conditions are very wet, the right option may be to house.

Having a well-ventilated creep area with plenty of straw is a must. Young calves would be better outdoors if the only options indoors was slats.

Having stock in fields with good shelter is a must during periods of bad weather. This is especially important where there are young calves in the group.

Temporary shelters can be erected using bales of straw to break the wind chill effect.

Once a calf has somewhere dry to lie, a full stomach and shelter from the wind, it will be ok.

You need to be extra vigilant during this time for any signs of sickness, as if a calf lies around it will get cold and its condition can deteriorate very quickly.

If you do take the decision to house, try to house stock dry. Housing wet cattle is a recipe for problems.

Cattle can become very sweaty once housed and steam rising off cattle can lead to ideal conditions for disease to spread.

Make sure young calves have access to a clean dry creep area with plenty of straw.

If cows are housed and are being fed average-quality silage, meal will need to be fed to maintain milk supply and body condition.

Feeding 2kg to 3kg/day of a simple ration with 14% protein will be fine when it’s for a short period.

Offering creep to stronger calves will also help to take the pressure off the cows sucking these calves.

Feeding hay or silage on a roadway can help to keep cattle settled and prevent excessive walking, which can cause damage to paddocks.

Feeding meal with magnesium will also help prevent tetany.

It’s a tough call to make - if you start to feed, you will probably have to continue for a few days and if cows get used to being fed, they may become restless if no meal is fed.

Try to move troughs around as much as much as possible or, better still, feed on a roadway or hard-core area.

Suckler cows and dairy cows have a poor capability to store magnesium (Mg) in their bodies and must take in sufficient magnesium on a daily basis to prevent deficiency.

Tetany is common in suckler cows when they are grazing very bare pastures, as well as lush ones.

In the case of dairy cows, it mainly occurs when they graze lush grass in the spring and autumn.

This grass is frequently low in Mg due to quick growth. Heavy slurry spreading, which is high in potassium, can have a negative effect on Mg uptake.

Grass tetany warrants veterinary attention as soon as possible.

Treatment depends on the severity of clinical signs. If the cow is convulsing or having a seizure, then sedation is important to prevent brain damage.

Following this, the vet will administer a mixture of calcium and magnesium intravenously, followed by 400ml of magnesium sulphate solution subcutaneously (under the skin).

It is very important that this concentrated magnesium sulphate is not given intravenously, as it is likely to cause cardiac arrest and death.

Control is based on providing a regular daily intake of magnesium during the period of risk; ie whenever cows are grazing lush young pasture (April to June and September, primarily).

Options for increasing magnesium intake include: