During this time of year, much of the industry’s focus is placed on fall roundup, preparing calves for weaning and shipping, and the height of the fall run into the feedyards. At the ranch level, once the calves are gone, an additional focus producers need to keep in mind will be the decision to cull a cow or help her recover nutritionally and remain in the herd.
Reasons for culling a cow could include her failing to bring her calf home, not breeding back on a timely cycle with the rest of the herd, being in noticeable poor body condition by comparison to her herdmates and not seeming to recover, structural issues that are afflicting her mobility, an udder that drags on the ground or teats that have become too big for a calf to successfully nurse unassisted, produces calves that lag behind the rest of your herd or an aggressive disposition. Each operation has its standards and will make culling decisions based on meeting those standards. If the decision is to cull, an operation can take advantage of some marketing opportunity with those culls by holding them for 30 to 60 days following weaning to allow the cow to regain some weight and whiten her fat. During this period, consider providing the culls with good-quality forage along with a moderate amount of concentrate to recondition the cow for slaughter.
Ideally, body condition maintenance would have been maintained while out grazing pasture, being paired with proper mineral and protein supplementation as needed. For the females that will remain in production going into winter, consider that from an economic standpoint, it is easier and cheaper to put condition back on the cow prior to severe winter weather and the calving period, as her nutrient requirements are lower at this time versus what they will be in the last period of gestation as well as lactation.
It is expected for second-calf females to come home with more body condition loss as they are going through first-calf stress as well as completing their own growth, so be prepared to supplement accordingly.
During the 45-day period following weaning, cows should naturally be gaining back condition; however, it will take longer if still grazing on forage that has depleted in quantity and quality. Should it not be economically feasible to supplement the entire herd, consider breaking cows up into groups based on body condition score and feeding to meet group nutritional needs.
