Guidelines to managing pregnant cows from weaning to calving
Aim to have cows with condition scores in the range of 2.5–3.5 in the period from weaning until 12 weeks before calving. If they go outside this range the options are to:
• Manage pasture available and/or pasture quality after weaning to ensure body condition score remains within the above limits;
• Use weaned cows as a management tool to utilise poor-quality pasture or to reduce pasture mass in areas destined for pasture manipulation and renovation.
An excess of high quality feed during pregnancy can cause cows to become over- fat before calving and result in greater foetal size, increasing the incidence of dystocia and metabolic disorders. Also if cows are grazed for too long on high quality feed while they have low energy requirements, they are grazing quality pasture that is better used by animals destined for sale.
What to measure and when
As a guide, make a monthly assessment of the body condition score of cows after weaning until 12 weeks before calving.
