Farmers should know that energy demand for any cow depends on its particular requirement for maintenance, reproduction, milk production, and body reserves. At the same time, the mature cows are pregnant. Therefore, their energy demand is focused on maintenance and fetal growth.

What happens during a cow's pregnancy?
As a cow progresses through the pregnancy, farmers must consider that it is still experiencing its continued development, including its maintenance, growth, mammary tissue development. Then in the last three months of pregnancy, the fetus goes through a massive growth phase, and therefore energy demand rises significantly and swiftly from day 191. Some farmers try to balance a cow's diet at 141 days to take an average of its requirement wholly, but what does anyone know? This amount is not enough for the last trimester as the demand for energy and protein is much higher.

So what's the solution?
Farmers can use the expected calf-birth weight and day of gestation to calculate their cows' need for absorbable energy and protein. The risk of undersupplying energy is that its rumen will prioritize the power it has stored to the calf's development, resulting in the mother cow's slow growth, or it will cease altogether. In addition, it may give the mother issues in calving as it's not of the optimum size.

It is crucial to understand consumption at the various phases of pregnancy. Farmers can assume absorption to be 1.75% of body weight, but it depends on the acceptability of the rations kept in front of them. Because cows start to eat fewer amounts of forage, they need an energy-dense diet. Silage does the trick here as it balances the proportions of required nutrients in high doses.

Milking after pregnancy
One last tip before moving on is that cows should be entering the milk-production stage at 82-90% mature bodyweight after calving to perfect first lactation output. Farmers can work on a relatively accurate forecast that heifers will yield the same liters of milk as a mature cow according to weight. For example, if cows enter the milking phase at 70% weight, 70% milk yield is the output.

Expert tip: Clean, bountiful, and fresh water should be available so that cows can intake more dry matter from silage.

Feeding separate diets
In some fields, it can be tough to run two separate groups and feed two different diets. So instead, farmers use a balancing act and make diets that average dry cow and heifer need.

However, an issue with this is that the diet can be of lower energy than heifers' needs and higher power than dry cows' requirements. Due to physical ability, dry cows can consume more, and on the other hand, heifers get fewer amounts. That's why considering silage; an all-rounder forage is the best choice that farmers might make this year as it is suitable for dry cows, calves, lactating cows, and pregnant cows and provides them with ample energy at all stages of their lives.

Silage Agro is the ultimate Silage Provider in Punjab. Their silage in different flavors is beneficial for both pregnant and lactating cows.