Did you know that fat in the diet is good? Well, at least for us pregnant bovines it is. It seems that feeding us the correct amount of fat during our pregnancy allows our little developing calf to gain fatty tissue surrounding its little internal organs which will help it cope with “cold stress” after being born on a cold winter’s day. A colf’s ability to cope with cold, for those of us living in the colder climates, can mean the difference between surviving or dying.
No , mind you, ya’ll ranchers need to know when and how much to feed us ’cause you do not want us to blow up like big balloons. I know of one rancher in Montana who starts feeding soybean meal 45 days before calving, stopping once the calf is born. The result: 14% to 15% increase in 1st conception rate. Now that’s something to mooo about!