Transitioning to Cooler Weather - Interview with Jennifer Trout, D.V.M.
Dr. Jennifer Trout completed her undergraduate degree at Penn State University and received her Veterinary Degree in Florida. She began practice in Tulare, CA, and then went on to Stephenville, Dalhart, and Hereford, TX, and Washington state. 2 years ago, in September Dr. Trout and her husband moved back home to the family dairy farm in Maryland. She is heavily involved in all the work at the dairy and now practices in a mixed animal clinic in town.
We have a real treat this week as Dr. Trout gives her insight into how to manage cattle as we move into cooler weather.
Management Strategies for Transitioning to Cooler Weather
Consistency is HUGE no matter the age of the animal. Feed calves at the same time, same temperature, same solids, etc. Cow wise be diligent that in the daytime you keep fans on and manage things like it is summertime, then at night determine if you need turn some or all of the fans off.
You need to double down on your management from the standpoint of addressing the needs of summer during the hot daytime and “fall” as we experience cooler night times.
Critical Needs for Calves
I know it seems repetitive, but colostrum, colostrum, colostrum. Don’t let the dog days of summer let you get into lazy mode. Pay attention to the timeliness, cleanliness, and the quality, all of those things that are common sense, but are taken for granted.
If you know there are huge temperature swings coming your way, make sure things are set up to successfully handle that temperature swing. There seem to be a lot of issues with pneumonia and scours during the shoulder time of the year because people get stuck in summer mode and forget that at nighttime it is not summer anymore.
Heat Stress Effects
Remember that as you are dealing with cows that are starting their dry period during the hotter months, if you are not cooling cows, that the heat stress affects the calf’s ability to grow and stay healthy, and its production for the first two lactations. It is very important that you don’t lose sight of the end game. It is not a time to slack on management.
Additionally, reproduction during heat stress is not as good. It takes about 90 days after it cools down for the follicles return to normal. Reproduction may be stunted until then.
If you do not have the ability to cool cattle you can include additives, like those from MicroBasics, in your ration that can mitigate the effects of heat stress, reduce inflammation, and keep the gut as healthy as possible to help reduce that stress. Avoiding going down an avenue that would lead to other issues.
Drive Dry Matter Intake and Water Intake
A lot of driving dry matter and water intake goes back to how they were first introduced to feed and water. Timing of introduction of water and feed is very important and if we don’t do that when we should, I feel that keeps snowballing down the line.
The sooner you offer water and dry feed the better. The sooner the rumen will be developed, and the innate drive and need for water and feed is more pronounced. Water and feed need to be present at all times. If an animal is conditioned to receive minimal feed or water, they won’t seek it out as they should. Behaviorally, set them up right from the beginning so they can at least experience what it is.
If calves have been set up in the right way, transitions later will go much smoother than they would without that conditioning.
Thank you for all your thoughts, Dr. Trout! Great talking points and food for thought as we anticipate cooler weather coming in the months ahead.
Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.